US phone line (esim) on iPhone…has anyone done this?

[MTH]

Hello! I’m considering adding an second US phone line to my phone using Mint Mobile. Has anyone done this? What I’d like to do is be able to receive e-checks (equivalent to e-transfer here in Canada) from the US (ex when renting out points) and deposit directly in to my US based bank account. Apparently I need a US phone number to do this. The alternative is a deposit into PayPal (automatically converted to CAD) then deposit to my Canadian bank then re-convert to USD and deposit to my Canadian based USD account and then transfer to my US based account. Tedious but more importantly this results money lost. Something I’m not a fan of . I have a data plan from Keepgo that I can use for data but this does not give me a phone #. Anyone have any other ideas? TIA!

 

[Disney_Alli]

Hello! I’m considering adding an second US phone line to my phone using Mint Mobile. Has anyone done this? What I’d like to do is be able to receive e-checks (equivalent to e-transfer here in Canada) from the US (ex when renting out points) and deposit directly in to my US based bank account. Apparently I need a US phone number to do this. The alternative is a deposit into PayPal (automatically converted to CAD) then deposit to my Canadian bank then re-convert to USD and deposit to my Canadian based USD account and then transfer to my US based account. Tedious but more importantly this results money lost. Something I’m not a fan of . I have a data plan from Keepgo that I can use for data but this does not give me a phone #. Anyone have any other ideas? TIA!

I get USD deposited into my PayPal account all the time and it always stays in USD... are you sure yours automatically converts it to CAD?

Sorry I can't help with anything else

 

[deedubb]

Although Mint gives you a US#, I don't think you can actually use it while you're in Canada. Not sure if that will be a problem.

You could link your PayPal to your US based account which will keep your funds in USD. You could also ask renters to send you a cheque if they are based in the US, then deposit into your US account.

 

[MTH]

Although Mint gives you a US#, I don't think you can actually use it while you're in Canada. Not sure if that will be a problem.

You could link your PayPal to your US based account which will keep your funds in USD. You could also ask renters to send you a cheque if they are based in the US, then deposit into your US account.

Thanks for your reply! Have you done this with PayPal and a US based account? It would be a super easy solution. When I called PayPal they told me there was no way. Zero. Zip. Nada. That the funds are automatically converted to CAD when deposited to a Canadian PayPal due to government regulations.

 

[deedubb]

Thanks for your reply! Have you done this with PayPal and a US based account? It would be a super easy solution. When I called PayPal they told me there was no way. Zero. Zip. Nada. That the funds are automatically converted to CAD when deposited to a Canadian PayPal due to government regulations.

I have not done this. My USD account is based in Canada, so it cannot be done. However, I have read that people who have a USD account at a bank based in the US (I think BMO and RBC have this) have done it.

 

[MTH]

Thank you!

 

[MTH]

I get USD deposited into my PayPal account all the time and it always stays in USD... are you sure yours automatically converts it to CAD?

Sorry I can't help with anything else

Hmmm…A deposit automatically converted just last week. I’ll have to look in to this some more. Maybe something in my settings. CAD is my primary currency which I don’t necessarily want to change.

 

[Disney_Alli]

Hmmm…A deposit automatically converted just last week. I’ll have to look in to this some more. Maybe something in my settings. CAD is my primary currency which I don’t necessarily want to change.

I routinely get both and both stay in their original currency but who knows. They change stuff all the time!

 

[mab2012]

OP, unless there is something really "special" about your account, the answer you got from PayPal is total bollocks. No doubt they would prefer every transaction to be converted at their garbage exchange rate, but it's not necessary.

I just went through this with a renter recently. What I found is that when sending money, PayPal will default to the currency of the account involved, on both the sending and receiving ends. So a US payer will, by default, "send" in US dollars, and if the payee account is in Canada, they will "receive" in Canadian dollars. This is made very clear at the time of the transaction. But there are little drop down boxes under the amounts to be sent/received that allow you to change the currency sent, received, or both - to US only, or any combination of currencies you want.

You can see this really easily yourself if you just start a "send" transaction from your own PayPal account to a US account (maybe someone who has sent you money in the past) - you don't have to complete the transaction, just start it. Should look like this:



So the key is just to make it really clear to whoever is sending payment that they will need to change the default currency in order to keep the transaction in US dollars only.

 

[mab2012]

Thanks for your reply! Have you done this with PayPal and a US based account? It would be a super easy solution. When I called PayPal they told me there was no way. Zero. Zip. Nada. That the funds are automatically converted to CAD when deposited to a Canadian PayPal due to government regulations.

I think what they mean by this is that they can't deposit US funds into a Canadian USD denominated bank account. Probably the person you talked to is either unclear on their own company policies, or misunderstood what you meant.

I can absolutely hold USD funds in my Canadian PayPal account, and transfer those funds in and out of my linked, US based, BMO bank account. No issue at all.

 

[MTH]

OP, unless there is something really "special" about your account, the answer you got from PayPal is total bollocks. No doubt they would prefer every transaction to be converted at their garbage exchange rate, but it's not necessary.

I just went through this with a renter recently. What I found is that when sending money, PayPal will default to the currency of the account involved, on both the sending and receiving ends. So a US payer will, by default, "send" in US dollars, and if the payee account is in Canada, they will "receive" in Canadian dollars. This is made very clear at the time of the transaction. But there are little drop down boxes under the amounts to be sent/received that allow you to change the currency sent, received, or both - to US only, or any combination of currencies you want.

You can see this really easily yourself if you just start a "send" transaction from your own PayPal account to a US account (maybe someone who has sent you money in the past) - you don't have to complete the transaction, just start it. Should look like this:

View attachment 661731

So the key is just to make it really clear to whoever is sending payment that they will need to change the default currency in order to keep the transaction in US dollars only.

Thank you so much for this detailed response - this is very helpful!

 

[MTH]

I think what they mean by this is that they can't deposit US funds into a Canadian USD denominated bank account. Probably the person you talked to is either unclear on their own company policies, or misunderstood what you meant.

I can absolutely hold USD funds in my Canadian PayPal account, and transfer those funds in and out of my linked, US based, BMO bank account. No issue at all.

Good to know - my US based account is also BMO. I'll get that linked up and give it another try - thank you for the info!