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Transferring >10k CAD to my Cdn bank via CurrencyFair

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Deal Addict
Dec 8, 2008
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Transferring >10k CAD to my Cdn bank via CurrencyFair

I moved to Europe for my studies a year ago and exchanged too much euros, now I want to convert some back and put it back on my Tangerine account via CurrencyFair and it's a bit over 10k. Is there any precaution I should take for transferring over 10k or is this a non-issue? Thanks.
14 replies
Sr. Member
Nov 13, 2009
660 posts
306 upvotes
Oakville
leoben wrote: I moved to Europe for my studies a year ago and exchanged too much euros, now I want to convert some back and put it back on my Tangerine account via CurrencyFair and it's a bit over 10k. Is there any precaution I should take for transferring over 10k or is this a non-issue? Thanks.
You should be fine
But Tangerine doesn't accept deposits from foreign banks (Wire Transfer)
I don't know what CurrencyFair is but if they have a branch in Canada and will be making the deposit from Canada then you should be fine
Deal Addict
Dec 7, 2011
3586 posts
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Whitehorse
Currencyfair has since changed their banking partners. Has anyone here since transferred >10k CAD to a Canadian bank account?

Up to 10k, Currencyfair says they use ACH to transfer money to Canadian bank accounts. Above 10k, they use SWIFT. Currencyfair warns that intermediary banks and receiving banks may keep some of the money.

I have once been stinged by Deutsche Bank, who simply kept 50 Euro from a Swift transfer. I had no idea Deutsche Bank was even involved - they were an intermediary bank on a transfer from Europe (not involving Currencyfair). I certainly don't want this to happen again. So I am looking for your experiences.
Jr. Member
Aug 29, 2012
122 posts
122 upvotes
Toronto
I believe that Currencyfair would send the >$10K transfer from their AIB account in Dublin via CIBC intermediary SWIFT partner so you will possibly see intermediary fees from CIBC - looking at CIBC posted fee schedule there is no intermediary cost listed but it shows incoming wires have a charge to them as do outgoing so i would assume there will be a cost somewhere between $15-$100 from them in addition to any fees your own bank would tag on for their incoming wire fee. Best send Currency fair a note to confirm the path they would send the money then ask your own bank what they would charge for the inbound fees and see what difference it would be to send the transfer in sub $10K chunks with the CF $4 ACH deposit cost multiplied out but the number of $10K transfers. I have never used CF for >$10K transfers. I have previously had a swift transfer sent to me via another bank that used CIBC as an intermediary for just over $30000CAD and there was a $30 charge deducted in transit as a point of reference.
Member
Jan 5, 2014
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Addresses are hard..…
I suggest getting a bitcoin Debit card and change the euro to bitcoin.
Deal Addict
Dec 7, 2011
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Whitehorse
jameswclarke wrote: I believe that Currencyfair would send the >$10K transfer from their AIB account in Dublin via CIBC intermediary SWIFT partner so you will possibly see intermediary fees from CIBC - looking at CIBC posted fee schedule there is no intermediary cost listed but it shows incoming wires have a charge to them as do outgoing so i would assume there will be a cost somewhere between $15-$100 from them in addition to any fees your own bank would tag on for their incoming wire fee. Best send Currency fair a note to confirm the path they would send the money then ask your own bank what they would charge for the inbound fees and see what difference it would be to send the transfer in sub $10K chunks with the CF $4 ACH deposit cost multiplied out but the number of $10K transfers. I have never used CF for >$10K transfers. I have previously had a swift transfer sent to me via another bank that used CIBC as an intermediary for just over $30000CAD and there was a $30 charge deducted in transit as a point of reference.
Thank you. I'm not worried about the receiving charge. I'm only interested in the intermediary charge, which usually depends on the instructions given when the money is sent: All fees to sender (which doesn't actually mean *all* fees to sender), split fees, all fees to recipient. And currencyfair doesn't say how they do it.

And then it probably also depends on the intermediary bank.
Jr. Member
Aug 29, 2012
122 posts
122 upvotes
Toronto
sokolov wrote: Thank you. I'm not worried about the receiving charge. I'm only interested in the intermediary charge, which usually depends on the instructions given when the money is sent: All fees to sender (which doesn't actually mean *all* fees to sender), split fees, all fees to recipient. And currencyfair doesn't say how they do it.

