Cheap currency exchange

[John Rivers]

I just got a job in the US however my family is still in Canada. I looked into exchanging currency at the banks back to Canadian but their quotes are so high. Why am I paying so much?? What can I expect on average to be paying the banks above spot?? Who gives the best deals???

[brunt]

I frequently have to exchange money. The best deal that I have found is TD's Borderless Plan.

We generally have to pay about 1.5% over spot, and you can exchange online. This feature is very nice in case there is a large jump in the Canadian dollar and you can exchange money within a couple of minutes from your computer rather than having to go into the bank.

Also, if you get a TD bank account in the US, you can wire money for free from your Canadian Borderless Plan to your US account. This is a very convenient feature.

[John Rivers]

Thanks for your reply! unfortunately, I am with BMO and have set up accounts at BMO Harris Bank. Perhaps I should have done more research or considered switching banks before moving! Silly of me. Still, 1.5% over spot still seems like a little much. I also hear that TD Bank can tend to inflate their services and borderless plan. Many reviews online say it is a complicated and annoying process to deal with at times. Are there alternatives besides the bank that your or anybody else knows!!? I am in no rush, simply looking for the best provider for the long term.

[brunt]

Thanks for your reply! unfortunately, I am with BMO and have set up accounts at BMO Harris Bank. Perhaps I should have done more research or considered switching banks before moving! Silly of me. Still, 1.5% over spot still seems like a little much. I also hear that TD Bank can tend to inflate their services and borderless plan. Many reviews online say it is a complicated and annoying process to deal with at times. Are there alternatives besides the bank that your or anybody else knows!!? I am in no rush, simply looking for the best provider for the long term.

1.5% over spot is probably about the best that you are going to find, unless you are talking large quantities (more than $10,000, but that comes with its own share of problems).

The problem is that the bank has to get physical currency at whatever the going rate is, and while they are holding it, they take the risk of the exchange rate changing, possibly losing them money. So, to account for this risk, they charge a premium. I am not defending the bank, them's just the facts.

I have never found the Borderless Plan to be overly complex. In fact, there are far fewer steps required than having to take a trip into the bank to exchange the money. Fees may be an issue if you have under a certain threshold of over $3,000 US, otherwise it is $5 US per month.

Depending on how much you want to exchange, you may want to talk to some of your Canadian relatives. Any Canuck who travels to the US has to pay the 1.5% fee to change, and so would you. If you were to sell some of your Loonies to them, you can each save the fee. But then if you are looking to exchange bigger bucks, there could be not enough relatives.

By the way, congrats on the US job. I tried in vain to find a job in Canada for literally years (Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering). The last straw was a job requiring a Ph.D. that paid minimum wage (not kidding). After more than 200 resumes being sent out in Canada, I tried the US. Two resumes out, I had two interviews and two offers. I took one of those, and it changed our lives financially. Getting 300% more money in wages certain didn't hurt anything.

[John Rivers]

1.5% over spot is probably about the best that you are going to find, unless you are talking large quantities (more than $10,000, but that comes with its own share of problems).

The problem is that the bank has to get physical currency at whatever the going rate is, and while they are holding it, they take the risk of the exchange rate changing, possibly losing them money. So, to account for this risk, they charge a premium. I am not defending the bank, them's just the facts.

I have never found the Borderless Plan to be overly complex. In fact, there are far fewer steps required than having to take a trip into the bank to exchange the money. Fees may be an issue if you have under a certain threshold of over $3,000 US, otherwise it is $5 US per month.

Depending on how much you want to exchange, you may want to talk to some of your Canadian relatives. Any Canuck who travels to the US has to pay the 1.5% fee to change, and so would you. If you were to sell some of your Loonies to them, you can each save the fee. But then if you are looking to exchange bigger bucks, there could be not enough relatives.

By the way, congrats on the US job. I tried in vain to find a job in Canada for literally years (Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering). The last straw was a job requiring a Ph.D. that paid minimum wage (not kidding). After more than 200 resumes being sent out in Canada, I tried the US. Two resumes out, I had two interviews and two offers. I took one of those, and it changed our lives financially. Getting 300% more money in wages certain didn't hurt anything.

Thanks for all your help, I really appreciate it. And wow that's insane, a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and still no bites? Talk about a broken system. Any experience using non-bank foreign exchange providers? Know anybody on this forum that can give some advice with regards to that??

[brunt]

Thanks for all your help, I really appreciate it. And wow that's insane, a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and still no bites? Talk about a broken system. Any experience using non-bank foreign exchange providers? Know anybody on this forum that can give some advice with regards to that??

I had a thought while driving through Watertown yesterday. The local Holiday Inn Express had a big billboard stating that they accepted Canadian dollars at par. You may want to talk to the manager there about exchanging some of your US back into Canadian. They have got to be getting a good volume of loonies in there, and exchanging US dollars into Canadian in the States tends to be even more expensive than buying US dollars in Canada otherwise. Or at least that was the case when I lived there before.

[John Rivers]

I had a thought while driving through Watertown yesterday. The local Holiday Inn Express had a big billboard stating that they accepted Canadian dollars at par. You may want to talk to the manager there about exchanging some of your US back into Canadian. They have got to be getting a good volume of loonies in there, and exchanging US dollars into Canadian in the States tends to be even more expensive than buying US dollars in Canada otherwise. Or at least that was the case when I lived there before.

I ended up looking into non-bank fx brokers. Knightsbridge FX came up as one of them, ever heard of them or have experience using them? They said they can guarantee the lowest rates and exchange money quickly. I looked into their mark up and it is only around .5-.8%

[AlexM1359]

I ended up looking into non-bank fx brokers. Knightsbridge FX came up as one of them, ever heard of them or have experience using them? They said they can guarantee the lowest rates and exchange money quickly. I looked into their mark up and it is only around .5-.8%

Hey John,

I've been using http://www.knightsbridgefx.com/ for nearly a year now and it's about as good as it gets. I've dealt with the president of the company personally and hes a great and knowledgeable guy! Alternatively you could use the Norbit Gambit method to get a really exchange rate, but that takes some financial savvy-ness, and time out of your day. I don't have much experience with it, but here's an article and you can look into it yourself some more. http://canadiancouchpotato.com/2013/...omplete-guide/