I recently transferred some money from my Canadian account to my Australian account. I was curious to see how long it would take, what the exchange rate penalties would be, etc. I was told by the bank that there would be a $30 fee for the transfer, which seemed not bad.
What was unexpectedly painful though was the 2% skimmed off the my transfer due to exchange rates. The current market price for 1AUD is 0.884CAD, but they used a rate of 0.902CAD! I understand this skimming is necessary due to market fluctuations, but 2% seems a bit high. Imagine that someone transferred $10000 from Canada to Australia and then back to Canada. After losing money to fees and margins they would have less than $9550 left!
When my parents come to visit, I'll be giving them access to my Canadian dollars, and they can transfer equivalent money to my Australian account after they get home. That will let me pay off my University debts, and save them a little money on their trip. A much better solution.
1 comment:
Certainly a much better solution. It is amazing what they charge just to change money from one form to another. Although, I am still reeling from the details demanded by a bank when I changed some cash a while back. Why is it that they feel the need to get my name, address, bank account number if possible, require a drivers licence... just to change $1000 to another form. *faint*
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