Transferring money from CAD account to US account

[Tina&Roland 4]

Quick question: I'm currently in the US with my husband and am looking to transfer some funds from my CAD account to my US account. Does anyone have a way to do this with the least cost? Thanks so much!

[TimandJoyce 1]

I signed up with custom house. They are out of Victoria, and will debit your account in Canada to a US account. It does take some doing to set up, have to email them I.D.and they wanted to see some kind of proof that I was moving by having mailed delivered to my new address, but other than that it was painless and I got it set up.

You can also call a toll free number and they are very helpful. If you're looking for quick transfers they'll do it but I'm not sure the cost. Otherwise it could take about a week to get the money. The first one takes a little longer.

If you want something now...I''m really not sure how to go about it. Maybe check out Western Union. I think they have outlets all over.

Oh..and just a normal transfer with Custom house is free.

Edited January 20, 2010 by TimandJoyce

[SapphireDreams 71]

I use Custom House as well. It was pretty easy to set up, you have to email or fax them copies of your ID and banking information and then they call you to verify who you are. They have really great customer service.

Then they'll do a demo to show you how the service works. It's really simple and free, just take about 5 business days to see the money... the first transaction is around 7 business days.

I would highly recommend using them.

[trailmix 77]

Or you can set it up with customhouse and do a wire transfer for a fee, if you want it faster.

At least that way the account is set up if you want to tranfer more money later.

http://www.customhouse.ca/services/individ...ional-payments/

Edited January 20, 2010 by trailmix

[minnew 4]

Customhouse all the way! Excellent customer service! Best exchange rates! Banks rip you off! Free EFT's & so far no problems from them! Like others have said it takes some time to set up but will be a lifesaver when I start to pay my Canadian bills that can only be paid from a CAN institution!

[Wyatt's Torch 45]

Just checking -- does Custom House do it the other way around as well? I see myself sending more money from the U.S. to Canada (for car loan and visa) than vice versa.

[trailmix 77]

Yes they do

[lilacvioletiris 11]

This is great news as my fiance' has a car payment with a great interest rate that he doesn't want to lose. Being able to send money to his Canadian bank account to pay for the payment will be good.

[Carlawarla 1]

This is great news as my fiance' has a car payment with a great interest rate that he doesn't want to lose. Being able to send money to his Canadian bank account to pay for the payment will be good.

A lot of Canadians use it for that very reason. Student loans, gifts to Canada, payments from EI deposited to your account. You can never go wrong with leaving an account in Canada.

One thing that piqued my interest in your posting lilacvioletiris is that you mention your fiance has a loan on his car. Is he planning then on bringing it down with him? You might want to check out this link for importing your car to the U.S.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=185250

I'm not sure if it's in this link, or you might have to do a forum search about car payments, but I seem to recall that you can't import a vehicle that you don't have the full title for, so in essence, unless the car has been paid for, he won't be able to bring it down here.

I hope someone pipes in and clarifies that for you. If not, and you can't find in the forum search, a similar thread, open a new thread and ask that question.

[Flames9_RN 358]

yep CH!! and yes one can send from USA to Canada, done that many times!! Been using them since 2005 and never a problem. They may start ur trading limit low, but I called them up and they raised it. Very easy people to deal with, I ran by their office many times when I resided in Victoria! They recently got bought out by Western Union,but I havent noticed any changes

[Tina&Roland 4]

Thanks everyone! It sounds like many people are vouching for Custom House, so we'll try them.

[GregBu 1]

I just used Paypal, fwiw.

[Wyatt's Torch 45]

I just used Paypal, fwiw.

Yeah, I suppose Paypal is always a valid option too. The only problem is that it usually takes a few days for the payment to clear. I'm not sure if that's the case with Custom House?

[trailmix 77]

With customhouse, our first transaction took around 8 days, if I remember correctly. The last time I transferred anything I created the transaction in the afternoon on a Tuesday, the funds were taken from the U.S. bank on the Friday and landed in my Canadian bank account on Monday. So six days.

The difference between paypal and customhouse is that paypal charges you a fee and I suspect their exchange rate isn't as good, but I haven't checked that out.

To use customhouse you have to be organized - or be willing to pay a fee for faster transfer - if you are a fly by the seat of your pants kind of person then paypal is probably a better option!

Also, it depends whether you are transferring $200 or 10,000.00 - personally I always want the best rate for my dollar - but i'm sure some people don't care - so customhouse is not a good option for everyone

Edited January 20, 2010 by trailmix

[Krikit 1,165]

I believe there is a transaction fee for PayPal?

CustomHouse takes a few days for the no-cost electronic transfer. The wire transfer has a $25 fee but it's same day.