Do Toronto merchants accept US Currency? (restaurants, vacation, money)
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Not sure what's more popular Credit Cards or Debit Cards.
Most US and Canadian banks expect you to use their own ATMs. If you use another banks ATMs you usually get 2 fees. One from your bank and one from the ATM itself. I withdrew money like this last week and the ATM charged me 2.50 and my bank charged me another 2.00.
And both types of fees vary by bank and ATM. We can sometimes ask for cashback when using the debit card to buy goods at a merchant and then we pay no fees but there' usually a small limit to how much cash you can get often around $60.
There are a few banks that do not charge this but they are rare. Provident bank in NJ card i had never charged any fees no matter where i used the ATM. Even more rare there are some ATMs that don't charge fees. There is a chain of stores called WAWA that made a deal with a bank that all their ATMs charge no fees to draw in customers. The combination of the 2 worked quite well when i lived there.
Another question came up..... what about gas stations terminals? I know it might be the same answer anyways but, just thinking. Here in the U.S. different states has WaWa Gas stations. So, when using their ATM machine, they don't charge a surcharge fee. If Canada has WaWa's, is it still the same verdict?
Canada doesn't have Wawa's. If I understand you correctly, these gas stations have ATMs at them standard? I don't think ATM's at Canadian gas stations are standard, and if there is one it's usually just a generic ATM not affiliated with any particular institution.
There are a few banks that do not charge this but they are rare. Provident bank in NJ card i had never charged any fees no matter where i used the ATM. Even more rare there are some ATMs that don't charge fees. There is a chain of stores called WAWA that made a deal with a bank that all their ATMs charge no fees to draw in customers. The combination of the 2 worked quite well when i lived there.
We are just the opposite, there are a few U.S. states that has WAWA gas stations, even the state I'm in now. We don't have chain of WAWA stores that I know of. So, in these wawa gas stations, their ATM's don't charge surcharge. Just like you mention about wawa stores, it's basically the same concept.
The question I have is, since there is wawa stores there in Canada. Is the ATM's can only be used by local residents to get that non-surcharge fee or can it be used by foreigns as well? I know that the ATM will still charge my bank anyways for a international transaction fee.
We are just the opposite, there are a few U.S. states that has WAWA gas stations, even the state I'm in now. We don't have chain of WAWA stores that I know of. So, in these wawa gas stations, their ATM's don't charge surcharge. Just like you mention about wawa stores, it's basically the same concept.
The question I have is, since there is wawa stores there in Canada. Is the ATM's can only be used by local residents to get that non-surcharge fee or can it be used by foreigns as well? I know that the ATM will still charge my bank anyways for a international transaction fee.
I've never heard of a Wawa in Canada. I've never found an ATM in Canada that doesn't charge the non-customer fees (except for the Scotiabank/Bank Of America alliance previously discussed)
Banks finds ways to screw us one way or another, lol
Yeah, it's part of travel--paying fees to someone to change. I would just use the bank machines, and try not to do it too often so you can minimize fees. Sometime is you have a VIP account the bank fees are included in a monthly fee that can work out better if yu travel a lot.
Yes, you can use USD...but people don't really want to most of the time since it's a hassle to have to exchange themselves...so you will never get a good exchange rate! Likely worse than whatever the banks will charge you, and worse the farther you get from tourist areas and places like Niagara Falls.
Hey, would YOU want Canadian dollars if some tourist showed up? Not likely...
Yeah, it's part of travel--paying fees to someone to change. I would just use the bank machines, and try not to do it too often so you can minimize fees. Sometime is you have a VIP account the bank fees are included in a monthly fee that can work out better if yu travel a lot.
Yes, you can use USD...but people don't really want to most of the time since it's a hassle to have to exchange themselves...so you will never get a good exchange rate! Likely worse than whatever the banks will charge you, and worse the farther you get from tourist areas and places like Niagara Falls.
Hey, would YOU want Canadian dollars if some tourist showed up? Not likely...
No such thing as Navy Federal, sorry
have a good trip
Funny thing.. you can go almost anywhere through Canada even hundred miles from the border and businesses will accept USD. The reverse is not true. Even in Niagara Falls NY a tourist town on the border many businesses won't accept CAD
Funny thing.. you can go almost anywhere through Canada even hundred miles from the border and businesses will accept USD. The reverse is not true. Even in Niagara Falls NY a tourist town on the border many businesses won't accept CAD
Unfortunately there is a perception sometimes--perpetuated by movies etc--that the US dollar is some kind of magic international currency...which is not true. It is definitely widely accepted, and especially in countries with currency problems like high inflation or no free-floating exchange rate, folks will often want USD/Euros, etc.
But in developed countries with strong currency markets that isn't really the case. If there is no "black market" or any commerce on the street done in USD, nobody wants another country's money, no matter what country it is!
If there are a lot of tourists from a country (like a cruise ship port) locals will often take another currency just to make it easy for the customer to make the purchase, but it's a hassle/cost they accept for the customer's benefit--like paying for a credit card terminal. If the biz didn't have to pay VISA, they would love it!
Unfortunately there is a perception sometimes--perpetuated by movies etc--that the US dollar is some kind of magic international currency...which is not true. It is definitely widely accepted, and especially in countries with currency problems like high inflation or no free-floating exchange rate, folks will often want USD/Euros, etc.
But in developed countries with strong currency markets that isn't really the case. If there is no "black market" or any commerce on the street done in USD, nobody wants another country's money, no matter what country it is!
If there are a lot of tourists from a country (like a cruise ship port) locals will often take another currency just to make it easy for the customer to make the purchase, but it's a hassle/cost they accept for the customer's benefit--like paying for a credit card terminal. If the biz didn't have to pay VISA, they would love it!
Your comments may apply to other countries but not to Canada. Canada is a developed country with a strong currency (often worth a touch more than the USD recently). And far from tourist areas merchants will take USD almost anywhere.
Thanks for your comments. And Chateress, Along with the BoA, there is also a large list of second chance checking account banks in US and Canada. Here is the list: Click here
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