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Transferring US Dollar Funds out of PayPal

August 22nd, 2007 · 115 Comments

I use PayPal to receive payment from sponsors on this website and small coding projects for clients. Almost all the payments are received in US dollars but transferring funds into your Canadian-based US dollar account from PayPal is not easy. Exchanging US funds into Canadian dollars in PayPal is not ideal because PayPal charges a steep currency conversion fee of 2.5%. If you have a RBC US Dollar account, here’s how you can transfer US dollar funds from your PayPal account into your chequing account (it took me a few iterations to get it right):

  1. Log into PayPal and click on My Account, then Withdraw followed by Transfer funds to your bank account. In the Withdraw Funds by Electronic Transfer page click on Add Bank Account.
  2. In the Add a Bank Account page, select “United States” as Country and type in “Royal Bank of Canada” as the Bank Name.
  3. Enter the 9-digit routing number exactly as suggested by the graphic. Royal Bank’s routing number is “026004093″.
  4. Since the trick is to get the account number correct, ignore the example suggested by the graphic. Instead, enter the five-digit transit number of your account followed by your actual account number. You can also get the exact sequence of numbers (transit number followed by account number) from your monthly statement or online.
  5. Re-enter the account number and click Continue. Wait for PayPal to make two small deposits into your bank account and then confirm that you have added the bank account successfully in PayPal by entering how much was deposited.
  6. Once confirmed, your US-dollar account will show up in the To field in the Withdraw Funds page and you should be able to transfer funds in US dollars into your USD chequing account.

I am not sure if this method would work for US dollar accounts held at other financial institutions. If you’ve successfully transferred US dollar funds to and from PayPal, I would love to hear from you.

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115 responses so far ↓

  • 1 telly // Aug 23, 2007 at 9:45 am

    I get payments through paypal in $US a fari bit as well. I’ve been using my TD Banknorth account and then I transfer to my TD Canadian $ account. I haven’t any problems to date.

    The best part is that the money gets to me much quicker than a transfer to a Canadian bank (and the fees are significantly lower).

  • 2 telly // Aug 23, 2007 at 9:45 am

    I get payments through paypal in $US a farir bit as well. I’ve been using my TD Banknorth account and then I transfer to my TD Canadian $ account. I haven’t any problems to date.

    The best part is that the money gets to me much quicker than a transfer to a Canadian bank (and the fees are significantly lower).

  • 3 telly // Aug 23, 2007 at 9:50 am

    Sorry for the double post. I tried to fix “fair” and made it worse. :(

  • 4 Jon D. // Aug 23, 2007 at 5:26 pm

    Apparently it only works on withdrawals from PP to RBC accounts, and not deposits. There’s a few forums sites around online that detail the challenges in getting US Funds in and out of PayPal without have to accept their ridiculous exchange rates.

  • 5 Canadian Capitalist // Aug 23, 2007 at 11:13 pm

    Jon: Thanks for the clarification. I wish I had found the forum sites. I took me a while to figure out how to get money out and PayPal customer support is next to useless.

  • 6 Average Joe // Aug 23, 2007 at 11:27 pm

    Jon,

    Can you point me towards some of these forums?

    Thanks

  • 7 Average Joe // Aug 23, 2007 at 11:44 pm

    Hey CC,

    Do you have the RBC Centura account or the US Personal account?

    Or are they one in the same?

  • 8 telly // Aug 24, 2007 at 9:15 am

    I just tried making a deposit from my TD Banknorth account the PP. I’ll let you know how it works out.

  • 9 Brew99 // Aug 24, 2007 at 6:47 pm

    Average Joe,

    The RBC Centura account is essentially a US account, at a US bank (although it’s affiliated with RBC). The Centura account is a US account, while the US Personal account from RBC is just a Canadian account in US funds. With the Centura account, you can make bill payments to US institutions, but you won’t be able to do that with the Personal account.

    I hope that helped. I use both of these!

  • 10 Jerry Hung // Aug 25, 2007 at 7:48 am

    TD has stopped offering “true” US accounts (aka Banknorth), so all you get is USD account, held in canadian TD Bank

    RBC Centura is true US account yes, and I believe you can get one from HSBC as well

    I don’t have that much USD in my PP, if I do, I can either just buy stuff from eBay in USD, or find people to exchange it, or worst case let PP exchange it (2.5% is pretty minor UNLESS you have LOTS of USD)

  • 11 Andy Paulson // Aug 26, 2007 at 1:14 am

    I don’t know for sure it this would work, but this is my idea

    If you have US funds in paypal, transfer it to a US bank account, then transfer that to alartpay.com (i have used them in the past) then convert it to CAD (in alertpay FAQ look up Multi Currency on how to enable it), then transfer the CAD to your canadian bank account.

    so it would be like this

    USD Paypal > USD bank > alertpay > CAD bank

    now for fees, there current USD to CAD exchange rate is
    1 USD= $1.0257 CAD
    $1.00 CAD = $0.92 USD

    and everytime you tranfer your dollars from your USD bank to alartpay it will cost you 0.50 USD .

  • 12 telly // Aug 27, 2007 at 9:56 am

    I had no problems depositing to Paypal or transferring from Paypal to my TD Banknorth account.

    I wasn’t aware that TD was no longer offering TD Banknorth accounts. Although I don’t see why one couldn’t open an account with TD Banknorth anyway.

  • 13 Philip S // Sep 10, 2007 at 12:50 pm

    Thanks so much for this post. I finally got the rest of my money out of Paypal. Too bad it was a little late for my last $750 withdrawl…I only got 1.04 on the exchange to my PC account.

    Keep up the great work CC.

  • 14 Charles // Sep 14, 2007 at 8:30 pm

    Question: Have you attempted to shuttle US dollars back *in* to Paypal at all? I’m wondering if anyone’s done this successfully with an RBC US dollar account.

