# Cashing Canadian cheque - problem in US?



## CSB (Feb 9, 2008)

I had sent a cheque (Canadian currency)to someone in the States and just got back word from them that bank's service fee/exchange fees would equal the value of the cheque that I sent ($50)

This sounds absurd to me. Can anyone comment on this.


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## Blue Skies (Feb 9, 2008)

We rented our Royal Sands unit to a family from Sask. this year.  Our local community bank was going to charge us high fees (similar to your situation) to cash the checks (the rental fee was split into two payments).  

I had to open a checking account with Wells Fargo to deposit the checks, and they only charged me $1.50 per check in fees.  They would not give me cash, I had to deposit the funds and wait a week or so for the funds clear.  It's a no fee checking account, and I will probably keep it open for situations like this in the future.


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## Keitht (Feb 9, 2008)

I don't think the charge figure stated is particularly unusual.  Certainly in the UK you would be hit with similar fees for a foreign currency transaction.


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## mikey0531 (Feb 9, 2008)

$50 sounds excessive in service charges.  

Our family lives in Canada and they always used to send checks to the kids for birthdays etc.  Until about 2 years ago, this wasn't a problem.  But, things changed and the fees and wait time for the checks to clear has gotten ridiculous.  Plus, depending on the teller we got, deposits got botched up to the point that we always got copies of checks and deposit slips before we left the bank.  We shopped around and found that policies varied -- from fees based on percentage of check value(with mininums) to flat rates of $10 or so.  In our case, it took a huge chunk out of the kids' checks because they were small (i.e. $25).  In your case, $50 on a $50 check is outlandish!  Maybe you could shop around?

Debi


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## bookworm (Feb 9, 2008)

I would say shop around. We have accounts in both countries and have frequently received cheques from Canada that we deposit with little in the way of fees. 

I would recommend a few options for the future: have someone writing a cheque arrange with their bank to make it out in US funds. We received a personal cheque from family members at Christmas and I believe all that was done was that "US Funds" was written on the cheque and highlighted. We had no trouble making the deposit. I would say as a rule that it is much easier to make the currency transfer at Canadian banks than in the US. Canadians are accustomed to this. Banks routinely deal with money in US funds.
Another option would be to require that a money order in US funds be prepared - just a simple visit to the bank.


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## johnmfaeth (Feb 9, 2008)

Most Canadian and many European institutions offer dollar demoninated accounts which makes this issue go away.

If you are sending 25 or $50 to a child, why not just fold it insie a couple of sheets of paper so it cannot be detected easily and mail it?


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## charford (Feb 9, 2008)

$50 sounds about right to me. I've dealt with banks in the U.S. that refuse to deal with Canadian cheques. 

Why not just send them a U.S. money order? Those should be easy to obtain at any Canadian bank.

Or, the last time someone sent me a small amount of funds from Canada, she used Western Union. She worked in a Canadian bank and told me that this was the easiest and fastest way to transmit funds to the U.S.

BTW Writing U.S. Funds on a check won't make it into U.S. funds.


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## BarCol (Feb 9, 2008)

Cindy - maybe get the the cheque back and send the funds Western Union. Usually any Dominion store has that capability as do Cash Stops


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## CSB (Feb 9, 2008)

I am so surprised. When I sent the cheque I did not imagine that there would be a problem since I have received many US currency cheque - rebates etc and did not have problems or fees charged when depositing in my account.

Thank you for all your information. I wish that I had known about this before I sent the cheque. Good thing that I checked with the recipient when I noticed that my cheque was not cashed.


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## london (Feb 9, 2008)

*New Currency*

Perhaps Canada and US should adopt a currency like the Euro...then all would be equal.


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## Harmina (Feb 10, 2008)

Cindy....have you considered opening a US bank account? It would certainly make a lot of sense now when our dollar is so strong. We have had a US account for years.....we never worried when our $ was low against the US currency.


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## CSB (Feb 10, 2008)

Years ago I used to have a US account. One day I had my bank book updated and they printed page after page of fees that were draining all my money away. I closed the account and never considered having another one again. 

When I go to the States, I really only use my charge card so a lot of cash is not really necessary. You can even use the card for fast food now!!! Highway tolls are the only thing that really requires the cash.


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## dioxide45 (Feb 10, 2008)

Even if the account is a US funds account but held by a Canadian financial institution, the US bank may still charge a huge fee. It is still a Canadian account, just the funds are in US$. You may be better to get a US Funds money order at your Canadian bank, I beleive many of those are actually drawn off of US accounts based in the US. If you look at the money order, it will usually indicate what bank the check actually get cashed through. You can also consider PayPal.


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## Harmina (Feb 10, 2008)

We have a daily interest US chequing account with the Toronto Dominion bank. We have never had any fees for writing cheques.


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## dioxide45 (Feb 10, 2008)

Harmina said:


> We have a daily interest US chequing account with the Toronto Dominion bank. We have never had any fees for writing cheques.



The fee isn't for the person writing the check. The problem appears to be with the person trying to cash the check at their US financial institution.


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## caribbeansun (Feb 11, 2008)

It's not necessary to go to the bother of opening a US$ account - just write the cheque out as usual but write in "US" behind the dollar amount (highlight it if you wish) and mail it.  Any and all charges will be levied by the Canadian bank for doing the conversion here - roughly $5 plus exchange.  

OR hey, set the kids up on Paypal - just kidding about that.


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