Move USD from PayPal to USD account in Canada

[ocgltd]

I have a large USD balance in my PayPal account, and I want to transfer it to my USD bank account, in Canada.  I don't want to move the money from USD -> CAD -> USD as I will incur significant exchange fees.

I've tried several times to add my Canadian USD account to PayPal but it refuses (says Canadian accounts must contain CAD).  I tried to add this as a US bank account but that didn't work either.

Help - how do I get my money out without all the exchange fees?

[Gasore]

Nice to know. And what's required like do I need to have an address in US and can I just use my Canadian credentials (address, ID's) especially I already have an account here

[Jadchor]

So I was able to transfer my USD balance in my Canadian PayPal account to my newly opened CIBC Bank USA Smart Account flawlessly. When I opened up the CIBC Bank USA Smart Account it's a US Checking Account based in the US but linked to my Canadian CIBC Online Banking. I was given a US Routing Number and US Account Number, which allowed me to use the "Link a U.S. bank instead" option on PayPal. The routing number and account number worked and PayPal transferred a couple small transactions under $0.50 USD for me to confirm the bank account. Afterward, it was successfully linked and I confirmed with PayPal that my USD balance would transfer dollar-for-dollar into the US Bank Account (i.e., no fees or double exchange rate conversions). I completed the transfer today and 100% of all my USD balance is now in my CIBC Bank USA Smart Account.

[smj777]

I finally was able to transfer USD funds out of PayPal Canada to my bank account.  It took over 6 weeks of calling Paypal, RBCBank (US) and RBC Canada.  Here is the short answer of how to do it:

1) Open a Cross border bank account... meaning a bank account in a US Bank in the US.  Most Cdn banks have some form of cross border services like this.

2) Find the option on PayPal to "Link a US Account".  The Banks that PayPal shows you initially are all based in Canada and they are separate from their US branches.  Paypal always by default links you to PayPal Canada... this is not obvious despite the same website address.

3) Enter in the Branch and Transit Number of the Bank

4) Find the option to "confirm this account" or something like that on paypal. 

5) Paypal will then make two small deposits into that account (less than 50cents) within 2-3 business days

6) While you're waiting for those two deposits to show up, make sure all of your personal info is up to date on PayPal (more on this later)

7)  When the deposits show up, log into Paypal and select that bank account.... it will ask you to enter the two separate amounts into paypal.  Once you enter the amounts it should tell you the account is confirmed.

😎go ahead and transfer the money.  Mine said the money will be deposited in 2 days.

*** If you get to the end and PayPal says "we can't confirm it's you" wait 3 business days and don't touch your account.  I kept spinning my wheels here because every attempt I made, it would trip the account security reset it and prolong the wait time.  I deleted an old phone number in my account as PayPal was going to call it and verify the initial transfer transaction.  None of the agents I spoke with could do anything about it if the security gets triggered.  One agent said wait 24 hrs...doesn't work.  One agent said wait 48 hrs... doesn't work.  The next agent said wait 72 hrs.  That finally worked.

The back story:

Dude buys something I was selling and wires money to me in USD as he was in Ohio.  I tried linking my debit card, credit card, Checking account... and Paypal would say your bank doesn't allow this or something like that.  I called RBC, and they suggested getting a Virtual Visa Debit card.  I did.  I linked it, verified it... still won't transfer.

Called Paypal many times and most agents were of no help.  Then suddenly one day, I noticed that it would link that card and I could retrieve the money.  The only thing was I could see the horrible exchange rate and extra service fee PayPal was going to add on.  I searched the web and found info about linking a US Bank to keep the currency in USD and let the bank do the exchange at a better rate and avoid and extra 3.7% transaction fee.  A family member told me it's called a "cross border" account.  RBC has a different website for this... rbcbank.com.

I opened the account, verified it with PayPal, and tried to do the transfer.  PayPal would always say "we can't verify it's you" and I spun out on this for 3 weeks calling Paypal and retrying.  Finally today, I tried the transfer and it worked...after not touching the account for 5 days... just wanted to make sure by waiting a bit longer.  Hope this helps someone in the future.