  • 15 Canadian Capitalist // Sep 16, 2007 at 1:57 pm

    Charles: Jon has earlier commented that this method would work only for withdrawals and not for deposits into your PayPal account.

  • 16 Sharjeel // Nov 29, 2007 at 11:49 am

    I would like to know what would be an easy way to transfer USD funds from a foreign country (ex. Saudi Arabia) into a Canadian bank account? Easy and cheap…? I’m planning on receiving USD funds in Canada from an account in Saudi Arabia and I would like to know where should I open an account in which the transfer fees won’t be significant compared to other banks.

    Thanks!
    Sharjeel

  • 17 Bryce // Nov 29, 2007 at 1:00 pm

    So Sharjeel did you win an internet lottery or are you helping out some deposed royalty?

  • 18 Arthur // Dec 12, 2007 at 5:47 pm

    Great advice. Worked beautifully. thank you.

    -Arthur

  • 19 Vince // Jan 11, 2008 at 1:45 pm

    Can anyone tell me how to get the proper routing information of my RBC USD cheques? I’ve tried a couple of times to get the information into PayPal properly, but to no avail.

  • 20 Golem // Mar 10, 2008 at 11:58 pm

    Yes, I’ve been having the same problem. Any ideas regarding getting the correct RBC USD info into PayPal? I’ve tried everything I can think of at this point.

  • 21 Canadian Capitalist // Mar 11, 2008 at 7:28 am

    Vince: The routing # of RBC is 026004093 as noted in the post.

    Golem: Not sure where you are getting stuck. Can you post more information?

  • 22 Jeremy // Apr 8, 2008 at 5:39 pm

    I’m looking to do this as well – I tried to open up an account with M&T Bank, but when Paypal tried to do the deposits, they were rejected for some reason.

    HSBC wasn’t able to open up a business account for me in the states, but a personal one might have worked – I haven’t tried it yet.

    Those of you with TD Bank North accounts – did you have to physically be in the states to open the account?

  • 23 Gesha // Apr 15, 2008 at 4:34 am

    Give me please, reference to the site, where it is possible to exchange Alertpay on Paypal or on anything other?

  • 24 Chris Perabo // May 8, 2008 at 6:32 am

    Hi Canadian Capitalist,

    Great blog site. As you can imagine, I’ve been looking all over for a US Routing Number for a Canadian RBC Account in USD$.

    If it is indeed 026004093 then you are a hero! However, I ran a few Google checks, and I keep seeing conflicting information on this topic.

    Is there an “official site” you can refer readers to that confirms the RBC Canada Routing Number is 026004093?

  • 25 Canadian Capitalist // May 8, 2008 at 7:47 am

    Chris: I believe the routing number is correct. I’ve followed this recipe twice for my PayPal accounts and it worked both times. If you want to confirm, look at your cheque book – the first 9 numbers should be the routing number in the cheques.

  • 26 Chris Perabo // May 11, 2008 at 4:08 pm

    Hi again,

    I checked with a RBC Canada customer service and this is the email I received. It seems the correct is 021000021. I will check myself with PayPal and report back. In the meantime, I hope this help others.

    *****Original Email*****
    Hello Chris,

    Its Natasha again, I want to clarify, the 026004093 routing number is only used on cheques, and is for our use only. Clients do not use this number for processing of items. If you are wiring money to RBC Royal Bank, please use 021000021.

    Thanks for contacting us. We’ll be happy to help you again if there’s anything else you want to discuss.

    Sincerely,
    Natasha Keith
    Customer Service Representative
    Royal Bank of Canada
    ***************************

    Chris

  • 27 Chris L // May 16, 2008 at 3:17 pm

    I signed up with RBC yesterday at my local branch for a personal USD account (Not Centura!).

    When I got home I logged in and found the info I needed to set up the transfer from PayPal -> RBC as the original blog post specified. PayPal initiated the deposit process.

    As of just right now, the funds reached my RBC account safely. Just over 24h after I opened the account to begin with!

    So, in a nutshell, it works just fine. Just follow the original blog post.

  • 28 Boris // May 21, 2008 at 12:07 pm

    Original blog post worked great. I transferred from a Paypal business to RBC personal account.

    Thank you x 10!

  • 29 Chris Perabo // May 23, 2008 at 4:32 pm

    I’m back. I had to go through a lot of trial and error, but essentially, the blog as written is correct.

    Where I had a hard time was that I was going from a personal PayPal account to a business bank account. Note that the NAME on the PayPal account must match the RBC account or it will not work.

    The correct routing number (despite what RBC employees say) is 026004093. I had to subscribe to a business PayPal account, register my company name, and then I could deposit (and withdraw) from my USD$ RBC Account.

    Thanks again for the tip!
    Chris

  • 30 shannon // Jun 4, 2008 at 7:46 pm

    Thank you very much for the advice.
    As a fact ,I tried to connect my paypal with My TD Canada Trust US collar account fist,my US dollar accout is BORDERLESS PLAN ,I aksed the TD bank clerk to confirm for me that I can connect my paypal to the US dollar account,the clerk say YES,after then, I tried many times,It doesn’t work,No small amout deposit.
    So I open a US dollar account from RBC ,It does work ,and very efficiently ,Just follow the blog instruction,I am so excited, I save almost $300 every month,Thank you!!!!!!!!!!

  • 31 Canadian Capitalist // Jun 4, 2008 at 9:49 pm

    Chris, Shannon, Boris, Chris L: Thanks for your note that transferring USD from PayPal works as outlined in the post.

