Today's cheapest money transfer service might not be the cheapest tomorrow. Find the one that's best-suited to your needs and preference by comparing the best performers on Monito's comparison engine over the past 30 days for transfers from Canada to the USA:

How To Send Money From Canada to the US

If you want to send money from Canada to the US, you'll have two broad options to choose from. One will go through your bank (which we don't recommend because of the high fees). Another option will be to use an international money transfer service. Either option can involve a wire transfer or an Interac e-Transfer from Canada to the US, with the main difference being the cost. We explore them both below:

1 — How to Transfer Money From Canada to a US Bank Account

Using an online international money transfer service is the fastest and cheapest way to transfer money from Canada to the US. Several top online transfer platforms offer CAD to USD transfers, including:

• Wise
• Skrill
• XE Money Transfer
• WorldRemit 
• Paysend
• Xendpay
• MoneyGram
• Instarem
• PayPal (which we don't recommend due to its fees)
• Halo Financial and OFX (both are FX brokers for larger transfers)

In general, money transfer services are the best way to send money abroad because they're the cheapest and usually the fastest and easiest to use options out there. Find out more about money transfer services here.

2 — Bank Transfers From Canada to the US

Using your bank — whether it be CIBC, RBC, Scotiabank, TD Bank, or any other — is a reliable option for sending money from your bank account to a bank account in the US. However, it's costly, and transfers usually take a long time to arrive (between two and five business days). This is because bank transfers go over SWIFT, which involves many steps.

It's sometimes also possible to send an Interac e-Transfer from Canada to the US via Mastercard or Western Union, but not all Canadian banks offer this service.

Sending money from Canada to the US with Scotiabank, for example, can be around 10% more expensive than making the same transfer with a top money transfer service online. For this reason, we generally don't recommend banks to get the job done. Learn more about why online platforms are better than banks for international transfers.

How To Send Money From Canada to the US

When considering how to send money from Canada to the US, you'll have many options at your disposal. However, while it may seem overwhelming, transferring money from Canada to the US is all straightforward. The process will generally involve making a bank transfer, card payment, or another form of mobile payment.

Transfer Money From Canada to a US Bank

To transfer money from Canada to a US bank account, you'll have two options:

On the one hand, you can make an international wire transfer to send money from Canada to the US, which can be done from your American bank account to your (or your recipient's) Canadian one. Wire transfers from Canada to the US are preferred by most big-name US banks and tend to be very slow and pricey. Find out more about making a wire transfer from the US in our in-depth guide here. (Bear in mind that it's possible to send money from a Canadian bank to the US via Interac's partnership with Mastercard and Western Union, meaning that it's possible to use Interac e-Transfer to send money from Canada to the US.)

The other option you have is to make an ordinary bank transfer (i.e. an ACH transfer) to the local bank account of an international money transfer specialist service, which, in turn, will pay out the funds more speedily and cheaply to your recipient in Canada than the bank would.

When sending money from Canada to the US, these specialist services are significantly faster and equally secure as the banks, and everything is wrapped up at a fraction of the cost. This is because funds sent via wire transfers (the method most banks use to send money abroad) typically need to follow several steps as they pass via SWIFT, adding new time and costs to the process. Find out more about how ordinary ACH transfers differ from wire transfers in our guide here.

According to search data from Monito's comparison engine for Canada to the US money transfers between June 2020 and 2021, the best way to transfer money from Canada to the US is usually one of the following specialist services:

Canada to US Money Transfers With Wise

Wise offers domestic bank transfers, wire transfers, and credit and debit card payments to be deposited into any Canadian bank account. It was the cheapest way to send money to the US from Canada on a convincing 86% of Monito comparisons between June 2020 and 2021.

Canada to US Money Transfers With WorldRemit

WorldRemit, which offers speedy bank transfers and card payments to bank accounts in Canada, was the cheapest way to transfer money from Canada to the US on 4% of Monito comparisons between June 2020 and 2021.

Canada to US Money Transfers With OFX

Primarily geared toward large transfers (i.e. greater than C$25,000.00), OFX is an excellent foreign exchange broker for transfers from Canada to the US and is highly competitive on more significant transfer comparisons on Monito:

Very Large Bank Transfers From Canada to the US

If you'd like to send a substantial amount of money from the US to a bank account to an American one (i.e. more than C$50,000.00), your best bet will be to use a foreign exchange broker. These services are similar to ordinary money transfer and remittance services. The main difference is that they're specialised in large transfers and can negotiate favorable exchange rates on your behalf.

According to search data on Monito's comparison engine between June 2020 and 2021, OFX was the best way to send money from Canada to the US for large amounts, offering the cheapest transfers on 41% of all searches above C$50,000.00 during that period. OFX was followed by Currencies Direct, which were both cheapest on 27% of comparisons for large transfers.

What's The Best Way to Transfer Money From Canada to the US?

There are three main ways in which you could be overpaying when you’re sending money from Canada to the US, each associated with the three main types of costs involved:

• Fixed fees: The fee to convert and transfer money from Canada to the US, which goes as high as US$45.00 per transfer with major US banks;
• Commission: This is a percentage you pay in fees on the total amount you transfer, meaning that the less you send, the less you pay. These percentage fees can range from under 0.50% to 2.00%.
• Exchange rate margin: The percentage difference between the mid-market exchange rate (the rate at which banks exchange currency) and the commercial exchange rate (the rate consumers pay.)

Looking To Save on Every Transfer?

There's probably a fair chance that you're looking to save money on your transfers from Canada to the US no matter the amount you send or the receiving method. If this sounds like you, then we recommend that you make a point of checking our comparison engine before every transfer. That way, you'll ensure that you both discover the cheapest service in real-time and make considerable savings on your transfers to the US:

The Cheapest Way to Send Money From Canada to the US

Let's start with the most expensive solutions: banks, cash-based money transfers, and mobile payments apps like Paypal are typically very expensive options when you factor in all fees including hidden exchange rate margin fees).

As we mentioned above, the cheapest way to transfer money internationally is to use a specialist money transfer service. They provide much more competitive rates, fees, and commissions than banks or Paypal. Their fees depend on various factors:

• Pay-in options: Credit card, bank transfer, cash payment, etc.
• Amount transferred from Canada to the US: The cheapest operator will not necessarily be the same for a transfer of $500 and a transfer of $5,000.
• Transfer speed: Does the money have to be available instantly, or can a beneficiary wait a few days?
• Pay-out options: Will the money arrive in your beneficiary's bank account, or will they receive it in cash?

A dozen other parameters influence the price of sending money to the US. You should check out Monito’s live comparison tool with dozens of services to find the cheapest or fastest one for you!

Fastest Way To Send Money to the US From Canada

It comes as no surprise that the speed of your transfer depends on the method you choose to send your money from the US to Canada.

Online money transfer providers are typically the fastest option. For example, Instarem offers transfers that will go to the recipient's account the same day, whereas Skrill and Wise offer transfers that arrive the next business day. 

When comparing the fastest options, always be sure to also compare the exchange rate to check you’re not getting a poor deal. More information about the fastest way to send money abroad can be found in our guide.