Conversion rate CAD Vs USD

[KROLMAN]

The current exchage rate for the Canadian dollar and Us dollar are wrong. It shows that the US dollar is higher while it is not. Rather that they are equal or that the Canadian is higher. 

[stupidforums]

http://www.starrguide.com/2012/07/paypal-currency-conversion-rate-how-to.html

I only do credit cards.... i bought the same item twice from the same seller within 24 hours and on the second transaction I did the "bill me in the currency"... on a 200$ item I figure with having AMEX do the transaction I saved 5$

b

[DH_CANADA]

I tried the "pay in listed currency" option to work around paypal, let's see how that works screw paypal!

[Luckylulu]

I agree paypal rate of exchange is horrible compared to any other company or bank.  On average paypal makes 4-6% on every conversation transaction they do.  When I am taking USD money out of paypal they convert it to Canadian and I lose around 5% everytime.  And when I pay for something in Canadian funds and they convert to USD I lose about 4or 5%.  Makes no sense, when I am taking money out of paypal the Canadian dollar is way up, so I lose money, and when I am paying for something using my credit card the same day, the Canadian dollar is the opposite and is down the same amount it was up 2 minutes before??  Paypal is a rip off to Canadians!!!

[stupidforums]

the best way to do a transaction is with American Express in my opinion.

I did a transaction the other day on Paypal for 306.50 US... showed up on my AMEX as 306.10 CDN

[WoodGuy]

To reiterate my previous posts, RBC has a subsidiary in the US...RBCBANKUSA

I changed mine over last October as I sell in USD through Paypal via my site as well as eBay, and it has saved me huge dollars. You should also be able to pay for USD items in USD out of that account. 

Go to your local branch and do two things....

1. Open am RBC USD account here in your branch.

2. Have them set up an account in the US...mine is in Georgia. It was completed in a few hours.

Then log into Paypal and change your primary bank account to your RBC USD dollar account.. Once you have set up the Georgia account, they will walk you through the new account process over the phone....easy! I did my first transfer of $645.00 US from Paypal to the US account. Then it showed on my RBC account list as deposited, and I transferred it to my RBC USD account here in Ontario...money was there in 2 seconds and saved me $30 in fees ! If I need the funds in CDN, I transfer to my CDN account and save on the conversion. I will leave the balance in USD until our dollar drops and I don't lose anything. ..

WoodGuy

[Luckylulu]

I don't have Amex, I only have Visa.

I also sell on Ebay in USD funds but I just leave money in my account for the business.  But the thing I bought the other day, I didn't have enough funds in my paypal account to pay for it, so I chose to pay for it with my credit card through paypal since it was an ebay auction item I was buying, and I lost money on the transaction, and our dollar is worth more than USD right now so it should have been less in Canadian funds than USD.  That's a good idea to get a US bank account but I use TD and they don't have the option of opening an account in the USA.

[WoodGuy]

Easy decision....switch banks...or pay the fees !

You can also get a US credit card with your Georgia account, so it's a win-win.

Paypal, eBay & banks are there to make money and what they are doing is not a crime.....not fair....but not a crime ! So why let them win?

WoodGuy

[stupidforums]

im just speaking as a buyer, to have a us bank account just to purchase doesnt make sense for me, but using an amex card and being billed in the US funds works out well for me, i pay the us amount and it works out to be less Canadian currently.

Plus i find myself buying more Canadian sellers now anyways, they seem to be at par for alot of the stuff I want, plus I get my HST back on purchases, so its like another discount.

[mikosito]

Hi there,

TD does have the option to start a US account. It's done over the phone and has very limited fees, which are waived if you keep $100 USD in your account. You can find info here http://www.tdcanadatrust.com/products-services/banking/north-american-banking-services/index.jsp

Or google cross-border banking. I too was exasperated by the high conversion rates so checked out the paypal community site for some tips. Thanks Woodguy!