  • 32 Andy Paulson // Jun 18, 2008 at 8:25 pm

    Gesha, you cant transfer from paypal to alertpay directly, you have to transfer paypal to usa bank, then deposit money to alertpay from usa bank, then once the money is in alertpay, then you transfer to a canada bank. Look at my post, I explained it, there are exchange fees however.

  • 33 Frogblender // Aug 6, 2008 at 11:14 am

    Chris Perabo… thanks for your info. Are you using the RBC “U.S. Business Deposit Account” ? Found here: http://www.rbcroyalbank.com/RBC:SJm@Uo71JsUAFWAGn1U/business/services/bus_deposit.html

  • 34 Frogblender // Aug 14, 2008 at 7:20 am

    THIS WORKS! Finally! (Today is Aug, 2008)

    I used an RBC “U.S Business Deposit Account”. I got this account by filling out the forms, and taking them to the local branch. Here are the forms:

    http://www.rbcroyalbank.com/RBC:SJm@Uo71JsUAFWAGn1U/business/services/how_to_open_account.html

    The branch set up the account on the spot. Then I followed Chris’ instructions, and 1.5 days later, in popped the two paypal amounts.

  • 35 Frogblender // Aug 14, 2008 at 7:29 am

    IMPORTANT: Paypal has decreased the premium charged on currency conversions. It was 2.5%, but if you have more than $3k/month in sales, it’ll drop to 1.5%. And 1.0% for sales in excess of $125k/month (or something like that).

    HOWEVER – YOU MUST APPLY for this “Merchant Rate”. I did this (log into paypal, search around), and was “approved” for the merchant rate immediately.

  • 36 Chris Perabo // Aug 14, 2008 at 5:11 pm

    Well – All WAS fine and dandy. I received the two payments from Paypal, but now I tried to do a bank transfer and got the following message:

    “You recently attempted to transfer funds from your bank account. Your bank has declined the funds transfer. Because the transfer from your bank account failed, this transaction has been cancelled.
    ———————————–
    Transaction Details
    ———————————–
    Transaction Type: Electronic Funds Transfer into your PayPal Account Transaction ID: xxxxxxxx
    Transaction Date: Aug. 4, 2008
    Transaction Amount: $xx.xx USD
    Reason: This is an invalid bank account number.

    I’m going to go hunting around to find the reason – will post back later.

    Thanks to Frogblender for the premium tip, I’ll check it out.

  • 37 Chris Perabo // Aug 14, 2008 at 5:40 pm

    Ok, so when I logged back into the website, PayPal didn’t allow me to “re-add” the same account that was de-activated. They said in order to do this, I needed to send a fax showing the bank statement with the two deposits and a copy of my driver’s licence.

    I did this and am now waiting for the results.

    By the way, re. Frogblender’s post about the Merchant Account, I got the following reply:
    “Your application was denied for the following reason(s):
    Your payment volume in the last 30 days is less than the required amount needed to qualify for PayPal’s merchant rate.

    We encourage you to re-apply for merchant pricing in thirty days, at which time we will review your account status.”

  • 38 Canadian Capitalist // Aug 14, 2008 at 9:20 pm

    Chris: I believe you are trying to transfer *from* your bank account into PayPal, right? I’m not sure if that works. I do know that a USD transfer from PayPal into a RBC bank account (both personal & business) works okay.

  • 39 Gerald // Aug 16, 2008 at 8:02 am

    Ok..Here is my scenario..

    Back in 2001 when I was living in the states I opened a US bank account AND a PayPal account. Fast forward – now I live in Canada and I still have my old PayPal account as well as US bank account that is tied to my PayPal account.

    Three months ago I opened RBC US checking account to transfer funds from my US bank account to PP account and transfer it to RBC account. I used the routing number “026004093″ and I was able to get my funds from PP to RBC account.

    Last week I attempted to transfer fund from RBC to PP but unfortunately my RBC account was disabled and removed from PP. For some reason PP is not able to get the funds out from RBC .

    When I attempted to re-add the account, I was told I can’t add the account without sending them a copy of my driver’s license AND bank statement. The only issue with this is that I no longer live in the states and I no longer have US driver’s license.
    The only way I can think of adding RBC account to my paypal account is to obtain a different RBC account with different account number…

  • 40 Gerald // Aug 16, 2008 at 8:16 am

    Has anyone used Amazon’s Simple Pay?

    https://payments.amazon.com/sdui/sdui/business?sn=paynow/faq

    http://forum.itacumens.com/index.php?topic=19583.0

  • 41 Frogblender // Aug 26, 2008 at 10:27 am

    Ok dudes, RBC USD and CAD accounts are working perfect for withdrawing from paypal.

    Now: how to convert USD to CAD? Here are the options, and the currency conversion premiums charged by each:

    1) Withdraw USD Paypal to CAD bankAcc: 2.5%

    2) Withdraw USD Paypal to CAD bankAcc, merchant rate paypal acc: 1.5%

    3) Xfer USDPaypal->RBC USD, then write USD RBC cheque, deposit into ING Direct.ca CAD acc: last time I checked: 1.25%

    4) use XE.com – these guys are great. Use xe to withdraw from RBC USD, and deposit to RBC CAD: I tried this with $10 USD, it took 4 business days: 0.85% (might get even better with amounts much larger than $10).

    5) Any canadian big bank: always crap. 2.8% or so.

    6) brokerage account: you need CAD and USD short margin accounts; use a stock which is listed on both TSX and NYSE. Short sell the stock on TSX to get CAD, and buy the stock on NYSE using your USD. Cost: 0.00% + brokerage commissions. Haven’t tried this, but apparently it works.

