Best method (minimal loss) for transferring money to Canada?

[raptora]

I am a new PR and need to transfer money over from the US to Canada (quite a large amount, as I intend to buy a home). However, it seems banks offer terrible exchange rates for wire transfers, and I assume writing myself a check would have the same problem?

Wondering if anyone has any recommendations to make the transfer with a minimal loss of money due to exchange rate/fees. I have used OFX in the past and their rates seem pretty good, so I was considering using them again.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

I am a new PR and need to transfer money over from the US to Canada (quite a large amount, as I intend to buy a home). However, it seems banks offer terrible exchange rates for wire transfers, and I assume writing myself a check would have the same problem?

Wondering if anyone has any recommendations to make the transfer with a minimal loss of money due to exchange rate/fees. I have used OFX in the past and their rates seem pretty good, so I was considering using them again.

Online transfer companies generally give the best rates.

 

[Alex54321]

I am a new PR and need to transfer money over from the US to Canada (quite a large amount, as I intend to buy a home). However, it seems banks offer terrible exchange rates for wire transfers, and I assume writing myself a check would have the same problem?

Wondering if anyone has any recommendations to make the transfer with a minimal loss of money due to exchange rate/fees. I have used OFX in the past and their rates seem pretty good, so I was considering using them again.

I am using https://www.knightsbridgefx.com/

I have TD US and TD CAD accounts and set up account with https://www.knightsbridgefx.com/.
In the past I wired house deposit money from Chase to TD US account and after ordered an exchange with rate much better than in any Canadian bank/CU.

Also to eliminate any wire fees I did transfer money electronically from Chase to US TD bank ( no fee), called to US TD bank asking to transfer US$ to my TD US account in Canada (no fee) and after that exchanged from TD US$ to TD CAD$ using https://www.knightsbridgefx.com/..

 

[Alex54321]

I am using https://www.knightsbridgefx.com/

I have TD US and TD CAD accounts and set up account with https://www.knightsbridgefx.com/.
In the past I wired house deposit money from Chase to TD US account and after ordered an exchange with rate much better than in any Canadian bank/CU.

Also to eliminate any wire fees I did transfer money electronically from Chase to US TD bank ( no fee), called to US TD bank asking to transfer US$ to my TD US account in Canada (no fee) and after that exchanged from TD US$ to TD CAD$ using https://www.knightsbridgefx.com/..

In summer 2018 the exchange rate for me was 1.29, now is beautiful 1.41, but the houses prices are up as well.

 

[raptora]

I am using https://www.knightsbridgefx.com/

Also to eliminate any wire fees I did transfer money electronically from Chase to US TD bank ( no fee), called to US TD bank asking to transfer US$ to my TD US account in Canada (no fee) and after that exchanged from TD US$ to TD CAD$ using https://www.knightsbridgefx.com/..

Thanks for the idea, hadn't considered this - I was planning to go with TD bank anyway!

 

[Alex54321]

Thanks for the idea, hadn't considered this - I was planning to go with TD bank anyway!

The transfer from Chase to USA TD bank was limited, like 5K-8K a week, but free.

Also, my be it's funny, instead of "normal" wire transfer, I did bring some cash to my Canadian TD US account myself ( I lived close to Detroit-Windsor border), but it was really hard to get my money ( cash) from Chase, like in the movie. I could get 5K-10K only from the branch at the time and spinning around the city to get my cash. Finally, after a while, with USD100K I crossed the border ( with declaration form), customs opened wide their eyes and counted money (?), Canadian TD bank manager mentioned that I risked their facility with so much cash, etc. And I was not feeling well without any "tool" to protect myself in Canada with big amount of cash on me as oppose to US ( if you know what I mean). That was fun though.

 

[Jamesdee]

I use HSBC, they have online global transfers and decent rates.

 

[Alex54321]

I use HSBC, they have online global transfers and decent rates.

Note: The calculation of the savings is based on the estimated average exchange rate of major Canadian banks. Please visit your banks website for a real-time rate and compare it to our exchange rate. We guarantee better rates than the banks. In fact, we call them every morning to ensure our rates are better.

SAVING WITH KNIGHTSBRIDGEFX ON US$10,000 EXCHANGE

BANK	MARKUP %	SOURCE

RBC	2.77%	RBC Exchange Rates	$227
TD	3.58%	TD Bank Exchange Rates	$308
BMO	3.80%	BMO Exchange Rates	$330
CIBC	3.73%	CIBC Foreign Exchange Rates	$323
Scotia	3.43%	Scotia Bank Foreign Exchange Rates	$293
HSBC	2.72%	HSBC Foreign Exchange Rates	$222
Desjardins	3.65%	Desjardins Foreign Exchange Rates	$315

Based on publicly available information. KnightsbridgeFX is not affiliated with any bankUpdated April 2020

 

[cindyu]

I am using https://www.knightsbridgefx.com/

I have TD US and TD CAD accounts and set up account with https://www.knightsbridgefx.com/.
In the past I wired house deposit money from Chase to TD US account and after ordered an exchange with rate much better than in any Canadian bank/CU.

