We are TD bankers, but also have a BMO account. We thought we had it sorted out, but now TD is stating that we can only deposit in that account and can not withdraw?
I'm not sure what this means. I have used both TD's US Convenience Checking account, and BMO's Everyday Checking Account (BMO Harris Bank in the US). Both banks are accustomed to dealing with Canadian customers, and both accounts are regular US bank accounts, offered to and regularly used by US residents. There's no reason you shouldn't be able to use either of them to pay DVC dues.
For me, there are three main considerations in choosing a US bank account:
1. Cost of the account(s)
2. Ease of access to funds
3. Location of branches.
In my opinion, the RBC product is expensive. My understanding is that you have to have both US and Canadian based USD accounts. And to transfer money into the USD account(s), you pretty much need a CAD RBC account as well. When I last looked at it, I believe that there was no way to avoid the $4/month US account fee, and unless you already had a Canadian Royal Bank account with a substantial minimum balance, there was also a fee associated with the Canadian USD account. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong. Once you have all that set up, and if you're okay both with the extra fees, and with the maintenance of several bank accounts that you might not use on an everyday basis, it does seem to be one of the easier products to use. Lots of people seem to be very happy with it.
For comparison, my US TD account requires a minimum $100 balance to avoid monthly fees. BMO Harris requires minimum $1000 balance or incoming deposits totalling at least $500 in the month.
Both accounts can be opened remotely, and accessed online. Both banks issue debits cards for the accounts (Visa at TD, Mastercard at BMO). I don't believe that BMO supports any integration with their Canadian accounts. TD does, but I don't think it's quite as seamless as the RBC product. Personally, I have no interest in maintaining a Canadian USD account - I just have no use for it. I keep my US dollars in my US account. I fund it using XE Trade, which offers both a better conversion rate and more flexibility than the banks, and only takes a day or two to clear payment. On the odd occasion when I have a US cheque, it can be mailed for deposit. I have never had a reason to want to access US cash in Canada, but I'm pretty sure that if I did, I could withdraw from my US TD bank account, using my US debit card, at any Canadian TD account that issues US cash. I've also never wanted to exchange US dollars back to Canadian funds, but if I did, I could use XE Trade for that. Almost anything else I want to do can be done online.
So why does branch location matter? Very occasionally, I *have* needed to get to a branch. A couple of years ago, my husband needed to set a new PIN number on his debit card, and for some reason they insisted he needed to go to a branch to do this (can't remember the details, and not sure I ever really understood the reason). By some stroke of pure chance, he happened to be travelling near a branch at that time, so it wasn't a huge deal. But in general we are rarely near a BMO Harris branch, so that's a bit of a problem. Also when I purchased my resale DVC contract recently, I wanted to send either a US bank draft or a domestic US wire for payment, both to avoid the exorbitant fees that the title company wanted for an international wire, and because that's where my US funds were located. I couldn't do either of those things without visiting a branch. That's what prompted me to open the US TD account; there are branches within a drivable distance of my home. Granted, it's a long drive for a trip to the bank, and I wouldn't want to do it often, but I feel better knowing that I *can* get to a branch if I need to. I also prefer to avoid ATM fees when I can, although that's a minor thing.
My understanding is that both RBC and TD offer some level of support for their US based accounts at Canadian branches, with RBD being probably better than TD. Again, no integration at BMO that I'm aware of. For reference, TD has quite a heavy presence on the Eastern Seaboard. BMO Harris branches are mainly in the Midwest, particularly around the Chicago area. Both have branches and ATMs in Orlando, but TD's are much more common.
Given that you already bank with TD in Canada, I would think that the US TD account would work very well for you - but then I don't know what sort of trouble you've run into. Certainly the information that you "can only deposit in that account and can not withdraw" cannot be accurate, in the generic sense. That would be great for the bank, I guess, but I don't know too many consumers who would sign up for that!
