CAD what is the best way to get USD exchange?

[fkong777]

I started consulting with a Canadian company. They sometime make the checks out in CAD.

My bank takes a huge percentage on exchange rate and fee for depositing a CAD check.

Example $5600 CAD check deposited. I got $5090 exchanged in deposit then slap with fees fo $95 for the deposite and a 2 week hold on funds.
So basically the bank robbed me of $300. when the exchange rate was actually about .954 at the time.

What is the best way to lessen such crazy fees?

I dont mind some fees. that is just the cost of operations.

Is there a more friendly bank that can take the deposit with less fees?

TIA

 

[White92]

Maybe you can open a bank account in Canada and have it automatically deposited for you there?

 

[SilverStone05]

Maybe have them direct deposit into your brokerage account...it'll sit there in the foreign currency until you choose to redeem and wire/ach to your dda.

Alternatively - if you are their consultant, you could demand they pay in USD and cite this exact quandary.....or bill them the fees associated if they refuse. :biggrin:

 

[dablackgoku1234]

Opening a Canadian bank account might be your best bet. That way there is no ridiculous holding period or high fees. Try TDCanadaTrust, they have the best customer service by far.

To convert over to USD, you can either use TD's "borderless exchange rate" (http://www.tdcanadatrust.com/fx/rates.jsp) or use XEtrade. The only problem is, the TD rate is good if you want to change from CAD to USD within TDCanadaTrust. It doesnt solve the problem of getting the money across the border. And that is where XE comes in. XE has something called a "best rate guarantee" which gives you about the same rate if not a bit better than the TD's borderless rate. You'll have to call in for this. The "guy" who gives you the fixed rate will assess your trading activity etc and gives you a fixed rate from mid-market. I believe the rate I have is 1.2% from mid-market rate. You can convert your CAD funds from TD or any bank account and EFT it over to your American USD bank account at the said forex rate. EFT is free. Wire transfers usually cost less than $20 if EFT is not available.

Just to give you an idea, these are the rates I am getting:

Mid-market right now is 0.95991 * 5600 CAD = 5375.50 USD
TD Borderless is 0.947238 * 5600 CAD = 5304.53 USD
XE with the rate guarantee is 0.94832 * 5600 = 5310.59 USD