American Dollars

As far as me exchanging US Currency for Canadian Cash thru an American Bank :

I have not done that thru a US bank since 1998, as the only bank in Fairbanks that (still) deals with foreign exchange had given fair competitive rates in the past - close to or matching what a Canadian Bank in Whitehorse or Dawson would offer, as the Canadian Dollar was pretty dismal in value during the 1990's...

In 2006 when I was researching foreign exchange rates posted or quoted over the phone by the bank institutions in Fairbanks and Whitehorse, the banks in Canada were pretty much the same frequency on how they did business as far as general exchange rates were concerned (as you can still buy or sell cash at ANY bank or branch)....

However the same bank in Fairbanks that does the foreign exchange (only their main bank branch located downtown as none of the other branches of the same bank will do any foreign exchange business and will refer you to the main branch) had quoted me a 9 % exchange to buy Canadian Dollars (bank that sells to you), and quoted me I think a 7 % exchange sell rate (selling Canadian Dollars to the bank) which I told the rep that is totally absurd and will take my chances exchanging money in Dawson and hung up, I been exchanging US dollars strictly thru Canadian banks ever since.

In Whitehorse I would only exchange cash thru a bank and not thru a foreign exchange center where their rates would give you a lesser amount, a few times I had ran low on Canadian cash in between my trips as I had paid for a small amount of items at the Whitehorse Walmart with a US $100 bill and got back Canadian change to tie me over til the banks were open the following business day, and another time I hit a couple casino cages in BC to exchange a few dollars to tie me over the weekend which the casino exchange rate and Walmart was better than the rate at a foreign exchange center.

Normally I would exchange enough cash at the bank in Whitehorse to keep $200 to $500 Canadian cash onhand when returning to Alaska for returning trips in Canada to where I would not be constraint over the weekend in Canada waiting for a bank to open, as I sure did not want to spend US cash and having to pay some private business exchange rate which can be double or triple compared to what a bank would exchange.

I found out times had changed in 2010 at least in Whitehorse of that the bank where I normally exchange funds with had a new policy for non account holders by restricting a $1000 limit per day which I was told, so I exchanged currency and got $1000 Canadian, thought I would hit the other banks in Whitehorse as I wanted to exchange $4000 total, however one bank would only exchange $100, and the other remaining banks would not exchange currency with non account holders as they referred me to the bank I exchange currency with or go to an foreign exchange center.

I am one person that refuses to pay for someone elses retirement by avoiding extra bank fees in order to access my money and refuse to give in accepting lower rates of foreign exchange where another place will pay significantly a much better rate, as I tend to rather generously tip and support hard working staff at roadhouses and buying souvenoirs at remote places and such by spending my funds in that direction instead.

I have no credit cards although I do have a Visa debit card but they would charge a foreign transaction fee so I have yet to ever use that.

Following day I exchanged for another $1000 Canadian at the one bank and asked how beneficial would it be for me if I were to open an account in my situation, and the teller told me it would be a great deal of benefit as there would be no limit of exchange amount, no $3.00 non member transaction fee, and perhaps a slightly better exchange rate as well depending what type of account you pursue, she even assured me that there was no inactive fee, which sounded great to me so I told the teller I would love to open an account.

Well the soonest time to open one was two weeks as I was told they had to set up an appointment as all their reps were booked solid, so I made an appointment thinking I was going to return to Whitehorse in 18 days, turned out I had to cancel the appointment because I was two days behind from returning to Whitehorse, so I would try again on my future following trip.

Called the Whitehorse bank to make an appointment before my 2011 trip as they told me they were booked up for that particular day I were to arrive, so I made an appointment on hoping I estimated my day on arriving upon my return enroute back home.

I had exchanged for $2000 Canadian to tie me over for awhile as I happen to arrive in Edmonton and in path of a bank so I stop in to exchange for another $1000 Canadian just to keep one step ahead on Canadian money supply....mentioned to the teller I have an appointment in Whitehorse hoping I will finally open an account once and for all if I can actually make it back on my estimated day as she went out of her way and got a representitive for me and was happy to assist me by opening a new account, only took 45 minutes total...

The man set me up with two accounts actually, a US funds account and a Canadian funds account and let me tell you that I wish american banks would do this sort of thing with foreign exchange.

Foreign Exchange Currency Converter

He also advised me if I want the higher exchange rate, do NOT exchange foreign currency with cash (cash rate) which is why I was set up with the US funds account - that is so you can deposit your US dollars in the US funds account, then TRANSFER your US funds of your desired amount to your Canadian funds account, as you will get the slightly higher (non cash rate) around .004% more vs the cash rate.

It is sooooo nice to transfer funds when it is favorable to do so, as after making three foreign exchange transfers in a one year span by increasing my Canadian dollars reserve, as my Canadian dollars started out at .9702 USD, now I increased my Canadian dollars reserve over twofold, at the rate of .9870 USD now.....if the bank's USD buy rate reaches 1.0186 or higher, I will transfer my remaining US funds balance so that my entire Canadian dollars reserve will reach the $1.00 par rate - (which I finally achieved that goal in June 2013 and transferred my remaining US funds balance to the Canadian funds account while locked in the bank buy rate at $1.0200 CDN per USD).

