Currency excange?

Question

im planing a trip to new york but i have Canadian money .Is it possible to go to a bank and change my money into U.S money instead of Canadian id rather have American money just in case

But i don't want any currency exchange rate garbage

so if i pay $20 Canadian i want go get $20 American

plz and thanks

Answer 1

There will be a small service charge.  Call your bank and ask for specific details.

Do NOT use your bank card in the U.S.  The money will come out of your canadian account at that day's exchange rate PLUS an additional 250 points.  For example, on a purchase of $10 US with an exchange rate of 1.3, the transaction amount will be $13.25 CDN ($10 x 1.325).

Answer 2

No bank will give you US$20 for CAD$20 unless the exchange rate and its currency exchange fee happens to be exactly that amount.

Banks make money by lending money to you and charging you interest. They also make money when you put money in a savings or checking account, because they can use that money to lend to others or invest it to make more money than the small or no interest they give you.

So if you are thinking they will just exchange the money straight up, I've got ocean-front property in Arizona to sell you.

My suggestion to you is just use your bank card or credit card while in the USA. When I go down to Chicago, LA, New York, Boston, etc. I just go to the nearest Bank of America or other place that has an ATM, and I do a cash withdrawal. Because my Canadian bank is part of the PLUS network, it works fine but I do get charged the current exchange rate plus usually a $2.00 fee. But that fee does not hurt me much if I take out $200-300 one time instead of a fast $50 several times during my trip.