Sean

[NeverAgain3]

-------VERY SIMPLE UPDATED METHOD THAT CAN BE DONE IN 2-3 DAYS-------

Note: I use Wise (formerly TransferWise) as the example US bank account located in the US because it uses the real mid-market exchange rate for conversions. It has a fee to withdraw and send money but it's still much cheaper than PayPal. This method serves as a way to get your USD converted into CAD from PayPal to your CAD bank account without all the hefty PayPal fees. Not sure if Wise can send USD from a US bank account located in the US to a US Canadian bank account.

1. Create a wise.com account and setup a US bank account. Very simple. No need for any US identification.

2. Login to PayPal and go to https://www.paypal.com/ca/smarthelp/contact-us. Click the call us option at the bottom right corner. There will then be a 6 digit code that displays on the screen and a phone number you can call. This method allows you to fast track your call to an automated system that can be used to add a US bank account. 

3. Call the number and answer a few questions. You'll also get a 6 digit SMS text to confirm your identity as well. When asked to add a CANADIAN bank account say "No". Once you do it'll start directly adding asking for your "Routing number" and "Account number" (these are specific to US bank accounts; if you're using Wise, use the information for "Banks inside the US"). 

4. Enter those in using the keypad (or say it). Once the system confirms it has been added you can refresh PayPal's website. The US bank account should appear with a yellow exclamation mark beside it. Wait the 2-3 days to confirm the deposits that PayPal makes. I'm still on the last step waiting to confirm those deposits but I think I won't run into any issues here.

5. Once the bank account is linked, you can happily withdraw your USD to your US bank account without any fees. If you're using Wise, then when the time is right, convert the USD to CAD using their exchange rate and withdraw that to your Canadian bank account.

This issue has finally found a reasonable answer. I hope this helps everyone else out there.

[smj777]

I think part of the reason why it’s difficult for a Cdn citizen to deal with usd currency is PayPal perceives it as a high risk transaction. For me, the only info the agent would divulge was amount, funding source, and “other factors” which left me stuck for weeks. If you can setup a real US cross border account through your CDN Bank, PayPal doesn’t charge any fee to transfer because you’re staying in USD. The whole point of cross border is to bypass needing us Id, address, and phone number. The Cdn bank knows you and that’s why it’s actually pretty quick to set it up. PayPal Will only charge the fee to the original buyer. Sean <Removed>

[RainCitySkills]

NeverAgain3 did this end up being successful?

[NeverAgain3]

Yup, it worked. I've made a couple withdrawals already, takes around 1 business day to withdraw. Sorry, forgot to give an update, got busy with university.

[laserfocus]

This used to work for me, but ever since a few days ago I guess paypal "closed the hole" and now im no longer able to xfer my USD funds into my USD account on US soil.

I get the option to choose how much USD i wanna xfer, but then the button says "transfer $xxx CND now", so it automatically converts despite me telling them I want the funds in USD.

After calling support and asking about this sudden change (I was able to get it working for YEARS), they said those years were a fluke and I was never supposed to be able to xfer in USD since im in canada and this is a canadian account.

Super lame.

[MJG-514]

I completed a USD transfer to my personal TD Bank (USA) account earlier this week without an issue. My PayPal account is technically a Canadian one…

[laserfocus]

Took me an hour but just got off the phone with PayPal customer support manager.

I asked him why I was able to transfer USD from my Canadian paypal account to my USD US bank account without issues before and then suddenly stopped being able to.

Also why some people can do this successfully and some can't.

Turns out it's not PayPal that changed the rules, but CANADIAN BANKS just a few weeks ago.

he said they made a new rule saying money coming from PayPal must be converted into Canadian dollar first - whether you have a US US bank account or not.

He said the change will be taking place across all Canadian accounts, but they are doing it some accounts at a time. So he said in the very near future, NO ONE will be able to transfer USD funds from paypal to a US account IF they have a canadian paypal account.

Hope that answers some questions, sure did mine after I insisted to speak to a manager for 20 minutes on the call...