With the current low value of the CAD against the USD travelling Canadians are once again paying close attention to the costs of exchanging their Canadian dollars (CAD) for USD or other currencies.  I have generally found that the fees charged by the banks for this service are higher that what is available from other providers.

These days your choices include Banks, Online currency exchanges, no-foreign-exchange-fee credit cards, and there is even a peer-to-peer currency exchange.  And if you want to get really sophisticated you can buy shares in an interlisted company on a Canadian stock exchange and then selling those shares on a U.S. stock exchange.

More here in this article I found on the CBC News Business section http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/foreign-currency-exchange-1.3412059

As we are now Snowbirds who spend several months in the USA, we have an ear tuned to the FX markets and the news on the subject of exchange rates and what drives them, and we’ll often buy up to a year’s worth of USD when we think the CAD is about to drop.  We use Payline by ICE and deal with Debbie Siouras who is National Manager, Financial Institution Services (see her contact info below).

Debbie Siouras
National Manager, Financial Institution Services – Payline by ICE
Phone: (604) 813-3393
Toll Free: 1 (888) 989-4636 ext 0572
dsiouras@paylinebyice.com
www.paylinebyice.com