Upgrade to USD accounts

In this article:

Overview

When you upgrade to USD accounts, you'll get a USD account associated with each of your CAD self-directed stock trading accounts. USD accounts allow you to trade U.S. securities without the conversion fee on every order.

Upgrading to USD accounts also grants you access to:

  • U.S. dollar trading accounts with no foreign exchange fees or commissions for buying and selling U.S. equities. Instead, you only pay a foreign exchange fee when converting funds from one currency to another to use in your USD account.
  • The option to deposit U.S. dollars from another Canadian institution into Wealthsimple with no foreign exchange fees.
  • An instant trading limit of up to $50,000. 

After you upgrade to USD accounts, we’ll automatically transfer your U.S. assets from your CAD self-directed trading account into your new USD account. If you hold a security on a US exchange that is dual-listed on a Canadian exchange, we'll automatically convert it to the Canadian option. This is because we don't support dual-listed securities.

Tip: If you want to transfer a USD self-directed stock trading account to Wealthsimple, you must upgrade to USD accounts in Wealthsimple first. This ensures your assets won't convert to CAD. 

More on U.S. dollar deposits

  • You can make U.S. dollar deposits directly into your USD self-directed stock trading accounts.
  • USD deposits must be made from a U.S. dollar account held at a Canadian banking institution.
  • To make a USD deposit, you will need to link your USD bank account.
Tip: Review the different ways you can add USD funds to your USD account.

Eligible accounts

You can only upgrade individual self-directed trading accounts to USD. Managed, Cash, and Crypto accounts aren't eligible for USD accounts. USD accounts are only available for trading stocks and ETFs, not cryptocurrencies.

Tip: USD accounts can't be opened by themselves. You must have your desired self-directed stock trading account type open before an associated USD account can be added. 

How to upgrade to USD accounts

There are 2 ways that you can upgrade to USD accounts for your self-directed stock trading accounts:

  1. Subscribe to USD accounts by paying a $10 CAD fee each month. This subscription fee isn't taxed.
  2. Qualify by reaching either Premium or Generation status and opting into USD accounts for free.
Note: You must wait approximately 2-4 hours for your account to update before you can convert funds or continue trading. 

Subscribe to USD accounts

Subscribing to USD accounts gives you instant access to all the benefits of USD accounts.

Tip: If you’d like to subscribe to USD accounts and your cash balance is less than $10, you might need to make an instant deposit to complete your subscription.

To subscribe to USD accounts, follow these steps:

  1. Sign in to the Wealthsimple app on your mobile device
  2. Tap the Profile icon at the top-right of the screen
  3. Scroll down and tap USD accounts under More
  4. Select Upgrade
  5. Choose the account you want your monthly subscription payment to come from
  6. Select Confirm

More details

  • Your monthly subscription payment will be withdrawn from your Available to trade balance. Please make sure you have a cash balance in your account to cover the cost of your subscription each month. If you don't want to worry about whether you have enough cash in your account each month, consider setting up an auto-deposit to cover your subscription fee.
  • We’ll notify you in the Wealthsimple app and by email if you don’t have enough funds in your account to cover your subscription fee. 
  • If you decide to cancel your USD accounts in the future, we'll simply merge your Canadian Dollar and U.S. Dollar accounts back into a single account. We'll also convert any remaining USD in your account back to CAD.

Opt-in to USD accounts as a Premium or Generation client

As a Wealthsimple Premium or Generation client, you automatically qualify for free USD accounts. In order to open your USD accounts, you must first opt in. When you opt in, you'll get a USD account to go with each of your CAD self-directed stock trading accounts. Accounts managed by Wealthsimple won't receive a corresponding USD account.

To opt in when you first become a Premium or Generation client, tap Open USD accounts. This will take you through the flow to open your USD accounts.

