I fly out on Monday on a 2 year TWP,is there anything wrong with just going out with travellers cheques and cashing them in Canada, or is there expensive hidden costs I dont know about.Im only talking about about 3 or 4 K until bankers draft clears after 40 days.Advice needed Thanks.

Does it take 40 days to clear a bank draft then?

If it's drawn on an institution outside Canada it can do. Happened to me with my first ever draft about 5yrs ago - at that time HSBC issued them from a CAD account with a strangely-named bank somewhere in London (wasn't an HSBC account) and HSBC Canada held it for 30 days when I presented it in Calgary I think. I got interest, but if I'd needed the cash sooner I'd have been up the proverbial creek

OP: call Thomas Cook travellers cheques (not the shops, the G&FS service in Peterborough) and ask where you can cash them commission free. Marlin Travel used to be the place, but I don't know if that's still right. That way your only costs are in buying the things. But I wouldn't take them - can you not just access your cash with an ATM card, or put purchases on a credit card until your draft clears?

Why do a bankers draft? Set up a CDN$ account and use an FX house to do the transfer. No costs, slightly better rate and no hold.

Travelers cheques are OK, but you will need picture ID to cash them, not all places will take them, although you can cash them at a bank. The fees are up front, you pay these when you buy the cheques. The exchange might vary to cash and personal cheques as well. On a small amount should not be a big deal though.

Hmmm, the MIL was going to give us a draft in CDN as she's in Ireland - saves going from EUR->GBP->CDN, but if it's going to take 40 days to clear then we'll have to bring other funds to use immediately too.... Going via a Forex place would be too advanced for her....

But if it's drawn on a bank in Canada, as all UK-issued CAD drafts seem to be these days, it's not a problem. I guess this is why you now have to wait a day or two for a draft as it's ordered centrally - they no longer keep CAD cheque books at the various branches, drawn on UK-held CAD accounts as they used to.

We've used UK drafts drawn on Canadian institutions regularly since, and can draw on them within the hour after depositing them

She'll be getting it from an Irish bank (republic, not northern), so no telling what they'll do.....

There was a thread about where to get CAD drafts in Ireland recently... I can't remember the answer but it's out there in the archive somewhere

Says Ulster bank (which is Natwest I think basically), doubt she'll want to go to the trouble of withdrawing cash, taking it to another bank and getting a draft made up..... not when she's 70 and partially sighted!

hi, we ook our travellers cheques into our local credit union bank...changed them no problems and no charge...i changed up about $4k.

Keep your UK credit card account going, stick the cash in there and use the card in Canada. Or, leave the cash in the bank and use ATMs here to get at it.

Which bank would that be ?

When we came to Canada on holiday for the first time as a family we came armed with all credit cards and travellers cheques. The TC's went back and forth with us wherever we travelled over the next five years, they were never used as we just drew cash from the ATMs. We eventually cashed them in when we moved here.

use nationwide debit cards to withdraw cash from atm (no fees), and use post office credit cards and don't pay the standard 2% on top of the universal exchange rate as most other cards charge) so you get the best exchange rate when using them in your shipping.