Originally Posted by
kebosabi
A figure of thought but would it’d be for much easier for US citizens who travel abroad often (and naturally already have US Passports) to open a small bank account in Canada which has already moved to EMV cards?
That seems a lot harder and more expensive than opening an offshore account.
Supposedly many Canadian banks offer non-residential accounts which can be setup by non-Canadian residents ...
Please list the details here; Canada bank laws are similar to the US in this regard; sample Customer Service feedback (from Scotiabank, today) looks like this:
Thank you for your inquiry.
To open an account with Scotiabank in Canada, you must be a Canadian Citizen, have a working permit or a Student Visa.
While we understand that your intentions are entirely ethical and honest, we must impose tight standards with respect to U.S. dollar accounts held by non-Canadian citizens. Transfers in and out of U.S. dollar accounts including cheques, must be cleared by a U.S. bank or their intermediaries. These transactions are subject to all applicable U.S. laws. While we certainly do not wish to turn away good business, since 9 -11, we are strictly regulated to remain in compliance with anti-terrorism and anti-money laundering laws to the point where if the Bank were found in violation, the ramifications would be very significant for us.
Accordingly, we regret that we were unable to assist you, however trust this will provide further insight into our decision.
Kindest regards,
Customer Contact Centre
Scotiabank