I wonder if anyone has some advice about exchanging Canadian money (in the form of paper checks) into US funds?
Sad to say my mother passed away recently, and I’ll be receiving some inheritance funds soon from Canadian firms (two insurance companies, one bank). I live in the U.S. and I’m told these payments can only be sent as checks and only in Canadian dollars.
The problem I have is that Vanguard (where I would like to deposit the money) will not accept Canadian funds, not will they exchange the funds. I’m extremely disappointed with them, as I’ve been with Vanguard for about 30 years, and they seemingly have no interest receiving this money or in helping me get around this rule of theirs.
If I deposit and convert the checks at my local bank (so the funds could be transferred to Vanguard), they charge a hidden markup of 4 or 5 percent onto the daily published exchange rate. On what’s being converted, that would amount to somewhere between $50,000 to $60,000. I understand the bank wants to make a profit, but it shouldn’t be ridiculous.
I went into the bank branch to ask if the markup might be negotiable or if they had some sort of tiered charge for a large exchange, and they really had no idea what I was talking about. First the (young) manager had to figure out how to look up the bank’s rate of exchange on Canadian money, then I had to show them the difference between his rate (.68) and the actual current published rate you can look up online all day (.72 to .73). They finally said this is beyond branch level and I’d need to contact the bank.
My mother was a frugal person who saved her entire life, and I want to do right by her. I don’t want to throw away a portion of her life’s savings needlessly. I also worry about doing anything tricky that might throw up red flags with either the Canadian or American governments.
If anyone has experience with this kind of situation, I’d love to hear your suggestions. Thanks!
Sad to say my mother passed away recently, and I’ll be receiving some inheritance funds soon from Canadian firms (two insurance companies, one bank). I live in the U.S. and I’m told these payments can only be sent as checks and only in Canadian dollars.
The problem I have is that Vanguard (where I would like to deposit the money) will not accept Canadian funds, not will they exchange the funds. I’m extremely disappointed with them, as I’ve been with Vanguard for about 30 years, and they seemingly have no interest receiving this money or in helping me get around this rule of theirs.
If I deposit and convert the checks at my local bank (so the funds could be transferred to Vanguard), they charge a hidden markup of 4 or 5 percent onto the daily published exchange rate. On what’s being converted, that would amount to somewhere between $50,000 to $60,000. I understand the bank wants to make a profit, but it shouldn’t be ridiculous.
I went into the bank branch to ask if the markup might be negotiable or if they had some sort of tiered charge for a large exchange, and they really had no idea what I was talking about. First the (young) manager had to figure out how to look up the bank’s rate of exchange on Canadian money, then I had to show them the difference between his rate (.68) and the actual current published rate you can look up online all day (.72 to .73). They finally said this is beyond branch level and I’d need to contact the bank.
My mother was a frugal person who saved her entire life, and I want to do right by her. I don’t want to throw away a portion of her life’s savings needlessly. I also worry about doing anything tricky that might throw up red flags with either the Canadian or American governments.
If anyone has experience with this kind of situation, I’d love to hear your suggestions. Thanks!
Statistics: Posted by gregorygeorge — Tue Sep 17, 2024 12:49 pm — Replies 5 — Views 102