    So to summarize:
    Paypal – 2.5%
    Paypal merchant – 1.5%
    xe.com – .85%
    ingdirect.ca – 1.25%
    big banks: 2.8%
    brokerage acc: 0.0% + commissions

    The actual exchange rate can be found here:
    http://www.bankofcanada.ca/en/rates/exchform.html

  • 42 Canadian Capitalist // Aug 26, 2008 at 10:33 am

    Frogblender: Good summary. One other option: if you have a TD Waterhouse account, ask for a “Waterhouse rate” at any TD Bank branch and the conversion premium is typically 1%. Not sure if this works with the other banks though.

  • 43 Chris Perabo // Aug 27, 2008 at 12:54 pm

    I have used XE.com for years. I also have transferred from RBC USD to CAD account and it worked great. It takes 4-5 days, but is the best I’ve ever worked with.

    Speaking of which, I use it also to pay suppliers from my USD account if I need to pay in CAD or other funds. I simply send them a bank draft – I love it.

    Chris

  • 44 Frogblender // Aug 27, 2008 at 1:39 pm

    Chris, do you know any way for XE to reduce the 4-5 day delay? I believe this delay is for XE to ensure they actually get the funds, before forwarding them on.

  • 45 Chris Perabo // Aug 27, 2008 at 2:10 pm

    No there is no way to reduce the delay. Unlike a credit card, which approves a credit limit and grants credit, XE.com deals in hard currency… Money in, money out. This is why the fees are so low.

  • 46 Frogblender // Aug 27, 2008 at 2:35 pm

    Too bad. I’d gladly throw money into an “XE account” (if such a thing existed), just so it’s there for immediate use when I want to do a trade.

  • 47 Gruffer // Sep 16, 2008 at 2:20 pm

    Hey FrogBlender… I tried to get things setup, but when PP when to make their two transfers, it kept coming back as an incorrect account setup… I used the 021000021 routing code, and even though the setup worked fine, the transfer failed and subsequently the account # is now frozen by PP for entering it again…

    ??

    G.

  • 48 Frogblender // Sep 16, 2008 at 2:29 pm

    At the top of this thread, CanadianCapitalist says to use routing code 026004093… which is probably what I used. I don’t know where you got 021000021 from…

  • 49 JBS // Nov 27, 2008 at 6:00 pm

    Another option that might work is to use the Vancouver Bullion Exchange. I have yet to try it with US funds but use them for UK Pounds. They have a bank in the US to which you can wire funds. Once they get them they will mail you a check in CAD. Their conversion rates are very competitive. I believe they have a $10,oo0 minimum.

  • 50 Eric // Dec 30, 2008 at 7:34 pm

    @Chris Perabo

    I had the exact same thing happen to me. Transferred multiple times out of my Paypal into my RBC US account sucessfully. But the first time I tried to transfer money into Paypal from the same RBC account, I got the same message about failed transfer. Now, they won’t let me add it back without faxing in documents (which isn’t going to help because nothing has changed). I think it’s a one-way street – we can receive but can’t send.

    If you happen to come back to this thread, could you post on how you eventually solved the issue? Thanks.

  • 51 Suzanne // Jan 12, 2009 at 10:24 pm

    Just would like to know if it is legal to insert the Country “US” when actualy the bank is in Canada and the PP website indicates:
    “Your bank account in Canada must contain only Canadian Dollars.

    I would not want to be in trouble with RBC

  • 52 Suzanne // Jan 12, 2009 at 10:26 pm

    I just would like to know if it is legal to insert the country “USA” when the RBC is actually in Canada.
    PP website indicates:
    “Your bank account in Canada must contain only Canadian Dollars”

    I would not want to be in trouble with RBC.

  • 53 Taska // Jan 25, 2009 at 7:52 pm

    We use this workaround to bypass PP’s exuberant fees in converting your USD funds into CAD. This is neither official nor encouraged by PP or RBC, which makes sense. But if you’re looking for something “legal” or “official” instead of convenience or economic sense, this is not the way to go. However, use it at your own risk…

  • 54 Frogblender // Jan 26, 2009 at 12:03 am

    Taska, you said:

    “But if you’re looking for something “legal” or “official” instead of convenience or economic sense, this is not the way to go.”

    Please explain to all of us what exactly is not “legal” nor “official”.

  • 55 GlennC // Jan 26, 2009 at 4:07 am

    Thanks a lot! I got a RBC US chequing account (I did NOT need the Centura account) and it worked. I wouldn’t ask about the Centura account, apparently it is so rare for them to set one up that it’s around once/year.

    2- Note that if you get Paypal to do currency conversions for you, they may be using a very wide spread *on top of* their 2.5% fee. When I checked, the actual cost was between 3-5%. Easily makes a RBC account worth it.

  • 56 Taska // Jan 29, 2009 at 5:04 pm

    “Please explain to all of us what exactly is not “legal” nor “official”.”

    My understanding is that “legal” means that the law says it’s right to do it and “official” means PayPal tells you to do it. So I think this is a gray area. That’s why I put “” on those words in my original post.

    Don’t be surprised if this workaround suddenly stops working one day. But I wish it’d be the other way around that they’d make it official one day.

  • 57 Frogblender // Jan 30, 2009 at 3:59 pm

    Taska, do you have any evidence whatsoever that this is illegal? If so, please state your evidence.

    You statement: “My understanding is that “legal” means that the law says it’s right to do it” is utter nonsense. By that logic, it’s illegal to scratch your ass, since there is no law that explicitly says it’s “right to do”.

  • 58 Apomixis // Feb 19, 2009 at 8:10 pm

    I had the same issues as everyone else here, just withdrew for the first time and don’t see why there should be any issue re the bank location. On my US personal account checks at least, it has “Royal Bank of Canada, N.Y. branch” listed across the top. It is in the US.

    Thanks very much for this whole thread.

