My girlfriend is a Canadian, but moved here to Texas 4 years ago. She still has all the money that she had previously saved back in Canada, but wants to access that money now. However, she doesn't want to lose ~20% converting it to USD. Does she have any options other than keeping the money in Canada and investing it there vs losing some value and exchanging it to USD so she can bring it down here? She doesn't need it for any urgent reason, just wants to do something useful with it.

Gordo14 said:

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She isn't losing 20% converting from Canadian dollars to American dollars... That's the exchange rate because that's the value of the currency. You wouldn't say you're making 20% converting euros to dollars.

What I'm saying is that she isn't losing 20% by converting her currency... That's how much her money is worth in American dollars.

Fees I'm finding are like 5% at certain banks which is way less than 20%

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This is definitely true. However, I believe you may be able to get lower fees through crypto. It's kind of a PITA though. There's no way to get around the exchange rate.

Depending on how much money is being withdrawn, crypto will also have withdraw limits, no?

The OP is going to have to deal with the exchange rate sooner or later, Canadian $$$ could rise in value but it could also decrease. If she doesn't plan to go back to Canada, I'd convert and call it good.

For the fees, if its real money consider reaching out to her bank to see if they can move it for free or a reduced fee.

I've been in the same boat for a while after a four year stint as an expat in Canada. I've been sitting on a significant sum for the last year waiting for the stars to align on Canadian currency strengthening (ie oil prices going up) and a US market correction. Don't be me.

We're getting close to the best conversion rate in 3 years right now and I'm considering finally taking the plunge. I'd talk to a bank for a better conversion rate than 5% or look into Forex which I understand offers the lowest prices. I hear a phone call with them will let you negotiate a better rate than the web, but you're always going to have to give away a little.

If you're looking to do a large OTC trade with crypto (over the counter/ person to person) I can intro to the guy who did mine. Think he charges 5% which would be roughly the exchange rate sounds like, but he's a licensed FINCEN money transmitter.

Good luck

GarlandAg2012 said:

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Gordo14 said:

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She isn't losing 20% converting from Canadian dollars to American dollars... That's the exchange rate because that's the value of the currency. You wouldn't say you're making 20% converting euros to dollars.

What I'm saying is that she isn't losing 20% by converting her currency... That's how much her money is worth in American dollars.

Fees I'm finding are like 5% at certain banks which is way less than 20%

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This is definitely true. However, I believe you may be able to get lower fees through crypto. It's kind of a PITA though. There's no way to get around the exchange rate.

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Crypto exchanges are sketchy as hell. I'd rather use a legitimate system and pay higher fees.

I changed out USD for Euro at Wells Fargo several years ago with no fees.. worth checking if you have an account there.

Holyfield said:

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I changed out USD for Euro at Wells Fargo several years ago with no fees.. worth checking if you have an account there.

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Did you get the spot rate, or something a few points off (a hidden fee)?

Username checks out.

She isn't going to lose value, that's not how exchange rates work.

Has she spoken with her American bank? They will want the money, and will probably lower or waive their fee depending on how much money she has in her accounts with them already. Just ask them.

WaltonLoads08 said:

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She isn't going to lose value, that's not how exchange rates work.

Has she spoken with her American bank? They will want the money, and will probably lower or waive their fee depending on how much money she has in her accounts with them already. Just ask them.

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If she earned the money 4 years ago, she has "lost value" because the CAD has lost value compared to the USD.

1876er said:

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WaltonLoads08 said:

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She isn't going to lose value, that's not how exchange rates work.

Has she spoken with her American bank? They will want the money, and will probably lower or waive their fee depending on how much money she has in her accounts with them already. Just ask them.

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If she earned the money 4 years ago, she has "lost value" because the CAD has lost value compared to the USD.

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True, but the value is already lost. Leaving it in CAD now is a bet that the CAD will strengthen against the dollar in the future. The commentary I see suggests that it could get a bump with a deal on NAFTA but it's probably not a long term play.

Trade in for Bennigans coupons?

RPM said:

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Trade in for Bennigans coupons?

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I was going to suggest Tim Hortons

Have her look at TransferWise. I am working in Romania now and we use it to move money from RON to USD. It's around a 1% fee I think and spot rates. It seems weird at first but works great for us.

That's over and done with now regardless of what she does. I'm talking about exchange fees.

cruzdoggie said:

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Have her look at TransferWise. I am working in Romania now and we use it to move money from RON to USD. It's around a 1% fee I think and spot rates. It seems weird at first but works great for us.

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What the heck do you do in Romania, comrad?

Pipe mill?

I work in a shared service center for an oil and gas company. We have centralized a lot of the finance function in Bucharest. Would definitely recommend Bucharest or Romania for a short stop over if you ever get the chance.

I wouldn't get caught up in only fees. The exchange rate she will receive plus the fees is the number you are looking for. There are banks who have zero fees but have a very bad FX rate. Check out the BUY rate (not the sell rate, as its from the perspective of the bank) add the fees and that's what she will net.

Does she still have a credit card issued in Canada - normally their exchange rates are decent and often free?

Perhaps use it here and pay the bills there and avoid the exchange fee...save the USD..

My wife's Canadian and we travel there frequently. I wish we had a Canadian bank account. Keep it open and keep a couple of grand in it for travel and gift purposes. As for the rest she might as well get a financial broker here and just write a check.

tamc93 said:

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Does she still have a credit card issued in Canada - normally their exchange rates are decent and often free?

Perhaps use it here and pay the bills there and avoid the exchange fee...save the USD..

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Yes this is a good way to deal with the issue.

If she can get a prepaid card with no foreign transaction fees from her Canadian bank that she can pay online direct via her CAD account. Transfer some money on the card and just use it for monthly expenses and save your USD.