US dollars in Quebec

I am leaving for Quebec City in 2 days and I am arriving quite late. I completely forgot about exchanging my USD for Canadian dollars. Does anyone know if I will be able to pay for a cab from the airport to Old Quebec with USD? Otherwise, I could probably do an exchange in the airport when I arrive, if the exchanges are open. Or maybe at an ATM? Any advice would be most welcome. Thanks.

Debbie

I would look for an ATM in the airport or use your CC, not sure too many drivers would accept USD ...

Thank you.

Debbie

Here is a thread that also discusses the same topic http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1914918

In my humble opinion it's always a good idea to have currency from the country you are visiting. If it's just a cab ride I'm guessing (but you can go on line to check) that most cabs take credit cards (and will charge in Cdn $). When you get to Quebec City you should be able to take cash out of an ATM as long as it's linked to your bank (Plus and Cirus are two major ones).

It's probably not too late to stop by your bank to pick up some Canadian dollars either.

I would get some canadian money. I remember in 2009 when we were there they had a sign infront of the fanicular that was something along the lines of CDN $2.25 US $4.00. Now I can't remember the exact prices but you get the idea, and the US dollar was pretty stong in comparison at that point. I am Canadian so had Canadian money, so I am not sure what cabs or restaurants would do, but based on that I would assume they don't like taking US money.

Thanks for the replies. I will try to get some at the ATM in the Quebec airport when we land.

It would be like asking a US cabbie to take Canadian money. You should have CA dollars or use a credit card.

Cities on the border are more apt to accept both... but not always. Some businesses here in Maine, in high CA tourist areas, accept Canadian money.

There is an ATM immediately past where you get your luggage. Just get it there - cheapest method there is.

There is an ATM immediately past where you get your luggage. Just get it there - cheapest method there is.

Perfect!

It would be like asking a US cabbie to take Canadian money. You should have CA dollars or use a credit card.

 

Cities on the border are more apt to accept both... but not always. Some businesses here in Maine, in high CA tourist areas, accept Canadian money.

It is not quite the same thing. I would say that in Canada you can generally pay for just about anything with US dollars although you may get a very bad exchange rate. Credit cards are also much more widely accepted in Canada than in the US.

It is not quite the same thing. I would say that in Canada you can generally pay for just about anything with US dollars although you may get a very bad exchange rate. Credit cards are also much more widely accepted in Canada than in the US.

Yes, I agree. Traditionally tourists could use USD in Canada, but the rate would be lousy. Not sure if Quebec is quite as good that way. In any case, the OP has left on her trip.

In Montreal we will generally accept USD, but that being said, there are plenty who don't and won't accept them. Quebec city is a LOT smaller than Montreal. I would expect exchange rates that discount about 15%. So while you should be getting CAD$101.90 for USD$100 at a bank, expect to be getting CAD$85 for USD$100 on the streets in the stores.

Why? Well, our banks charge businesses enormous markups. It's about $2-$3 for a deposit, another $2 for taking banknotes, another $1 for using a human teller (because USD can't be handled at the ATM) plus the exchange rate. So to discourage the practice, merchants pass the hassle back. Some people pass the USD through their personal accounts to avoid these commercial banking charges, but the realitity is that most Canadians just don't need USD in our daily lives. We pick some up from the ATM when we are on vacation in the US or pay with CC. And don't get me started on getting stuck with pennies... we don't have any in Canada anymore. If I have a US quarter, I can just use it in Canada, but a penny.... that is useless around here.

Seeing there isn't that much difference in the exchange, the rate won't be that lousy. We have used U.S. $$ for small purchases and taxis every year with no difficulty at all. You have to pay an exchange rate (usually) so the value isn't all that different. No merchant, restaurant, taxi, souvenir stand etc every refused our U.S. $$.

Take my word for it, the exchange rate can be downright lousy, 15% versus 0%.

You are lucky that no one refused your USD. I know plenty of places that do. Seen posted signs as well. (Besides the fact that it's just disrespectful of your hosts.)

