Jul 27
Canadian Banks set to Fleece Canadians!
So there you have it, the Canadian dollar is moving up closer to par with the U.S. As many Canadians are thinking of a vacation down south or even speculating on the purchase of their next car, the Canadian Banks all know you are coming….
And are they ever ready to fleece you out of your hard earned money…
With the Dollar trading at 1.085 on the open market, while out for a walk this afternoon I thought I would see how the normal Canadian is being treated.
What I found out did not make me feel too comfortable.
- ScotiaBank wanted over 3 points, or 1.1186.
- TD wanted 1.1120 over 2.5points.
- CIBC wanted 1.1126 over 2.7 points.
This is outrageous. Any of our members and supporters have a better solution to this problem. We would like to hear from you.
July 28th, 2009 at 11:54 am
Hi Bob: Where you also have to watch out is when using credit cards
in other countries. On top of what can appear as arbitrary exchange
rates where cardholder has no alternative, there is a fixed percentage
fee outlined in cardholder contracts. Banks and credit card companies
end up with sizeable chunks of foreign travel budgets, both corporate
and personal.
July 30th, 2009 at 11:34 am
What has worked for me is having a free ING Direct Canada U.S. dollar savings account. They adjust and post their buy and sell rates online daily http://www.ingdirect.ca/en/accounts-rates/historicalenusdcurr.jsp
So, when I see a rate that I’m comfortable with, I can exchange my dollars online right away.
August 2nd, 2009 at 3:31 pm
What about just changing $(Canadian) into $(US) at American Banks while in the US. DO the US banks give a better exchange rate? I know many years ago I changed $(Canadian) to $(US) at a US bank in Buffalo (Key Bank I think) and got better rates. This avenue may be worth further investigation.