Which institutions in Canada offer true read-only guest accounts?
Converting fideli comment to answer I don't think any Canadian bank offers this capability for online banking. However, there seems to be a fierce push right now at most banks to improve their online banking platform so they may be open to the suggestion of guest accounts
"sorry, my response was supposed to be to the above comment, not yours. My main point was that colonizing in Africa, where there was already a large population did not require bringing in people (which you would need to incentivize to move to, hence offering the ""free"" carrot of property rights to settlers of NA) to extract resources. Instead the British (and other European powers) just used the local populace to extract the resources. The main reason the US and Canada are well off is that property rights were established very early on and this encouraged people to ""invest"" and produce more because the higher production accrued to the producer and the producer would have legal recourse should a negative ""externality"" be put upon them by someone else. Obviously there were other reasons as well, but property rights are huge (this is true globally now) in encouraging people to ""grow"" their assets. Part of the reason Africa is still so screwed up is that many of their institutions and governments are too corrupt to protect their citizens' property rights, thereby discouraging investment and production." "My solution when I lived in Singapore was to open an account with HSBC, who at the time also had branches in the US. When I was home, I used the same debit card, and the bank only charged a nominal currency exchange fee (since it never had to leave their system, it was lower than had it left their system). Another option, though slightly more costly, is to use Paypal. A third option is to cash-out in CAD and convert to USD at a ""large"" institution - the larger your deposit/conversion balance, the better the rate you can get. To the best of my knowledge, this shouldn't be taxable - presuming you've paid the taxes on it to start with, and you've been filing your IRS returns every year you've been in Canada." Lending isn't profitable when interest rates are this low.  Consider what's involved to offer a savings or checking account.  The bank must maintain branches with tellers.  The bank has to pay rent (or buy and pay property taxes and utilities).  The bank has to pay salaries.  The bank has to maintain cash so as to make change.  And pay for insurance against robbery.  All of that costs money.   At 6% interest, a bank can sort of make money.  Not great money, but it takes in more than it has to pay out.  At 4% interest, which is about where ten year mortgage rates are in Canada, the bank doesn't make enough margin.  They are better off selling the loan and closing their branches than offering free checking accounts.   An additional problem is that banks tend to make money from overdraft fees.  But there's been a move to limit overdraft fees, as they target the most economically vulnerable.  So Canadian banks tend to charge monthly fees instead.  UK banks may also start charging monthly fees if interest rates stay low and other fees get curtailed. Thanks for the link to the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, @ChrisW.Rea. It explained in clear terms that I can withdraw money from and transfer money to the line of credit any time I want. The only monthly payment needed is the minimum payment. And yes, it may have a term after which all remaining principal + interest must be paid back in full. Similar to a credit card, as you pay off your line of credit, you can   draw on it again, up to the limit you are allowed. However, a key   difference between a line of credit and a credit card is that with a   line of credit there is no interest-free grace period. You will have   to pay interest on the amount you borrow from the day you take the   money out. You will receive a monthly statement that shows the amount that you   owe on your line of credit. You must make at least a minimum payment   on that balance every month. (n.b. Specific terms and conditions for lines of credit vary from institution to institution.) I'm fully aware of that fact, however enrollment via the club card is what gets your name and address on every freaking mailing list between SkyWays and Harriet Carter.  It's also one more damned thing I have to make sure I've got, or have to remember whatever bullshit phone number I made up when I enrolled.  Just no. Your sister-in-law should know that anybody, US citizen or not, can open a US bank account. She should do that and then pay her 20k fee to the company. I'm a Canadian citizen and I have a US bank account and I don't even live nor work in the United States. I only use it when I travel for leisure and order online. This looks like a scam, but if you know well your sister-in-law, it may not be. From a Canadian point of view, I think we are generally very similar to how you describe Austria.  The only thing I use cash for, is to pay for my coffee at a local micro-roaster who only accepts cash.  Cheques, I only use to pay friends.  Everything else is debit or credit card.  Very few businesses around here will even accept cheques anymore. "&gt;Canada has universities that are hugely benefitting. Students don’t want to go to a country where they think they will be unwelcome. Smart people from India and China look at Trump and they make the decision that serves their interests the best.  No data. Have you been to China? Do you speak Chinese?  ""I’d shut the fuck up about things I don’t understand"""