Cash for Canada

Retired VSP wrote:
Going to PEI next month.......do I need to do a money exchange before leaving U.S. or will I be okay after entering Canada? I will also have credit card......thanks for any advise. Last time I was in Canada the Canadians would not give change if using U.S. Currency....if I used a five dollar bill to make a three dollar purchase I got no change............

the stores around here give change if you pay in U S funds, but the change will be in CDN funds, the exchange rate is usually what the average is for that week or month, some places like wallymart may have xchange checked daily.

I have heard of places that are very far from any border (several hundred miles) that rarely saw U S currency they would not typically know the rate, or know if someone was passing counterfeit bills. so there would be a bit of a hesitation, or a request to take it to the bank,
really you can't expect much more, I have been down south and gotten a hard time when I ran out of US currency and had to pull out a CDN 20, twice it was turned away like I was passing funny money, so I had to use a credit card


really,,,, you can't expect places to carry another full tray of currency,,, come on now,,, I would not expect it when I go south of the border

Harvard wrote:

Retired VSP wrote:
...
Last time I was in Canada the Canadians would not give change if using U.S. Currency....if I used a five dollar bill to make a three dollar purchase I got no change............

Where in Canada did you find that kind of service? I could justify they not having US currency to make change with BUT to take $2.00 is a rip off and as a former PEI person I would like to know in what province/city did you have this experience?

Niagera Falls..I should clarify they would not make change in U.S. money..only Canadian....

naturist wrote:
Swing by the ATM of the first Canadian bank you see after you cross the border and get your cash there. Credit card or debit card. Bank exchange rates, 24 hour service. What more could you ask for?

Oh, and works in Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, and China, too. And we plan to test it in Italy, Greece, and Turkey later this summer.

We visited Turkey this spring and found it really difficult to get rid if some Turkish lira when we went back to Italy. Bank treated me like I was trying to cash in Monopoly money or something. Either get only what you need or take Euros everybody in Turkey seems happy to take them.

Coins? Remember that all Canadian coins are magnetic. No USA coins have that property.

I think you would be hard pressed to find a retail business in Canada that doesn't accept US currency. It is however illegal in Canada for retail stores to make transactions in other than Canadian currency, meaning you won't get US currency back in your change. It'll have to be Canadian.
Now the other issue, when I take US currency to my Canadian bank they charge me 3.5% to exchange it. With the two currencies running close to par for the last few years, don't expect more than a straight exchange.
Just for interest sake, I was in Las Vegas last year at a large casino paying for lunch with cash. I had some Canadian pennies in my change and the restaurant refused to accept them. No quid pro quo there.

n7bsn wrote:
ATMs are your friend

What n7bsn said!!

We just crossed the border yesterday. Stopped at the duty free store and got $500 Canadian. $1 fee.

We exchanged a little US cash at a US bank in Maine before crossing into Campbello on a Friday afternoon. Glad we did...small island and a weekend. There may have been ATMs somewhere but I never saw a bank. Came in handy for small purchases.

We got a Capitol One card for international travel since they don't charge extra fees when making the conversion.

Harvard wrote:

Retired VSP wrote:
...
Last time I was in Canada the Canadians would not give change if using U.S. Currency....if I used a five dollar bill to make a three dollar purchase I got no change............

Where in Canada did you find that kind of service? I could justify they not having US currency to make change with BUT to take $2.00 is a rip off and as a former PEI person I would like to know in what province/city did you have this experience?

Does seem kind of weird. Seems to me that borders on theft.

Retired VSP wrote:
...
Last time I was in Canada the Canadians would not give change if using U.S. Currency....if I used a five dollar bill to make a three dollar purchase I got no change............

Where in Canada did you find that kind of service? I could justify they not having US currency to make change with BUT to take $2.00 is a rip off and as a former PEI person I would like to know in what province/city did you have this experience?