The foreign exchange bank buy-sell rate here for buying Canadian dollars with US dollars is typically around a 3% vig, but I can live with that as it sure beats other transaction or higher exchange fees I was subjected to in the past.

I think I am allowed one free ATM withdraw per month and it is a $1.50 fee per withdraw if it is exceeded.

I remember in the 1980's when the gas cards were popular travelling thru Canada, however the farther north you were - the small handful of places wouldn't always accept them or credit cards to render payment, it is always a good idea for a foreign visitor in Canada to have some cash onhand, especially in the older days.

The advanced technology available nowadays for electronic transactions has vastly improved plastic card use throughout the far north of Canada compared to the past to where many people dont feel the need to carry much cash.

As pointed out, having onhand some form of cash is the way to go with the electronic glitches that can occur particularly in the far north, as well as a few places that do not accept credit cards like some government campgrounds, commercial laundry and vending machines that are still setup for cash.

I cant understand why US businesses would treat the Canadian dollar like its worthless and will not accept them, even during times when it would be worth more in value over the US dollar, compared to many Canadian businesses still accept the US dollar with open arms, as they charge their own exchange rate percentage for payment.

I like the fact of having a Canadian bank account, sure benefits me thru my travels in Canada.

Things have changed with the central banking system over the years as the electronic system is vastly improved and practically linked to every place of business throughout North America...so in many ways of transactions used today with a debit or credit card, those that use them know how convienient they are as I too use my one and only debit card for mainly fuel purchases (only within the US though).

Since my first time crossing into Canada in 1985 (23 crossings total to date), I always made the habit of converting my US dollars into Canadian dollars in order to minimize the higher exchange rates you were potentially subjected to if you didn't have Canadian dollars onhand, I have yet to ever use a bankcard while in Canada.

The rule of thumb at least thru the early 1990's that I can vouch to was :

Whenever a foreign visitor entered Canada, particularly driving to Alaska you would have to carry sufficient funds (cash on hand) and physically show the customs or immigration officer when requested, (as many remote businesses back then the farther north you were they would not accept bankcards in the past but US dollars in many places were widely accepted as it is still that way today).

Depending where you were if you didn't have Canadian funds onhand, you might be at a place of business that will not accept US Dollars or accept credit or debit cards, or their electronic system might be down in which you would be temporarily stuck by resorting to pay by other means, which ends up being you paying thru other transaction channels you never originally planned for which would be subjected to some form of transaction fee, or conversion fee which are well hidden at times, or resorting to using the US dollar that some business will accept as you will be charged a higher exchange fee, which will easily wipe out any 2% of savings you thought you were going to do.


Bottom line is :

Cash is King - any rare electronic glitch to where a typical bankcard is used will not work whether the system is temporarily down or the database might decide the card is invalid for whatever reason, it is always good to have cash onhand for this reason and be on your way.

Legal tender is the Canadian Dollar in Canada - once you obtain that currency there is no more exchange rate or fee to be subjected to - the Canadian Dollar in Canada will always be worth a dollar within the country.


Being on the Alaska side of crossing into the Yukon with few banks and large businesses in between is more different than say crossing along a more populated southern border area of Canada and the US with a lot more infrastructure of resources to where you might get a better exchange rate for spending a US dollar at a business, however you are still subjected to a higher rate compared what a bank would typically charge to convert.


I too am with the OP on saving a few bucks if possible by not having to pay for some one elses retirement with fees or other form of currency transactions subject to a higher rate as the best way for a visitor entering Canada to minimize conversion and transaction fee costs is just simply go to a Canadian bank and convert your US dollars there (but shop around and compare).

That is why I now have four bank accounts (well 5 if you count the joint account that they structured for me in Canada - identical to the account almcc described), so I can keep as much of my FREE banking while travelling abroad while avoiding any transaction fees (bankcards used in different places subjected to a fee), or transfer fees with easy access to my money (actually avoiding transfer fees) while using a different bank with more branches in greater locations.

Two of my accounts are from different credit unions, one savings and money market which no electronic transactions are used, and the other one is strictly a checking account where the debit card is used (they offered me $5 to open that account on an invite back in 1998 which I accepted) as I keep a minimum amount of what is needed in case someone hacks a server from a business to obtain my card info or if my account ever got hacked they would not obtain much as I have at least that much control.

Neither credit union bankcards have a widerange of unlimited free ATM transactions for me, they are only for a selected range of machines that can be used for free.

The third account is a major bank with nationwide branches thoughout the US, in which I learned back in 2001 that the last time I travelled in the states I almost resorted to doing a wire transfer from my credit union bank which would be a $30 fee (which I was reluctant on wanting to do) as I needed some more cash as I was in a win win situation on a sports wager and needed to obtain some more capital to hedge with an additional wager plus 3 point middle to possibly hit both wagers, but a friend had loaned me the funds instead and I paid him back in 4 hours after the loan and treated the whole family to dinner while celebrating as I paid a $65 tab, believe me I was more satisfied buying dinner for others versus some bank potentially profiting an additional $30 off me.