We just returned from our Canada/New England cruise. All places we stopped in Canada - Halifax, Prince Edward Island, Gaspe, La Baie and Quebec all took US currency with no problem at all. The exchange rate for US to Canadian was only about a 5% difference. The best thing to do in my opinion is to have a credit card that does not have a foreign transaction fee. This way you are able to get the current exchange rate with out a fee. One thing to be ware of - while in the town of Perce I bought something at one store where I did not pay attention to the receipt and they had priced the item in US currency at a higher rate than the exchange rate (there was an option there which I did not notice to have them bill at Canadian rate).

I saw no need to worry about exchanging currency anywhere we stopped.

We just returned from our Canada/New England cruise. All places we stopped in Canada - Halifax, Prince Edward Island, Gaspe, La Baie and Quebec all took US currency with no problem at all. The exchange rate for US to Canadian was only about a 5% difference. The best thing to do in my opinion is to have a credit card that does not have a foreign transaction fee. This way you are able to get the current exchange rate with out a fee. One thing to be ware of - while in the town of Perce I bought something at one store where I did not pay attention to the receipt and they had priced the item in US currency at a higher rate than the exchange rate (there was an option there which I did not notice to have them bill at Canadian rate).

 

I saw no need to worry about exchanging currency anywhere we stopped.

It is called DCC (Dynamic Currency Conversion) and it's available at some places in Canada, but more often in Europe. It allows you to have the purchase done in your local currency and not use the currency conversion of your bank or bank card. I have seen it fairly often in Europe. Generally it is a little higher than your bank. If you have a card with no fees, you should decline that option.

In theory, it is sort of rude to expect to be able to use US currency in Canada. But there is a practical side to all this also.

Today the official exchange rate is $1.045 Canadian is $1 US. But if you go into a bank to exchange say US$100, you won't get CA$104.50. There will probably, as a matter of fact, almost certainly a transaction fee that will bring the total down to just about par, perhaps less than $1 more so you might get, if you're lucky on this exchange CA$101 after the bank deducts its fee.

My experience on a recent cruise, now I do understand the paces I went are used to cruise passengers with US currecy, took US currency at par and I think that is the norm for the most part today. So from a practical view point, it really doesn't matter (again for the most part) that you spend US currency. While it is true the merchant may pay some fees (and many Canadian banks offer US dollar accounts) there is a built in 4.5% profit in taking US money at par. You will get your change in Canadian although, you will find if you get any coins back, that US and Cnadian coins are almost interchngeable...you might fnd a bunch of American coins in your change and again, for the most part, US coins work in Canadian vending machines.

Now I will repeat. To a degree this is rude and many Canadians may feel slighted that Americans expect their money to be taken in Canada while Canadian money is routinely rejected, even the coins, even in border cities like Buffalo or Detroit. It is what it is. Of course the solution is to use credit cards without foreign transaction fees and to avoid at all costs dcc.

Sorry if I am coming across as an arrogant American. I do try to hit an ATM on arrival in Canada and pull out $20 Canadian and most times, I don't spend any of it as I use credit cards for everything everywhere they are taken and they're taken most everywhre in Canada. I'm simply trying to be pragmatic, rude or not. So I wouldn't worry. I am almost sure the taxi will either take American currency at par or a credit card.

BTW a new book has just come out discussing te inevitabiliy of a union between Canada and the USA (it's certainly not imminet) but if this ever hapened, there would be one common currency. Also be aware, Canada has done several things with its money that the US refuses to do. There are no $1 or $2 bank notes (or bills as we say) in Canada; rather they have a $1 coin(the loonie) and a $2 coin (the twoney) and they've done away with pennies (of course rounding prices up tothe next nickel). Something the USA could learn from.

Just a little clarification regarding the elimination of the penny - under federal government guidelines most merchants are rounding to the "0" if it ends in 1 or 2 or 8 or 9 and rounding to the "5" if it ends in 3 or 4 or 6 or 7.

We call the $2.00 coin a toonie.

Cheers

Dennis

We also have plastic (polymer) bills

;)

Be sure to check them as they tend to stick together

 

BTW a new book has just come out discussing the inevitability of a union between Canada and the USA (it's certainly not imminent) but if this ever happened, there would be one common currency..