And then it probably also depends on the intermediary bank.
Best bet is to ask Currency fair to find out the intermediary charges from CIBC and to confirm how they handle fees during the transfer out. They are usually good at responding to enquiries.
Deal Addict
Dec 8, 2008
1887 posts
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GTA
sokolov wrote: Currencyfair has since changed their banking partners. Has anyone here since transferred >10k CAD to a Canadian bank account?

Up to 10k, Currencyfair says they use ACH to transfer money to Canadian bank accounts. Above 10k, they use SWIFT. Currencyfair warns that intermediary banks and receiving banks may keep some of the money.

I have once been stinged by Deutsche Bank, who simply kept 50 Euro from a Swift transfer. I had no idea Deutsche Bank was even involved - they were an intermediary bank on a transfer from Europe (not involving Currencyfair). I certainly don't want this to happen again. So I am looking for your experiences.
When did this change take place? I moved over $10,000 CAD from my German bank to Tangerine and was not charged fees earlier this year.. How are you sending your money and how is Deutsche Bank involved? Deutsche Bank is my primary bank and I've never been charged for sending and receiving money within Europe. I do a SEPA transfer from DB to CF and EFT from CF to Tangerine.
Deal Addict
Dec 7, 2011
3586 posts
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Whitehorse
The Deutsche Bank fee was before I used currencyfair. i sent a "Split fees" SWIFT transfer from another European country to Canada. Costly mistake.

When currencyfair changed what I don't know. I don't whish to send >10k often. :-)
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Mar 20, 2009
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Vancouver
First of all any transfers over $10K come in for extra scrutiny under FINTRAC regulations, looking for potential tax evasion or criminal money laundering. But that shouldn't be a concern for legitimate transfers, and it's not a hard limit in any case - banks may refer any transaction that they deem to be the least bit unusual for extra scrutiny just to be safe.

You can expect to be gouged on fees at both ends and possibly in the middle as well for international currency transfers, as everyone involved takes a cut. You can ask about fees in advance, but often bank staff are not very knowledgeable about international transactions, and will either not know or give you incorrect information.

Generally for European business transactions we have arrangements with a couple of foreign exchange brokers (Cambridge Mercantile and Firma). They maintain European accounts in UKP and euros, and it's easy to have the European source bank wire the money to those accounts. The forex processor then transfers that money directly to our Canadian bank account with no fees and a much better exchange rate than the banks offer.

But the business forex processors are not intended for small one-time transactions with individuals. It takes a little paperwork to set up the account in the first place. You might need to shop around the many forex processors to see which offers a service tailored to your needs.
Deal Addict
Dec 7, 2011
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Whitehorse
Thank you. At this time, I'm specifically interested in what happens with currencyfair SWIFT transfers to TD on the way, not about TD's receiving fees or how cutrencyfair's competitors may fare.
Deal Addict
Dec 7, 2011
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Whitehorse
I have received a reply from currencyfair support: "Our intermediary bank is Barclays, on average they will charge 25 CAD. Please note these fees are outside of our control and are not applied by CurrencyFair."

That means, a transfer of 10k or more will cost CAD 4+ CAD 25 = CAD 29 "on average", whatever that means in practice. Calculating with CAD 29, you are better off sending up to seven transactions of CA 9999.99 each than one of 10K or more. Only if you have to transfer 70k or more will a single transfer be more cost effective. Note: This calculations assumes zero cost on the receiving end for both ACH and SWIFT transfers.
Deal Addict
Dec 7, 2011
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Whitehorse
Attention, RFDers!

As it turns out, the actual limit is CAD 9,500, not 10k. AND this is a DAILY limit for ACH transfers. So if you send 2 transfers of 5K each, only the first one will go through. The second one won't, and there is no notification of that. You have to contact customer support, who will then put the money back into your currencyfair account, and then you have to initiate another transfer.

So, if you want to send more than 9.5k, you either have to split it over several days, or you have to bite the more expensive SWIFT bullet. So currencyfair's change of bank is not good for

Who does it better?

PS: The daily limit is *per beneficiary*, not per currencyfair account.
Deal Addict
Dec 7, 2011
3586 posts
1993 upvotes
Whitehorse
Good news from Currencyfair: The limit of CAD 9500 no longer applies, and the CAD 25 Swift fee is gone. I have received this information from Currencyfair's support:

"We’ve very recently changed our banking partner for the transfer of CAD to Canada and these transfers are being done by ACH so the usual $4.00 fee applies and there is no transaction limit."

That means transfer outs of larger amounts are now only CAD 4, no longer CAD 29. However, that is not yet reflected on the website because: "Our messaging and website is in the process of being updated."

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