Questions re: Bank accounts for students

[CDN_dancer]

I'm not really sure where this thread belongs...

I understand that the US doesn't really have nationwide banks, so typically do college students open up a bank account in the city where they're attending college but still maintain an account in their hometown? Do they just transfer their account to a bank in the city of their college?

I'm a Canadian student moving to the US in the fall, so I guess my situation is a little different than a US student simply moving to another city in the US. At this point I'm looking into possibly transferring my current account with a Canadian bank to say HSBC, which has branch locations in both my hometown and in Philadelphia, where I'll be attending school. Of course there is still the issue of converting CAD to USD...but I'm thinking it'll be easier within one bank, versus trying to transfer funds between different banks?

I will of course be discussing all this with my parents, but any advice from people who have experience with this would be appreciated =)

[bessie]

We have nationwide banks. I think Bank of America is one that is commonly found near many college campuses.

[yayverily]

We also use Bank of America. S's accounts are linked to ours, so we can access them on-line and transfer in funds or otherwise deal with any emergency that might arise. S has a savings account and debit card, uses the card extensively as meal plans at his college are virtually nonexistent.

[sueinphilly]

depending on where in Philly you will be B of A may or may not be convenient for you. Check their website and look up locations of the bank and their policy with using out of network ATM.
HSBC has only 1 or 2 branch offices, check out their out of network ATM policy.

FWIW, I use PNC, they are not a (inter)national bank, but they have lots of branch offices and you can withdraw free at all Wawa locations. You don't know Wawa yet, they are a Philly thing, but you will know them once you get here.

[GroovyGeek]

My advice would be to have two accounts, one with HSBC in Canada, the other one with a local bank in Philly. Forget about nation-wide banks, international banks, or even what is best represented in the city. Find out what has the most ATMs around campus, because chances are you will rarely set your foot in the bank, but if they skim $3 off the top every time you withdraw $100 it will add up fast. The alternative is to find a bank that reimburses you for using non-network ATMs, but even then you have to watch out, because nowadays many banks charge you for using their ATMs, regardless of what your bank allows you to do.

You will need HSBC so you can use your Canadian ATM to withdraw from your Canadian account, which will presumably be funded by your parents. As far as exchange rates go, you CANNOT beat what a bank will give you on ATM withdrawals, and most ATMs work worldwide. You will then deposit that in your local bank and withdraw it for free on as-needed basis.

[jmmom]

For most college students, I would say the bank with the handiest ATM (so you do not incur charges using "foreign" ATMs) is the right choice. So see what banks are on/near campus and convenient to you.

If your parents will be funding you in one or more ways (allowance, books, whatever), it is handy if you both have accounts at the same bank - makes transfers from them to you quite easy with a few mouse clicks. For that reason, we - like others - have BofA because it is our account and is convenient to S at school. But it is NOT everywhere.

If whatever bank your parents use (or you have in Canada) is not convenient to your school, that's not a great problem. It's pretty easy to transfer funds online via BillPay - although not as quick as within one bank.

You should be able to get a free account with a bank near your school. There will probably be more than one with a station set up during Orientation to court your business.

[momtn]

My d received mail over the summer from the banks that were associated with her school (in Philadelphia). There were 2 banks that could be tied to the school ID card, so she chose one of those and transfered her money there. She registered for the account online and was sent her cards in the mail to avoid any lines during orientation. All she had to do was link her ID card to the bank at a booth at the info fair - no line and very easy to do. At her school PNC is the most convenient (Upenn).

[momtn]

Now I see that you are attending UPenn. PNC is by far the most convenient. The reason that you would not want HSBC is that it will cost you each time you withdraw money unless you use an HSBC atm machine. I'd make sure there is one on campus. If there is then it's probably the best way to transfer money from CN but I would check their fees and exchange rates to make sure.
You may also be able to get information from the UPenn International Student Services: International Student and Scholar Services - University of Pennsylvania
I remember quite a Canadians at last year's international orientation.

From the site above:
Below is a list of banks in Philadelphia, close to campus, which accept the transfer of funds from overseas:

Commerce Bank
3735 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Tel: (215)387-1000

Citizens Bank
134 South 34th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Tel: (215)387-1900

PNC Bank
3535 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Tel: (215)823-2300

Sovereign Bank
3131 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Tel: (215)382-8005

[mominva]

I am not sure about how it would work internationally but consider that you parents do not need to have a branch in the hometown. They can create automatic transfers to your college account either as a direct payroll deposit (if they are co-owners on your account) or as a recurring transfer to an external bank.
We distributed our contribution to our kids' accounts each of these ways. What worked best for us was distribution monthly on the day of their birthday.

[1of42]

I'm a Canadian currently at Princeton. I had an account with TDCT in Canada, and have kept it, while also opening a checking and savings acct with BoA (they have great deals for students and all that). My parents don't give me money, but when I need to get money from my Canadian account to my American account I generally just bring a bank draft down with me or write a cheque to myself. Neither are particularly quick transfer methods, but I generally bring down enough at the beginning of the semester to last until the end.

[alwaysamom]

cdn dancer, if you happen to be with TD in Canada, they have the largest U.S. operation of any of the big five Canadian banks. Their latest acquisition is Commerce Bank which is based in NJ and presumably has branches in Philadelphia. You might want to look into that if you want to remain with a Canadian bank.

[RacinReaver]

Yeah, I'll second Commerce Bank. My parents have been using them for years and have only said good things about them. While in Pittsburgh, I used Citizens Bank and had fairly positive experiences, as well.

[CDN_dancer]

Wow, thanks for all of the information and advice everyone!

alwaysamom, I am with TD right now, and I didn't realize they had operations in the US; I look into that.

momtn, thanks for the link, and I'll be sure to look into PNC.

Thanks again!

[alwaysamom]

CDN dancer, the integration with Commerce has not been done yet, and I'm not sure when it will be (probably fairly soon), but ask TD where you live now about the possibility of an account with TD Banknorth (which is what their U.S. operation is currently called). Even if the amalgamation isn't complete by the time you're in school in the U.S., you may want to investigate Commerce anyway as they are very well-known for their excellent customer service (one of the reasons that TD bought them!), and eventually it will be TD Commerce.

[vicente]

I use Bank of America because I can withdraw money from my Scotiabank account without paying service fees. Plus they have a lot of ATMs nationwide.

So when I need to transfer a lot of money into the U.S., I go to the U.S., take out the US $$$ from my Scotiabank Canadian dollar account using a Bank of America ATM, and then deposit the money into my Bank of America account. Likewise if I wanted to transfer money back into Canada I'd walk up to a Scotiabank ATM in Canada and put in my Bank of America ATM card and withdraw Canadian dollars.

Much cheaper and faster than doing a wire transfer.