  • 59 inFlow Inventory Software // Feb 25, 2009 at 4:13 pm

    After a lot of research, we found a stable and clearly legal option by opening a (free) business account with an American bank (we’re a Canadian business). More information here:

    http://www.inflowinventory.com/Blog/index.php/2008/12/03/how-to-save-on-paypal-currency-exchange-rates/

    Hope that helps someone!

  • 60 Rad // Feb 28, 2009 at 1:36 pm

    So if I reading the above comments correctly, if I withdraw funds from PayPal to a Canadian bank account which is in Canadian funds, then on top of the 2.5% non-merchant rate there is also PayPal’s exchange rate, so in the end it may end up to be up to 5%?

    I am assuming this is the primary incentive for one to open a Canadian bank account in US dollars (and follow the original instructions).

    I read earlier that someone opened U.S Business Deposit Account with RBC. How does RBC exchange rate (when coverting to Canadian dollars) compare to PayPal’s “up to 5% rate”)?

  • 61 Frogblender // Feb 28, 2009 at 2:17 pm

    Rad…
    >>”up to 5%?”.
    No. See my post above showing the premium comparision. This is relative to the Bank Of Canada published rate, which is the BENCHMARK for doing any kind of meaningful comparison.
    >>”RBC exchange rate?” – I speculate that it sucks like the rest of the canadian big banks (2.5%+). If you did 10 minutes of research, you could find the exact amount and report back to us :)

  • 62 Rad // Feb 28, 2009 at 2:42 pm

    In your post showing the premium comparison, you mentioned 2.5% for PayPal. However other postings such as the one by GlennC (Jan 26, 2009 ) indicated an additional spread over on top of the 2.5%.

    I also read a posting :

    “# Thanksbut
    August 14th, 2008 at 7:24 am
    What you don’t say is that the exchange fees are on top of Paypal’s “retail foreign exchange rate” which is already 1%-2% above what I would pay my bank if I used them for foreign exchange and had the volumes required to qualify for your discounts. So 1%-2% plus another 1%-2.5% is hardly a deal. …. ”
    https://www.thepaypalblog.com/2008/06/lowered-fees-fo/

    So from this I understand that on top of the 2.5% spread PayPal has a retail foreign exchange rate and when both combined together may add up to more than 2.5% correct?

    If the Canadian Big Banks offer 2.8% then what is the advantage to follow the instructions outlined in the original posting?

    Is the advantage that you can keep your funds in U.S dollars?

  • 63 Frogblender // Mar 2, 2009 at 11:12 am

    Rad… still no. My comparison chart is RELATIVE TO THE BANK OF CANADA PUBLISHED RATE. It is a traceable, apples-to-apples comparison. Those other guys you mention don’t say where they get their numbers.
    You can do the math yourself – try a paypal withdrawal (don’t click the final “submit” button), and compare the rate to the bank of Canada link I give above. Do the same with xe.com.

    Note that the numbers in my comparison chart will vary a little, especially on volatile days, since I *believe* paypal’s rate is based on yesterday’s US/CAD close, whereas BofCanada uses either yesterday’s close or today’s “noon” rate, and xe.com uses updated-to-the-second exchange rates. Sometimes this works in your favour, sometimes not.

    The goal is to get US$ out of paypal unscathed. Then you can do whatever you want with them (exch. to CAD$, xe.com, buy stuff in US$, cash for casino, whatever).

  • 64 Canadian Capitalist // Mar 2, 2009 at 11:46 am

    Most discount brokers charge around 1% for currency conversion, much better than what you can obtain from your local branch. Why pay 2.5% when you can easily save at least 1.5%? The savings could be significant depending how much you want to convert.

  • 65 Chris Perabo // Mar 3, 2009 at 7:32 am

    I still agree with Frongblender and the Author. I have been called regularly by “discount brokers” offering even better exchange rates than xe.com, but they require minimum transfers of $100,000 per year.

    For the hassle-free convenience and price of XE.com, I accept PayPal in USD$ into my RBC account and convert using XE.com to CAD$. It sounds ridiculous, but I use XE.com (and not RBC) to transfer from my USD to CAD account (both held at RBC).

  • 66 Jennie // Mar 19, 2009 at 9:53 pm

    Hi there,
    Thank you for the money-saving information!!

    Can anyone tell me if this method still works? Or if it has caveats? I read a few posts that accounts can get frozen or blocked…

  • 67 Jennie // Mar 19, 2009 at 10:49 pm

    Also, what type of PayPal account are you linking to your RBC US account? Are you using the American Website Payments Pro or Canadian Website Payments Pro?

    Thank you very much.

  • 68 Jennie // Mar 23, 2009 at 4:07 pm

    Never mind – as of Mar 23 2009 it WORKS!!

    Paypal websites pro (Canada) to RBC US$ business bank account. Thanks!

  • 69 Chris Perabo // Mar 24, 2009 at 4:22 pm

    Jennie – Good to hear all worked out. The only caveat (as mentioned by Canadian Capitalist) is that this should only be used to get USD$ funds from PayPal to your RBC USD account.

    My account was blocked once I tried funding PayPal from my USD account, and I still have not been able to get it working again despite calls and emails to PayPal :(

    Any help on this would be appreciated.

  • 70 Frogblender // Mar 26, 2009 at 9:58 am

    HINTS FOR RESURRECTING BLOCKED ACCOUNTS:
    Mine too was temporarily blocked, when I accidently tried to use it as a funding source – I called paypal custserv immediately to cancel the transaction; they said they can’t cancel, but I should call my bank and have them block the transaction, which I did (Paypal even offered to pay any service charge which my bank might charge for blocking the transaction (!). See? paypal is not entirely evil)). Anyhoo, paypal predictably blacklisted the account after the aborted transaction; I had to fax in the docs to get it resurrected, and now all is good. I had to state a reason for resurrection on the fax: my reason was short and to the point, and blamed paypal custserv: “Erroneously chose wrong funding source; tried to cancel the transaction and was instructed by paypal customerservice to call my bank and have them block the transaction, which I did. Please re-enable this account”.