Yeah, I don't see Canadians as agreeing to this, ever. Politically we are closer to Europe than to the United States. Currency wise, the Canadian dollar is influenced by the US dollar and the US economy, but Canada's economy is heavily resource based (along with service industries) and so the value of our dollar increases based on things like oil and minerals. Canadians are also deficit averse, war averse and very much see personal freedoms differently than the US. We share many things, but if there was ever a referendum on it, I can pretty much guess than unless we are all offered pretty big cheques, it's not going to be for union with the US.

As for the current exchange rates, I usually use those of HSBC on this page... http://www.hsbc.ca/1/2/personal/banking/accounts/foreign-currency-accounts/foreign-currency-exchange and the current exchange on USD is 1.024 or CAD$102.40 per USD$100. The banks usually use a 2.5% margin on cheques and 3% on cash.

Just in that last year, the exchange rates have fluctuated widely. In the last 365 days, USD$100 has been worth anywhere from CAD$98.50 to CAD$105.00 (And in the last 5 years from CAD$94.86 to CAD$128.36) You can check historical rates via http://www.oanda.com/currency/historical-rates/

Yeah, I don't see Canadians as agreeing to this, ever. Politically we are closer to Europe than to the United States. Currency wise, the Canadian dollar is influenced by the US dollar and the US economy, but Canada's economy is heavily resource based (along with service industries) and so the value of our dollar increases based on things like oil and minerals. Canadians are also deficit averse, war averse and very much see personal freedoms differently than the US. We share many things, but if there was ever a referendum on it, I can pretty much guess than unless we are all offered pretty big cheques, it's not going to be for union with the US.

 

As for the current exchange rates, I usually use those of HSBC on this page... http://www.hsbc.ca/1/2/personal/banking/accounts/foreign-currency-accounts/foreign-currency-exchange and the current exchange on USD is 1.024 or CAD$102.40 per USD$100. The banks usually use a 2.5% margin on cheques and 3% on cash.

 

Just in that last year, the exchange rates have fluctuated widely. In the last 365 days, USD$100 has been worth anywhere from CAD$98.50 to CAD$105.00 (And in the last 5 years from CAD$94.86 to CAD$128.36) You can check historical rates via http://www.oanda.com/currency/historical-rates/

Hi...you're probably right I am sure. As far as currency exchange rates, I use xe.com which at this instant, as I am writing the reply, showUS$1 = CA$1.0428. Now that's the interbank rate, the rate banks use to exchange millions of dollars at atime. You might be uing the consumer rate of HSBC. What I've found in Europe is the exchange rates listed at banks haveboth abuy and sell rate with the interbank rate in the middle (of course that's the way banks make money on currency exchange just like any other bank's transactions sort of a legalized ponzi scheme but not worth disagreeing about.

Again, the best way to deal with currency when travelling in any foreign country is to use a credit card, and several US banks offer credit cards like this, with no foreign transaction fee.

The link shows the bank buy/sell rates. Usually 2.5% in either direction for cheques and 3% for cash. Most banks in Canada don't charge consumers a commission fee. (They charge commercial accounts many fees.)

For most Canadians, the best bet is usually an ATM. Other than one or two cards in Canada, all our banks charge a 3% premium for using a CC in foreign currency.... all issued by Chase, which isn't a big issuer of CC in Canada.

I see some wrong info here the Canadian dollar is worth MORE than the US.

So $100 US is about 95.00 Canadian at current rates.

On a not so recent cruise all the Canadian ports took US at par. Those with heavy tourist traffic figure the difference isn't worth worrying about . I have gotten Canadian at an ATM, but regretted paying the premium as the US was worth the same.

I see some wrong info here the Canadian dollar is worth MORE than the US.

 

So $100 US is about 95.00 Canadian at current rates.

You have that reversed - CA$100 is worth around US$95 at the moment. It fluctuates, but the CA$ has been slipping of late.

As of this instant, according to xe. com, US$1 = CA$1.05008.