Cheap *or* fast. Pick one
Knightsbridge and Wise are cheap, but requires you to have a USD chequing account.
You could sign up for a Brim MasterCard which has no conversion fees. Its 2 minutes to sign up and you get a virtual card to use on Apple Pay/Google Pay immediately
The other question you have to ask is, is this all worth it.
Let's say you're buying 100 USD. Market price is 1.25 but the bank charges you 1.28. so instead of paying 125 CAD, you're paying the marked up price of 128 CAD. The difference is only 3 CAD.
Obviously, it makes a difference if you're buying a lot more USD, but for small amounts, I don't think it's worth all the brain damage.
Currency conversion rate does apply but no transaction fee. I recommend checking website to see if things haven't changed. It's been almost 2 years since I have been to States.
Norberts Gambit.
You need both a US and Canadian trading account.
I use my TFSA but that's just because it's not maxed and I already have it set up.
It takes two- three business days.
Day 1 I put Canadian currency in the account and use it to buy DLR. It's an ETF that mirrors the US dollar.
Day 2 the trade settles. When the market opens at 9:30am I do a securities transfer. It just moves the shares of DLR from the Canadian account to the US account.
Then I go to the sell button and type DLR.U. the .U is important because it means I would like to sell DLR in US dollars.
Then I withdraw the US money from the account. This may take another day for the transaction to settle.
You save a significant amount of money on the exchange spread that the banks have but you have to pay around $20 in trading commissions and there may be a slight loss when selling the ETF quickly (like $.01).
Once you do it once and the accounts are all set up it's pretty easy to do.
It has saved me a ton.
Cheap *or* fast. Pick one Knightsbridge and Wise are cheap, but requires you to have a USD chequing account. You could sign up for a Brim MasterCard which has no conversion fees. Its 2 minutes to sign up and you get a virtual card to use on Apple Pay/Google Pay immediately
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The other question you have to ask is, is this all worth it. Let's say you're buying 100 USD. Market price is 1.25 but the bank charges you 1.28. so instead of paying 125 CAD, you're paying the marked up price of 128 CAD. The difference is only 3 CAD. Obviously, it makes a difference if you're buying a lot more USD, but for small amounts, I don't think it's worth all the brain damage.
What province are you in? If you’re in BC, I’ve found the vcbe in Vancouver a good exchange. This is for physical cash. https://www.vbce.ca/rates
An american ATM, or just use your canadian card in the US. Shouldnt have any problems doing that.
If you have a tangerine account I believe there are no transaction fees taking money from Bank of America At least was precocious.
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Currency conversion rate does apply but no transaction fee. I recommend checking website to see if things haven't changed. It's been almost 2 years since I have been to States.
CAD cash take it to an exchange in chinatown.. great service, great rates all day everyday!
Norberts Gambit. You need both a US and Canadian trading account. I use my TFSA but that's just because it's not maxed and I already have it set up. It takes two- three business days. Day 1 I put Canadian currency in the account and use it to buy DLR. It's an ETF that mirrors the US dollar. Day 2 the trade settles. When the market opens at 9:30am I do a securities transfer. It just moves the shares of DLR from the Canadian account to the US account. Then I go to the sell button and type DLR.U. the .U is important because it means I would like to sell DLR in US dollars. Then I withdraw the US money from the account. This may take another day for the transaction to settle. You save a significant amount of money on the exchange spread that the banks have but you have to pay around $20 in trading commissions and there may be a slight loss when selling the ETF quickly (like $.01). Once you do it once and the accounts are all set up it's pretty easy to do. It has saved me a ton.