    Paypal also requires you to fax in a copy of a BANK STATEMENT. On a completely unrelated note, microsoft Paint, or any graphics program, is capable of removing any occurrence of any word (such as the word “CANADA”, for example) from a screengrab of anything one might happen to view on their computer screen.

  • 71 shark // Apr 1, 2009 at 10:03 am

    Hi, even though the last replies are very recent, has paypal changed? I ask this as i just got burned on transferring money from paypal in US to my cdn td bank and searched for ways in future to save.
    But when i just looked in my paypal acct at the add bank acct section (i am not set up in cda i.e. ready to do it, was just looking) it did not show anything to do with a routing number you guys refer to several times.
    It asks for:
    bank transfer # 5 digits
    institution # 3 digits
    account # 1-12 digits

    at no point is any reference to a 9 digit number or routing number made?
    I have a secondary quesiton in that i was going to open a US funds acct with td and just noticed in my investing td waterhouse acct that i have a cdn funds and separately a us funds acct. Never realized i have a US as i just put in and withdraw in cdn. Could this acct be used?

  • 72 Chris Perabo // Apr 1, 2009 at 1:10 pm

    @frogblender: Thanks. I’ll try this later this week.

    @shark: Sounds like your problem is that you don’t HAVE a USD account. The request for a 9-digit number comes once you select your bank in United States (Canada is selected as default I think).

  • 73 Wendy // May 11, 2009 at 5:59 pm

    Does anyone know if you can Send Money from an account set up this way, without getting blocked?

  • 74 is there any new ways of transferring paypal USD funds to Canadian banks — Canadian Free Stuff // May 31, 2009 at 12:40 pm

    [...] http://www.canadiancapitalist.com/tr…out-of-paypal/ [...]

  • 75 clive // Jun 2, 2009 at 10:07 pm

    I did it. Worked like a charm and saved me a bundle. Wish I’d though of the long-winded search that got me here earlier!
    Thanks!
    Clive

  • 76 RickParis // Jun 3, 2009 at 10:59 am

    Hi all,

    Thanks for the useful comments!

    Has anyone had positive experiences withdrawing funds from PP to other banks then RBC as for example Bank Laurentienne?

    Thanks

  • 77 Kumar // Jun 13, 2009 at 5:37 pm

    HI,

    First ,i would like to thank you for creating such a helpfull post. I’ve opened RBC usd. then i added to paypal with the ABA number which provided with RBC was 021000021, ofcourse it didnt work. Then i try adding with 026004093… no problem.. i got the 2 deposit. then i confirmed with pay pal. it was succesfull. just transfed some funds. i should have it in my account shortly

    Thank You for sharing this information with us.

    Kumar

  • 78 (Canadians) Transferring US dollars out of Paypal | Running an online business // Jul 2, 2009 at 1:25 am

    [...] Some report that if you try to move money the other way (bank account USD –> Paypal), Paypal will freeze your account.  So I wouldn’t try that.  see http://www.canadiancapitalist.com/transferring-us-dollar-funds-out-of-paypal/ [...]

  • 79 Chris Perabo // Jul 13, 2009 at 6:29 pm

    @ Frogblender – thanks for the tip on resurrecting my blocked account. I tried to do it online, but because my 2 deposits were so old, I couldn’t retrieve them (pretty pathetic that RBC only keeps 3 months of records online…)

    So I called PayPal customer service at (888) 221-1161. I told them it was a USD bank account in the US (to avoid any stupid comments), and gave the last 4-digits of my account.

    They proceeded to remove and then re-add the account while I was waiting. I gave them all the same info as listed above (specifically the routing number 026004093)

    Now it works again (yay!).

    Moral of the story: Do NOT, do NOT, do NOT use this account to FUND PayPal. This account is to be used ONLY to withdraw USD funds.

  • 80 Annabella // Jul 14, 2009 at 8:24 am

    How long does it usually take funds to appear in your Canadian account once they transfer from paypal. I have had several transactions in the past 6-7 days and still nothing. This is crazy. I shouldn’t have to wait this long. A money order would have gotten to me quicker.

  • 81 Perry // Aug 21, 2009 at 3:43 pm

    This method is only useful if you are going to keep your funds in USD. If you need the funds in your CAD account right away, then the two methods are virtually the same.

    At the consumer level, most banks will charge 2.5% which may change slightly based on the volume transferred. So even after you deposit the money from PayPal into your RBC US account, when you need to transfer the funds from the US Account to your normal Canadian account you will be charged RBC’s foreign exchange fee’s. (which is 2.5% on top the Bank of Canada’s last closing rate [updated twice a day])

    You can check the difference here:

    http://www.rbcroyalbank.com/cgi-bin/travel/fxconvert.pl

    And the Bank of Canada’s closing rates here:

    http://www.bank-banque-canada.ca/en/rates/exchange.html

    I’ve been using PayPal for contract development invoicing and the foreign exchange fee is usually the same. PayPal does state transactions will take 7 – 10 business days, however with RBC i’ve noticed they usually only take 3 – 4 business days.

  • 82 Ian // Aug 27, 2009 at 11:41 am

    Could anyone point me to a way to transfer US$ funds into paypal from a Canadian account?

  • 83 Chris Perabo // Aug 27, 2009 at 11:48 am

    @Ian – First, why would you want to do that? You can just pay via PayPal and it will convert the rate to CAD from your Canadian Account. True this is more expensive, but it is certainly convenient.

    If you still want to do that, you need to open a USD$ account (most banks have them, but you will probably have to pay to open and/or maintain it), get USD$ in there, and then set up PayPal to draw from it.