I found an old post back in March this year that is similar to this subject (how you'd handle money) and the changes I decided to make and adapt to when I stumbled into road blocks for the first time attempting to convert US dollars back in 2010.

The next post will elaborate on this topic even further as it is a copy of what I posted back on March 2013.

dieharder wrote:
Many businesses either do not accept the US$, or will offer something way below value for it. That's mainly because of the cost of maintaining a US $ account. We used to many years ago, but stopped because the few US$ transactions we got every now and then weren't worth the expense of the account.

Things may have changed over the years. Our US$ account has no fees, pays(a small)interest and we have the advantage of doing a bank transfer from C$ to US$ on-line, the funds go to paying our US$ credit card (again on-line). Other than the "spread" the bank makes on the currency conversion (probably the same as you would get converting at your bank branch) there are no fees.

I hope to work on the spread issue this winter by having our investment guy do the conversion on their currency trading desk (with no fees), I should get a better rate than at the bank, then I'll move it electronically into our US$ account. I'll do a comparison with the bank's rate and see what I'm saving.

Many businesses either do not accept the US$, or will offer something way below value for it. That's mainly because of the cost of maintaining a US $ account. We used to many years ago, but stopped because the few US$ transactions we got every now and then weren't worth the expense of the account.

It is just like Orion said:

Here is a real live example of how banks work. In 2006 at Home Depot in Yuma we made a purchase of US $1642.42 in the AM and returned the defective goods in the PM, both on Master Card.

The resulting M/C statement showed a purchase of CDN $1903.68 (rate 1.159070) and a credit of CDN $1802.97 (rate 1.097753) on the same date.

So, the bank charged about 3.07 percent on each transaction but NO FEEs. :B

And yes I eventually received a refund but not without a few "up the ladder" phone calls.

Last time I checked, the Capital One Visa card issued in the US, did NOT charge a premium for their foreign transactions, the one issued in Canada does. For many years most banks did not add this premium on to their debit transactions, but a few years ago, our bank did and I'm sure that most financial institutions have followed suit.
It is important though to point out that this premium does not appear as a separate 'fee' on your Visa statement, it is merely an extra 2-3% added to the rate used for the transaction. Unless you could compare the rate used and compare it to what their 'in branch' rate would be on the SAME day, you would never know! Even if you asked them "is there a fee" they would say "no", as it really isn't a fee.
Remember that financial institutions will have different exchange rates and differing amounts of 'spreads' (difference in buying and selling rates).

We used our credit union debit card almost exclusively. Credit union did not charge a conversion fee.

* just noted above comment: our debit card transactions were very timely, normally EOB or the next day.

I've been visiting Canada for about ten or eleven years and have tried various methods. I think I finally have it right.
1. Use a credit card that does not charge an international exchange fee. I have two CCs and a debit card. In Canada, I use Capital 1.
2. With Capital 1, I have an "alert" for international transactions. I will get an email within minutes of the transaction with the exchange already calculated. For instance, I bought diesel, paid $300.00 Canadian, came to $290.20 US.
3. Intend to use the ATMs. Haven't used one yet, so I don't know what kind of transaction fees there may be.

I used my debit card previously, and, whereas in the States, the transaction was posted to my bank almost immediately, transactions in Canada usually took days or weeks to clear.

For several years, we would bring several thousand US dollars with us, then find a bank to exchange it into Canadian. That could be a hassle - some banks had a limit on how much they would exchange, some charged a fee.

Won't know for sure until I try the ATMs, but I may finally have it right.

GM

Prepaying for fuel is the law in BC. It is known as Grant's Law after a service station attendant was killed in a gas and dash incident.

Most larger stations have prepay pumps, where you can just enter your debit or credit card. I do not know if there is any issue using a US card in them.

On tip, at Safeway stores in BC that have gas stations, if you buy $40.00 in groceries (use your Safeway card or get one once you are here), you get 5 cents per litre off the price of gas.

The Safeway in my home town has diesel too, I am pretty sure the discount applies to it too. The pumps at at least some of the stores are big rig friendly.

shawdowboss wrote:
The other item to remember using cash for fuel, every province requires prepayment prior to filling (every station we hit between Winnipeg & Vancouver required pre-pay), so it can be a hassle on the fuel, especially if you regularly putting in $150-250 each fill and have to guess on the amount since their rates are in liters (3.79 liters to gal).

Also, watch the amount of cash you carry, as you may need to declare the amount and have the right forms prior to crossing. We found it easier to just use ATM's or CC's. BTW your friends are partly right, SOME merchants take US, but give change in CN (and had a few of them even discount the US for the exchange rates). I know, just got back 2 weeks ago.

Good luck on your Canada trip.

Don't know where you live but I filled up at Mr Gas in North Bay On about 4 days back. No pre-payment .... Visa was just fine. Most of our end of Canada is like that. Big cities ... maybe not!