To opt-in at a later time, click the X in the top right-hand corner of your screen. Then, when you're ready, follow these steps: 

  1. Sign in to the Wealthsimple app on your mobile device
  2. Tap the Profile icon at the top-right of the screen
  3. Scroll down and tap USD accounts under More
  4. Review how USD accounts work, then tap Open USD accounts
  5. Your USD accounts will now be open

Are USD accounts right for me?

If you like to buy and sell U.S. securities several times a month, USD accounts might be a good fit for you. 

In the following example, you can see how a USD account saves you money when you trade a series of U.S. securities. To keep things simple, all amounts are in CAD.

 

CAD accounts

USD accounts

Fees

$0 per month with a 1.5% currency conversion fee when buying and selling U.S. securities

$10 per month (or free with WS Premium/Generation) with a 1.5% currency conversion fee when converting between USD and CAD

Deposit $5,000 CAD and convert to USD

N/A

$75

Buy $2,000 of $A

$30

$0

Sell $1,000 of $A

$15

$0

Buy $1,000 of $B

$15

$0

Buy $3,000 of $C

$45

$0

Sell $1,000 of $A

$15

$0

Buy $1,000 of $D

$15

$0

Sell $3,000 of $C

$45

$0

Buy $1,000 of $D

$15

$0

Buy $2,000 of $B

$30

$0

Sell $2,000 of $D

$30

$0

Sell $1,000 of $D

$15

$0

Convert and withdrawal $3,000 CAD

N/A

$45

Total cost

$270

$130 (includes $10 subscription)

Change your billing account

You can choose which account you'd like your subscription fee to come from. To change your billing account, follow these steps: 

  1. Sign in to the Wealthsimple app on your mobile device
  2. Tap the Profile icon at the top-right of the screen
  3. Scroll down and tap USD accounts under More
  4. Tap on Billing account and select a different account

Frequently asked questions

How do USD accounts work?

Tip: If you'd like to get right into the details of how USD accounts work, we recommend taking a look at our guide to Using USD accounts.

When you upgrade to USD accounts, we'll automatically add a USD account to each of your eligible accounts. We'll also transfer any U.S. assets you hold in your CAD account into your USD account.

When you want to add funds to your USD account, you can convert your Canadian Dollar cash balance into U.S. Dollars. There is a one-time 1.5% foreign-exchange fee to convert your funds from CAD to USD. Alternatively, you can deposit USD directly from a US dollar bank account (at a Canadian financial institution), transfer USD from another institution, or wire USD to your USD account.

Once you have U.S. Dollars in your USD account, there are no fees or commissions to buy or sell shares in your USD account. 

Please note it’s currently not possible to move a USD cash balance between USD accounts. 

How does the instant deposit limit work?

You can deposit your unique instant deposit limit immediately every 3 business days. You can use it all at once as a single deposit, or make multiple deposits within the 3-day period.

For example, let's say your instant deposit limit is $5,000. You may choose to deposit $5,000 in one go, or deposit $500 on the first day and then $500 the next day. 

If you deposit more than $5,000 in a single transaction – or in a 3-day window – you can still trade $5,000 straight away. But you'll need to wait three business days before you can trade the extra amount over $5,000. 

Can I transfer assets in a USD account from another institution to Wealthsimple?

Yes, you can transfer your holdings or cash balance from a USD investment account straight into your Wealthsimple USD account. There are no currency conversion fees to transfer U.S. securities or USD cash into your Wealthsimple USD account. 

Note: If you hold a dual-listed security in USD and would like to transfer it to Wealthsimple, we will automatically transfer it into your CAD account.

Can I deposit USD into my USD account? Or withdraw USD from my USD account?

We currently accept deposits in USD to registered as well as non-registered accounts from USD bank accounts.

You can also transfer USD from an investment account at another institution. There are no currency conversion fees when you transfer USD from another institution. 

Can I use journaling or Norbert’s Gambit to avoid currency conversion fees?

Journalling or Norbert’s Gambit, is the process of moving an asset listed in both CAD and USD to the other currency to avoid currency conversion fees.

Wealthsimple doesn't support journalling or Norbert’s Gambit at this time.

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