  • 84 Ian // Aug 27, 2009 at 1:19 pm

    Chris,

    When you say open a USD$ account, you mean one in the US? I’ve recently tried linking to my US$ RBC account and my Paypal account became locked up.

    Thanks

  • 85 Chris Perabo // Aug 27, 2009 at 3:08 pm

    Had the same problem. I have since opened an account in the US.

  • 86 Scienide // Oct 30, 2009 at 10:51 pm

    Hi, I’m Canadian. Does anyone know how I can transfer USD from PayPal to my Scotiabank USD (Daily Interest) account? I called PayPal and they claim that it is possible to leave my currency in USD when transferred, but how do I go about punching in my information? Do I follow the method that this blog outlines (choose US and use transit+account in one string? Or should I fill it out like it’s a Canadian account?

  • 87 Red // Oct 30, 2009 at 11:14 pm

    I just wanted to let everyone know that I have followed the instructions above and can confirm it worked perfectly. It only takes 48 hours to transfer USD from PayPal to a RBC USD checking account. Thanks everyone so much. Today is Oct. 30th.

  • 88 Jesse // Nov 4, 2009 at 1:00 am

    I can also confirm that as of today, November 3, 2009 that using 026004093 as the routing number works.

  • 89 Canadian Capitalist // Nov 4, 2009 at 11:41 am

    @Scienide: I have no idea if this recipe will work will Scotia USD account. Obviously you need to find the correct routing number in Step 3. Then you have to wait a couple of days to find out if the transfer worked. No harm in trying, I suppose but I have no idea if it will work. Do keep us posted.

  • 90 Scienide // Nov 14, 2009 at 11:18 am

    I’m not able to try it right away, but, since Paypal told me that it’s possible to leave my funds in USD when transferring to a USD account at a Canadian bank, I was wondering if your recipe was even necessary or if I could just select “Canada” as country and fill out the information as usual. I wish there was more info about this. I can’t seem to find anyone under the same circumstances.

  • 91 Gallant // Nov 18, 2009 at 2:35 pm

    Scienide, I’m in the same boat with Scotia. Let me know if you have any more info. I was going to contact them tomorrow. Thanks in advance.

  • 92 Scienide // Nov 18, 2009 at 2:42 pm

    Try linking your Paypal account with your Scotia USD bank account and let us know how it goes. I won’t be able to do it for about another month, but I’m still curious what I’m in for and what to expect. I’m still unsure of what Country to choose and what information to put in when filling out the form. I know Scotia’s routing number is 026002532 though. Thanks in advance :)

  • 93 Scienide // Nov 18, 2009 at 6:02 pm

    Just brainstorming here, but I believe this is how you would fill out the form for a Scotiabank USD account:

    Country: United States
    Bank Name: The Bank of Nova Scotia
    Routing Number: 026002532

  • 94 Scienide // Nov 18, 2009 at 6:04 pm

    Account Number: 5 digit transit # + 7 digit account # (12 digit string)

  • 95 Ed // Nov 20, 2009 at 3:30 pm

    hi
    since this trick to deposit U$D from paypal to RBC works fine
    Any way we can move Euros from paypal to any Canadian Bank ?
    i know rbc and td don’t have these, but hsbc and scotia do.
    this would save me from having to cash out my euros at low paypal rates :)
    thanks

  • 96 John // Nov 20, 2009 at 7:04 pm

    A lot of good suggestions above. I have used some of the options above but have moved to http://www.Knightsbridgefx.com for foreign currency transfers and wires.

    I have also met the management team in person – great guys. They primarily deal with large corporations.

    They will also help you transfer funds between accounts at a cheaper rate than the bank. Their wire fees are much lower than the bank as well. Best of all, you talk to intelligent individuals with a single phone call.

    They have beat any competitor I have looked at. I have a business where I need to pay suppliers in USD and EUR – they saved me a couple grand annually for my business. Just give them a call and get a quote – you can calculate the savings yourself.

  • 97 Fender // Nov 22, 2009 at 9:26 am

    Does anyone know if this works for BMO accounts?

    If not, I’ll just have to open an RBC account myself

  • 98 Squawkfox // Dec 11, 2009 at 6:26 pm

    Thank you thank you thank you!

  • 99 Scienide // Dec 30, 2009 at 9:14 pm

    I just added my Scotiabank USD Savings bank account to my PayPal account with the information I posted above (see post 93-94). I will follow up with what happens…

    If this doesn’t work, I will try Canada as Country (instead of United States) and fill out the rest of the information accordingly, but I’m doubting that the funds will remain in USD if I have to resort to trying this method.

  • 100 Scienide // Jan 2, 2010 at 12:12 am

    PayPal is saying “Deposits Sent” although the deposits do not show in my Scotiabank USD account. I’m not sure if this means that linking the account was unsuccessful or if it’s because of the holidays. Does anyone know if it should be instant or if it’s common to have to wait a few days even after it claims that the deposits were sent? I’ll wait a few more days and perhaps call Scotiabank to see if they can tell me anything. I’d rather not deal with PayPal since I don’t care for their help desk, but I may have to call to see if they can help me with this.

  • 101 Scienide // Jan 7, 2010 at 1:11 am

    Paypal nuked the pending account that I tried to add so this method does not work for Scotiabank. I’ve tried filling out the information as per usual, but I pretty much know that it will want to convert USD to CAN… EVEN THOUGH, I spoke to a Paypal rep who claimed that I am indeed able to withdraw USD to my USD bank account in Canada (I even made them double check with their supervisor and they swore up and down that I can do this). Perhaps they were assuming I had a Centura account and knew the method that this blog outlined! :P

    If this doesn’t work, as I expect it not to, it looks like I’ll have to get a Centura account or cross the border and get a genuine US account.

