I have a client from Canada who wishes to pay me with checks (it is their company policy), can I deposit a Canadian check in my US bank?
Yes. Of course.
Deena
Really, it is that simple? 
yup.
It hasn’t been THAT simple for me. One bank puts a 2-week hold on the checks, another tries to charge a $35 fee, and another used a totally ridiculous exchange rate + a 2% ‘fee’ on top of that. My main business account doesn’t accept non US deposits at all, but most banks will.
So, you can usually deposit a Canadian check into a US account, but check for fees and policies first.
You should check and see if your client has the ability to write a check in U.S. funds. My main business also receives payment from Canadian customers and their checks say “Payable in U.S. Funds” or some variation. Otherwise you will have to contend with exchange rates and such. If the check is for $1000 CND, that would not exchange exactly for $1000 USD.
Agreed with Sagewing, check with your bank about hidden fees for cashing foreign checks.
Chase Bank wants to charge me $35 and takes 3-4 weeks to clear Canadian funds. It doesn’t matter if it’s in US funds or not - it’s still a foreign check. I let Canadian corporations pay me with a check only if it’s drawn on a US bank - otherwise its PayPal or International Postal Money Order.
Yes.
I’m from Canada, I send a lot of cheques to the US. Some companies will require certified checks but that’s the exception. As long as it is clearly a company check there is no problem. Sometimes there is a 15 day hold put on the check, but that’s it.
No problems.
I’m a Canadian living here in the USA for 15 years now, I’d switch banks… My little bank, Nevada State charges a $5.00 handling fee, and processes all Canadian funds within 48 hours. Bank to Bank Transfers are a little more expensive, but less than 24 hours to clear funds… Chase is ripping you dude.
Washington Mutual is not a good one to deal with either. If their state doesn’t physically border on Canada they can’t accept funds from Canada. I switched banks the same day I found that out.
I haven’t actually cashed any Canadian checks with Chase… but if I did those are their terms. I just get Canadians to use alternate payment methods.
What he said. The bank will convert the check given the current conversion rate.
It only gets a bit more complicated if you decided to take a wire transfer from outside the country. Then you sometimes have to wait and/or pay a $XX fee (Bank of America charges $15) for an international wire transfer.