Transferring Funds to Canada

NewsMeQuick

Hi, I know there are a few money threads but none came up as 'similar threads' when I created this one.

What's the best way to transfer money over?

I think a lot of people are planning on leaving money in their Irish bank accounts and simply transferring it over to their Canadian accounts when they open it up. I checked out the EUR-CAD rate for one of the major Canadian banks and it was awful. You would waste a lot of money doing it that way - unless there is a bank with a great rate that we don't know about.

The other idea is Currency Fair. You have to estimate how much CAD you're going to need in cash before you go over, so you could make a misjudgement here, you have to budget properly. That would mean getting some CAD from a local bank just to have cash then the rest via CF. I'm not terribly fond of knowing my money would be locked away until I open an account on the other side. Maybe it's not that hard? I know a few people here said they did it.

My concerns:
- safety
- easy of access
- as good a rate as you can get

gary27

I would use currencyfair, I had no problems with them, not sure what you mean by you need to estimate, you simply transfer your euros into currencyfair and place an order to buy canadian dollars based on the rate being offered, when you get to canada open an account, add the new bank details to your currencyfair and transfer the funds in, it shouldn't take very long,
I also took cash with me for the first while until the funds were in my bank account.

bopper

Definitely go with currency fair they're great. Or else bring cash with you. Do not leave it in your Irish account and try to wire it to your Canadian one. That was an absolute nightmare for me trying to do it that way.

magooly

gary27 wrote: »

I would use currencyfair, I had no problems with them, not sure what you mean by you need to estimate, you simply transfer your euros into currencyfair and place an order to buy canadian dollars based on the rate being offered, when you get to canada open an account, add the new bank details to your currencyfair and transfer the funds in, it shouldn't take very long,
I also took cash with me for the first while until the funds were in my bank account.

Im pretty sure CF have no arrangements with Canadian banks. I tried to set my brother up with them over xmas when he was home from Canada. I spoke to their support teams and they had no facility to do so from Irl to Canada. Maybe that has changed.

bopper

magooly wrote: »

Im pretty sure CF have no arrangements with Canadian banks. I tried to set my brother up with them over xmas when he was home from Canada. I spoke to their support teams and they had no facility to do so from Irl to Canada. Maybe that has changed.

I transferred money from my Irish account to my Canadian account using currency fair back in July without a problem.

gary27

magooly wrote: »

Im pretty sure CF have no arrangements with Canadian banks. I tried to set my brother up with them over xmas when he was home from Canada. I spoke to their support teams and they had no facility to do so from Irl to Canada. Maybe that has changed.

Not sure what you mean but I had no issue transfering funds using currencyfair which offer better rates than the banks.

dealhunter1985

currencyfair is the best way

NewsMeQuick

That's good feedback. And you guys explain the whole process in a few lines far more efficiently than Currency Fair does! I got an email from them recently saying many customers are confused about the process. You guys explained it in a few lines and done! :rolleyes:

Right you need a permanent address to open a bank account I think? No temp accom addresses? So I really have to acomplish that in the first week to access the rest of the money.

What I meant about misjudgement was, you'll need to bring over some cash even if you use CF. I'm trying to reduce the liability of bringing too much, while bringing enough to pay for incidentals. I know first months rent, deposit, temp. accom. and food, plus local travel will be major bills. I'm guessing maybe $1,500 CAD? I'll use CF for the rest then.

Also, the proof of funds thing, is it OK to print off your CF account status do you think?

dealhunter1985

You can be up and running with a bank account over here in one day.
You will need your SIN number but you could get your SIN number and bank account on the same day easily.
It takes roughly 3 days for the Canadian dollars that you bought to get from Currencyfair to your Canadian account once you do the transfer.

I didnt need a permanent address. I just gave the bank the temp address I was staying at and changed it subsequently when I got a more permanent residence.

NewsMeQuick

This is really good news. I'm glad that so many here have found it useful and efficient. Plus, I can't believe I could possibly get my SIN and bank account sorted within day, provided I do everything required. That resolves my concern about locked up funds. I'll bring slightly less cash now.

Would the border officers likely be happy with a CF balance rather than an Irish bank?

aerotuned

Hi, some 1 told me just use paypal , I don't know if this works any ideas. Just transfer your irish money to paypal -PayPal to canidan account ?

armadillo86

aerotuned wrote: »

Hi, some 1 told me just use paypal , I don't know if this works any ideas. Just transfer your irish money to paypal -PayPal to canidan account ?

Do PayPal not charge a bomb for their transfers, as well as giving a crappy exchange rate?