  • 102 Scienide // Jan 11, 2010 at 1:54 am

    As expected, setting up the USD account in Canada as country sends CAD currency confirmation deposits and of course the USD account does not handle CAD currency so the deposits were not able to be made.

    It looks like I’ll have to get a RBC Centura account. I have however heard rumours that BMO allows you to set up a USD account which is essential a true USD account (cheques will have a NY branch address on them). Does anyone know anything about this? Or will I just have to suck it up and get a Centura account?

  • 103 Matthias // Jan 20, 2010 at 9:24 am

    Let me know if you have any success getting a Centura account. RBC says they no longer offer centura accounts for this purpose.

    I’m still trying to find a solution other than paying 2.5% on the currency conversion.

  • 104 Scienide // Jan 20, 2010 at 11:40 am

    “RBC says they no longer offer centura accounts for this purpose.”

    Really?! I just applied for a Centura account (had to set up a regular CDN account with them first) and I told them why I wanted it. It takes about 10 days for them to review and approve the account. If I don’t get approved, or the Centura account can’t be used for this purpose, I’ll be canceling both of my RBC accounts. I’ll let you know how it goes.

  • 105 Squawkfox // Jan 20, 2010 at 12:04 pm

    Has anyone tried transferring out of Paypal via the RBC U.S. High Interest eSavings account? I’m trying to choose between this eSavings account (no monthly fee) and the U.S. Personal Banking account ($2 per month).

  • 106 Scienide // Jan 20, 2010 at 12:15 pm

    Squawk: If your goal is to keep the funds in USD when they land in your bank account in Canada, you will need a genuine US account (Centura is the closest thing to it, next to crossing the border and opening an account at a US bank). Although, a previous poster claims that even Centura may not even support this anymore (which was the entire topic of the article). Using this method with any Canadian-based US currency account will not work though.

  • 107 kookie // Jan 26, 2010 at 12:18 am

    I just opened a Canadian based USD account with RBC and linked it to Paypal. It just works fine. I also opened a RBC Centura account also through the local Canadian Branch and it works fine as well.

    On the other end, if you have a business account with Paypal and withdrawing funds to the RBC USD account, it can be a problem because Paypal business account will send money through the business name, however your RBC account will be under your personal name.

    I spoke with Paypal and they recommended opening another Personal paypal account. They said that I should gift money from my Paypal Business account to Paypal personal account. No fee will be charged. Your Bank Account should be linked to your personal Paypal account!

  • 108 Scienide // Jan 26, 2010 at 1:28 am

    “I just opened a Canadian based USD account with RBC and linked it to Paypal. It just works fine.”

    For what purpose does it work just fine? You’re able to send USD to your RBC USD account (not the Centura account)? If so, what information did you put in the “add bank account” form to be able to keep the funds in USD? Did you choose US as country? Please provide more information. Thanks.

  • 109 Andrei // Jan 26, 2010 at 1:37 am

    I need PayPal.
    Can pay to your USD or CAD acc. to any banks.

  • 110 kookie // Jan 27, 2010 at 1:30 am

    Local RBC USD Personal Account

    Choose US as country
    Paypal Routing: 026004093

    I was able to transfer money from Paypal to bank in USD
    I have heard that with RBC local USD personal account, you would not be able to transfer money to Paypal. Your paypal account will be locked.

    Keep in mind that Paypal account, if premier or business account must match the name on the RBC account.

    I hope this information is useful to you.

  • 111 Scienide // Feb 5, 2010 at 1:50 pm

    I got a Centura account but turns out my branch is located in FL so the routing number is 067012882.

    I’m confused because there are no such thing as transit numbers in the US, so I don’t have a 5-digit transit that I can include in my account number like the blog outlines. Unless it’s referring to my Canadian RBC account transit? But I don’t see why that would even be related. Can someone clear this up for me?

    All I have to work with are my routing number and 10-digit account number. Seems pretty straightforward – I don’t see why I can’t just put in the routing and account number… and be on my way. Thanks in advance.

  • 112 Scienide // Feb 5, 2010 at 1:59 pm

    Sorry for the confusion, kookie. You are talking about a regular USD account (not the Centura). So you’re saying I don’t even need the Centura account. I just need a regular USD account and then I use my Canadian transit+account number with the provide NY-based routing number. I’m wondering if I should keep my Centura account or just close it and get a regular USD account. I like the Centura account though because I’m able to cross the border and use my card.

  • 113 kookie // Feb 5, 2010 at 7:52 pm

    For RBC Canada based USD account, you will use the Routing Code 026004093 and would add your transit and account number.

    So lets say your transit number is: 01234 and account number is: 7654321, you would put the account number as: 012347654321.

    For RBC Centura account, use the routing numer that you mentioned in the post 067012882 and then put only the account number. You are correct no transit for RBC Centura.

    Like you said RBC Centura is good if you want to use the debit in US plus you can get a free credit card (no annual fee) unlike in Canada. This will also establish somewhat your American Credit history if you move to US.

  • 114 Scienide // Feb 6, 2010 at 4:43 pm

    I set up my Centura and US Personal account with Paypal and it now says Deposits sent… but I don’t see anything in either account. I’m wondering if it’s because I set them up on Friday and Paypal sent the deposits but they haven’t showed up because it’s not during the business week…

  • 115 Scienide // Feb 8, 2010 at 6:19 pm

    Thanks for the help, everyone. I got both accounts up and running. Dealing with RBC has been a breeze compared to other financial institutions.

    If anyone figures out how to transfer USD from Paypal to other Canadian-based USD personal accounts, let us know! I would still like to know if there’s a routing number/transit+account trick that I an use with Scotia and BMO.

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