Also to eliminate any wire fees I did transfer money electronically from Chase to US TD bank ( no fee), called to US TD bank asking to transfer US$ to my TD US account in Canada (no fee) and after that exchanged from TD US$ to TD CAD$ using https://www.knightsbridgefx.com/..

Hi,
I also have TD accounts in both the USA and Canada. Does KnightsbridgeFX require the USD that you want to sell/convert to CAD to be in Canada? Or, is it possible to just send the USD to Knightsbridge directly from the TD Bank account in the US? I'd appreciate the input. I'm about to transfer some big amounts from the US to Canada too and a bit nervous about what would be the best way. Knightsbridge seems to offer the best rate...

Has anyone ever tried OFX or Transferwise, btw?

 

[Alex54321]

Hi,
I also have TD accounts in both the USA and Canada. Does KnightsbridgeFX require the USD that you want to sell/convert to CAD to be in Canada? Or, is it possible to just send the USD to Knightsbridge directly from the TD Bank account in the US? I'd appreciate the input. I'm about to transfer some big amounts from the US to Canada too and a bit nervous about what would be the best way. Knightsbridge seems to offer the best rate...

Has anyone ever tried OFX or Transferwise, btw?

You can ask them about that, but they transfer money between accounts, preferably between accounts in Canada.
I did a "big" wire transfer from my US Chase to my $US account with TD Bank and after that used KnightsbridgeFX to do exchange. between my $US account in TD Bank and $CAN account in the same TD bank.

 

[swan0206]

You can ask them about that, but they transfer money between accounts, preferably between accounts in Canada.
I did a "big" wire transfer from my US Chase to my $US account with TD Bank and after that used KnightsbridgeFX to do exchange. between my $US account in TD Bank and $CAN account in the same TD bank.

Oh my bad, i didnt knew this before and i have transferred around 15k from US TD to CAN TD. Glad that i came to know this now. So how does the KnightsbridgeFX work. Is it just like any money transfer app(like remitly ). If that is the case why not transfer directly from Chase to CAN TD ?

 

[Alex54321]

Oh my bad, i didnt knew this before and i have transferred around 15k from US TD to CAN TD. Glad that i came to know this now. So how does the KnightsbridgeFX work. Is it just like any money transfer app(like remitly ). If that is the case why not transfer directly from Chase to CAN TD ?

I described that somewhere. I setup my account with https://www.knightsbridgefx.com. They have access to my TD Canada Trust US and TD Canada Trust Canadian checking accounts. Let say I put a $1,000US to my TD Canada Trust US checking account ( by wire transfer or walking in). I call them up, give them my credentials (Acc #) , tell that I would like to sell $1,000US, they give me their exchange rate (let say 1.31) on that moment and if I agree with the rate the rate is locked . All takes 5 business days - $1,000US disappears from my US checking and in 5 days I see deposit of $1,310CAD on my Canadian checking account. That's all.
At the same time I can do this by exchanging money using TD Canada Trust tool instantly (between my US and CAN checking accounts), but the TD Canada Trust rate would be, like 1.27. I would wait for 5 days to save $40, since I do this very month.

 

[swan0206]

I described that somewhere. I setup my account with https://www.knightsbridgefx.com. They have access to my TD Canada Trust US and TD Canada Trust Canadian checking accounts. Let say I put a $1,000US to my TD Canada Trust US checking account ( by wire transfer or walking in). I call them up, give them my credentials (Acc #) , tell that I would like to sell $1,000US, they give me their exchange rate (let say 1.31) on that moment and if I agree with the rate the rate is locked . All takes 5 business days - $1,000US disappears from my US checking and in 5 days I see deposit of $1,310CAD on my Canadian checking account. That's all.
At the same time I can do this by exchanging money using TD Canada Trust tool instantly (between my US and CAN checking accounts), but the TD Canada Trust rate would be, like 1.27. I would wait for 5 days to save $40, since I do this very month.

That sounds good. Thanks Alex. will do that.

 

[milon45]

I am a new PR and need to transfer a large amount of money from the US to Canada, as I intend to buy a home. However, it seems banks offer terrible exchange rates for wire transfers, and I assume writing myself a check would have the same problem. You might want to contact MoneyGram for potentially better options.

Wondering if anyone has any recommendations to make the transfer with a minimal loss of money due to exchange rate/fees. I have used OFX in the past and their rates seem pretty good, so I was considering using them again.

For transferring money from the US to Canada with minimal loss due to exchange rates and fees, consider using OFX, Wise, or Revolut. These services generally offer better rates and lower fees than traditional banks.

 

[Alex54321]

For almost 6 years I use https://www.knightsbridgefx.com/ to exchange US dollars to Canadian dollars as my salary is from US. As far as transferring money from the US to Canada to buy a house - I did a wire transfer from my Chase account to my TD Canada Trust US account, and after that did exchange using knightsbridgefx from TD Canada Trust US account to TD Canada Trust Canadian account. Like yesterday their rate to sell US dollars was 1.367, and Google showed 1.37. After setting two accounts with them - it's just quick call to order the exchange.