I used Currency Fair when I first got to Canada, couldn't recommend them enough. Think the whole transfer was done within 3 days to my Scotiabank account and only cost 4 dollars in total.

dealhunter1985

Yes Paypal is by far one of the worst options.
People seem to think its a good deal because there isnt a fixed fee. But trust me, the exchange rate you are getting is absolutely shocking. Thats how they make their cut

aerotuned

Ok I don't know , it was just mentioned 1 day at work. I have signed up to currency fair

gary27

The exchange rate at the minute is very good for people changing euros to canadian dollars as compared to one year ago when I was coming over, and to get the best possible exchange rate use currencyfair.

NewsMeQuick

gary27 wrote: »

The exchange rate at the minute is very good for people changing euros to canadian dollars as compared to one year ago when I was coming over, and to get the best possible exchange rate use currencyfair.

Don't I know it, I've been watching like a hawk! Best rate in four years, and counting...

It's clearly a return to normal and a reliable climb, not a volatile one.

http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=EURCAD=X&t=5y&l=on&z=m&q=l&c=

gary27

NewsMeQuick wrote: »

Don't I know it, I've been watching like a hawk! Best rate in four years, and counting...

It's clearly a return to normal and a reliable climb, not a volatile one.

http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=EURCAD=X&t=5y&l=on&z=m&q=l&c=

It wasn't good when I was getting dollars back in april 2013 but the rate does seem to be less volatile this year than last.

NewsMeQuick

Hi guys. So I just ordered some CAD cash in my local bank until I get my account set up on the other side. I'm browsing the rates on CF today in the marketplace section. I see a range of orders, though I'm guessing in practice that most trades are done pretty close to the market rate - placing an order for a few cent more than the market rate is unlikely to be taken up.

With 50 flashing signs on their site telling you that you get a better deal with them rather than your bank, you might well believe it unless you do the math.

I notice that they charge different rates of commission depending on how you do your trade. The 0.5% is for 'trading with CF' a.k.a. quicktrade. The commission even at the lower rate is three times what my bank charges. The real gain is the better rate. Using all of todays values, I calculated a small gain, but nothing major even over the course of a few grand. If you're not careful, you could lose that on the higher rate of commission with CF.

alexsmith

I know this probably sounds stupid but how does the bank transfer actually work?

Assuming ive set up a currencyfair account, how exactly do I go about transferring my funds from my irish bank account to the canadian one?(which il be setting up the day after I arrive)

Thanks

NewsMeQuick

You create the Currency Fair account. Then you login and add your ROI account. Now you use your Currency Fair (CF) account to add funds, it asks from which account, you select your Irish account. Now you log into your ROI account and add CF as a payee. Now you send the money to your CF account - using the CF reference code which it gives you when you tell it to add funds. This takes a day or two. Then you get an email saying your transfer is completed.

The next part is buying CAD. You can either use quicktrade or marketplace. I used the marketplace (I think...) and it was done instantly. You now have CAD. When you get here, set up your Canadian account. Now log into CF and add your Canadian account as another account. Now click move funds, direct it to your new Canadian account. That will take 1-2 days and done.

Word of warning - I haven't found anyone else that this has happened to, but there will be someone else eventually, my unlocked Irish phone would not connect to any network here, so no roaming. When you do anything on your CF account, it sends a verification code to your Irish number. How do you complete the action if you can't access your Irish number? I had to contact them for help. Again, I'm the first I know of that this happened to, but can happen...

aerotuned

TD bank will do 1 international free bank transfer a month. Don't know what rate they will give u do

dealhunter1985

I done an international transfer with TD and the rate wasnt pretty!

Currencyfair is the best option.

aerotuned

Cool I'll keep that on mind.

alexsmith

thanks guys

alexsmith

sorry for the question people,but when you say transfer from my account to the currencyfair account, i assume thats my open 24 account? i have tried to set up an open24 account about 200 times and so i just left it altogether.

sashafierce

This post has been deleted.

krudler

Is there much involved in getting an account? Probably need an apartment sorted first

dealhunter1985

alexsmith wrote: »

sorry for the question people,but when you say transfer from my account to the currencyfair account, i assume thats my open 24 account? i have tried to set up an open24 account about 200 times and so i just left it altogether.

Yes open24 for example or whatever bank you use.
You simply setup currencyfair's euro account as a 3rd party beneficiary and quote your currencyfair client i.d in the transfer..So that they know who the money belongs to when they receive it..
After which they credit your currencyfair account the Euro's, and you can then sell them for CAD..

dealhunter1985

krudler wrote: »

Is there much involved in getting an account? Probably need an apartment sorted first

Just use a friends address like I did (obviously with your name, not your friends)
They dont look for utility bills or anything proving where you are living or for how long you have been living there..

bizguy

Could canadian dollars be bought now on CurrencyFair for an expected canadian transfer next February, using todays favourable exchange rate? Too risky?

james182

Maybe what can be done is that a person opens a bank account back home with debit card from that bank. Then you can just get a money draft whenever you need the money. Or you can just use debit for purchases.