cushdee

As posted I will be going over to edmonton in the next couple of months

Where is the best place to change money? Like in the uk or bring over the pounds and change them when I get here?

ArthurBrit

Personally I would not carry any more 'cash' on me than what I needed.

Do you have a bank account set up in Canada already?

cushdee

No not yet that was on the list but I thought change money then take to a bank and deposit te money straight in

ArthurBrit

Are you bringing ridiculous sums?

What I did personally was set up a wire transfer to my wifes account and when I was ready to move I logged on and sent it.

I am sure the more you bring the better it is to shop around for rates, without a bank account already setup makes it harder but if you visit your local branch and ask them to show you how to set up an internaiton wire transfer for the online system you should be fine.

iaink

There is a wiki and an entire subforum devoted to money questions.

Undoubtedly you will get a better exchange rate using one of the many brokerages to transfer money to your account in Canada once its set up, although bring enough cash to meet your immediate needs, pay deposits etc. In some cases its worth talking to your bank too to see what rate they are prepared to negotiate.

Dont expect a good exchange rate once you are here looking for $Cdn cash... they know that if you are asking, then you need to make the change so no deals to be found.

When setting up a new account here make sure you ask about how long it will take for them to clear payments and incoming transfers. Ive heard cases of new account holders being unable to withdraw money for weeks, even after that paid into the account in cash! Also see what they will do to waive fees. Or else setup a free account with PC if you can.

http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Currency_Exchange-Canada
http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Category:Canada_Financial
http://britishexpats.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=179

If you bring more than $10k you need to declare it on entry. There are no consequences for doing that, but there are if you forget and they catch you...

MRam

Yes I agree, the best thing to do is shop around for currency transfer quotes and make sure that you are getting the best rate from an FSA authorised foreign exchange provider. Typically, a foreign exchange broker's rate can be up to 4% better than the banks. This doesn't sound a lot but when you're transferring thousands or hundreds of thousands, it really does make a huge difference!
Wish you all the best

scootb

I just used this site on saturday:

http://affiliate.travelfx.co.uk///index.php

It offered the best rate,which has dropped since then.
I would have lost out on $40 if I had bought the same amount today lol.