Exchanging euros for Canadian dollars

kaji

I'm going to Canada in a few weeks and I'm wondering if it's better to exchange money before I get there or just withdraw when I'm over there? Is there much difference?

el diablo

Probably best to do it when you arrive in Canada but never use the foreign exchange services at the airports. They're a massive rip off and will give you a crap exchange rate. The euro is quite strong versus the Canadian dollar right now.
I usually use my credit card to withdraw cash when I go abroad (I pay my bill on time to avoid paying interest).

james182

If you do decide to convert your money in Canada- open a bank account first. Once you are a bank client they will give you a better exchange rate. Or just go to a few currency exchange places - some are better than the others even if they are next door.

ettiecol

If you preload your credit card you can take money out in any country without being charged for the exchange fee, so you get an exact exchange

james182

ettiecol wrote: »

If you preload your credit card you can take money out in any country without being charged for the exchange fee, so you get an exact exchange

I've heard if you do that they convert currencies at an unfavourable rate- they'll try to rip you off anyway they can

spacebar5000

Hey guys, this is not an answer, more so a follow up of the original question.

I'm going to Cannada in a few weeks, Can someone tell me if i can put the money in my irish bank account,
go to Canaa, set up a bank account and transfer the money?

thanks

Long Gone

spacebar5000 wrote: »

Hey guys, this is not an answer, more so a follow up of the original question.

I'm going to Cannada in a few weeks, Can someone tell me if i can put the money in my irish bank account,
go to Canada, set up a bank account and transfer the money?

thanks

Yes you can, but you'll get a much better exchange rate and more Canadian Dollars for your Euros if you register with and use one of the reputable on-line foreign exchange companies for transferring the money between the accounts instead of letting the banks do it. I use Hifx (other FX companies are available !) and I've always found them to be very good. Google them.

ravingitup

Long Gone wrote: »

Yes you can, but you'll get a much better exchange rate and more Canadian Dollars for your Euros if you register with and use one of the reputable on-line foreign exchange companies for transferring the money between the accounts instead of letting the banks do it. I use Hifx (other FX companies are available !) and I've always found them to be very good. Google them.

Do you save much money using on-line foreign exchange companies?

I too, am looking into the option suggested by spacebar5000 but now that I've read your post, I must look into HiFx and similar foreign exchange companies.

Long Gone

ravingitup wrote: »

Do you save much money using on-line foreign exchange companies?

It depends how much money you're changing, but yes, you do get a much better deal. Well worth doing if you're changing more than a couple of hundred Euros say.

If you were sending say 6000 Euros, I reckon you would save say at least 100 Euros, possibly a bit more. The transfer is usually much faster as well.

You can decide how many Euros you want to change (or how many Canadian dollars you want to receive) and Hifx will give you a live quote of either how many Canadian dollars you will receive (or how much you will have to pay in Euros).

If you compare that deal with what you'd get by letting the banks exchange the money for you, then you will be pleasantly surprised.

As I've said, I've had very good experiences with Hifx - On one occasion I'd done a FX deal with them for several thousand Euros, then found I was unable to proceed in the required time because AIB had just brought in the requirement to have a PIN Sentry machine to make payments and I didn't have one... ! I explained the situation to Hifx and they helpfully agreed to just cancel the deal.

Hifx are very well rated and I have no hesitation recommending them

https://www.trustpilot.co.uk/review/www.hifx.co.uk