Hey guys!

We will be visiting your area in just 3 weeks. So excited.

Question....do we necessarily have to convert to Canadian money or does the American dollar work as well?

Let me know.

Barbara Hickey

Best to convert - saves time when paying.

Hello Barbara,

The "area" has six time zones. Most merchants in touristy areas accept US dollars, but merchants in back woods places do not.

I followed your signature, and found that you will be visiting the Canadian Rockies. You will be in a heavily touristed area in which most merchants do accept US dollars.

However, they give you a lousey exchange rate, and they give you change in Canadian dollars.

Your best bet is to use credit cards for major expenses (hotels, gasoline, rental car, etc.). Then, as soon as possible after arriving in Canada (preferably right at the airport if you're flying in), use a debit card to withdraw Canadian cash from an ATM. You can use that cash to cover incidental expenses.

However, if you arrive with no Canadian cash and you're in a pinch, American cash will work for your first couple of purchases. Thereafter you'll have some Canadian change that you can use for subsequent purchases.

Barbara:

The title of your post is a bit misleading as of course you can shop with dollars here in Canada as our currency is the dollar, the Canadian dollar.
On reading the actual post you question if you "necessarily" need to convert your dollar to ours, well it really depends on where you will be travelling to. Canada is a big place and depending on where you are going and where you will be shopping the answer may vary. Generally speaking we courteously accept your dollar however you should be aware that you will not receive change back in your currency.
ATM's are everywhere and you can get Canadian dollars to spend from these using your debit card or credit card. The exchange rate may be better doing this as some places away from the border may not be as generous with their exchange.
I am glad you are excited. Have a good time.

thanks so much to all of you for answering. This forum is just great.

Barbara

From experience, has anyone noted what the typical fee (in Canadian or USD) is for using an ATM, say, at the Calgary airport? I know each bank tends to charge their own fee, and there is also a fee from one's own bank as well. Usually it is a fixed fee, and not a percentage. Is there a major bank (Bank of Canada) that has ATMs convenient at the airport?

It's important to know that there are two types of ATMs in Canada: those operated by the chartered banks, and the so-called "white" machines (some of which are owned by the banks, but operating under different names. You will usually find both in public places such as airports. Avoid the latter, as the charges are inevitably higher. The normal charge for a bank ATM is $1.50, but your home bank in the U.S. may also levy a charge.

The principal banks in Canada are the Royal (RBC), Bank of Montreal, Toronto-Dominion (TD), Bank of NOva Scotia (Scotiabank) and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC). Use an ATM from one of these, and you won't go wrong.

The Bank of Canada is not a commercial bank, but is a government institution akin to the Federal Reserve Bank in the U.S.

Not with foreign fiftys or hundreds.

To many crooks try to pass off fakes.

Other than that, in big stores, etc., you'll be OK, and get real money back in change. You can use this at smaller stores.

And bank machines will give you real money from your foreign money account, at a good exchange rate.

All in all, it is easy for Americans to spend money in Canada.

BAK

Laverendrye....thanks! That's just the info I was looking for. Similar situation here in the US, with ATMs run by the various chartered banks, and then "independent" ones, which may be part of a national system, such as SHARE or CIRRUS, but with who-knows-what group running/owning them.

Many American banks have correspondent banks in Canada. Last year, I used ATMs at Scotia Bank which was/is a correspondent with Bank of America.

My ATM withdrawals were treated as "on net" so I paid nothing beyond the usual 1% charge for foreign currency conversion.

Now, using credit cards is another story. The BOA Visa card promises to charge me 3% per transaction. Remedy?
I used another credit card which did not assess the charge.

To date, my MBNA card through AAA does not add on the 3%. But, MBNA is now owned by Bank of America. I wonder how long I can avoid the extra add on?

So true Broookwood, but bhickey doesn't seem too concerned about saving money or fees. IT sounds like she just wants the convenience of using American dollars even though she'll lose money on the lousy exchange rate she'll get at stores.
At least our dollar is a lot closer to yours now, she won't be losing too much.
FOr myself I'd always opt for getting the most for my money.

So the short answer to the original question is YES, but I'm not sure why you want to throw money away, when you just have to go to an ATM and get Canadian dollars.

Here is a question...

Cirrus and plus regulations prohibit banks from charging the fee theyhave the gall to charge if you have the audacity to use one of their ATM's (your bank can charge)...

So to the best of my knowledge, if the ATM withdrawal goes through Plus or Cirrus, the Canadian bank is not allowed to charge a fee.

From what I understand, and correct me if I'm wrong, the way they try to get around this valuable protection is by running the transaction through some other shared teller network such as STAR or NYCE.

To be honest, I've never heard of this. I was under the impression that if you went to an ATM at a recognized bank, there would be no fee.
I've never heard of STAR or NYCE. Is this something new.
I've always made sure I've goe to a bank and not to the independent machines at the corner store.
I mistakenly started to use one in Ireland a few years ago, and the message came up on the screen telling be there would be an additional fee. At that point I cancelled my transaction and found a "real" machine.

kofi...

STAR and NYCE are shared teller networks in the US not affiliated with CIRRUS or PLUS...CIRRUS is a part of Mastercard and PLUS is a part of Visa...

As noted their regulations prohibit imposition of the ATM fee by a bank if the withdrawal is being made on a foreign ATM or debit card...that is why for example I use my USA ATM card throughout Europe and never get charged by the European bank.

Several years ago I posted something to that effect and several Canadians told me they had indeed been charged when making withdrawals at a Texas bank by the Texas bank as well as their Canadian bank.

So basically I'm looking for the experience others have had...To the best of my knowledge if the transaction goes through CIRRUS or PLUS, the bank whose ATM you are using is not allowed to charge a fee but they can if the withdrawal goes through another netowrk.

Thanks xyz123 for the explanation.
I had not heard of STAR or NYCE.
I use my Scotiabank card in the States to withdraw from B of A machines and don't pay any fees.
The opposite is also true. Any B of A cards will be able to withdraw from Scotiabank machines in Canada with out charges by B OF A.

I'm not Canadian, BAK, but I think that using the term "real money" when comparing dollars is insulting Canadians.

I'll answer the question simply, get Canadian dollars, they'll go further and will work everywhere.