Money- Canadian And Ours (USA)

[+ Gar1eth]

I'm sure anyone who has visited Canada has seen that they will accept our money- and at least when our dollar was the strong one- treat our money on a one to one basis as if the money were Canadian.

 

So I have 2 questions for the well traveled and the economically minded

 

#1. With the Canadian dollar sometimes being worth more than the US dollar- do Canadians in general still accept it on a one to one basis as if it were just funny looking Canadian money?

 

#2. Would it even be legal for a business establishment here in the USA to accept Canadian currency as legal tender- as long of course that they didn't pass it along to pay taxes or official fees?

 

Thanks,

 

Gman

[zeferrelli]

the answers are, no and no.

[Guest countryboywny]

the answers are, no and no.

 

In the parts of Canada that I have visited, American currency is accepted for payment almost everywhere. But it is valued (devalued) at the current exchange rate.

[bigvalboy]

In the parts of Canada that I have visited, American currency is accepted for payment almost everywhere. But it is valued (devalued) at the current exchange rate.

 

 

Sometimes the rate of exchange will vary depending on the establishment. It has been a few years since my last trip to Montreal, but I found the rate of exchange was often best at the ATM machines. The airport also usually had a decent rate as well....

[kevininsa]

It's been a while since I was up in that area, but I do have friends near the border. As far as I remember both currencies were (and probably still are) accepted on both sides of the immediate border... at the current exchange rate. The same held true when I worked in Laredo on a special assignment. The store there accepted pesos at the current exchange rate.

[Diverdan]

Most Canadian establishments accept US Dollars... some do at the daily exchange rate, some even give a premium to US dollars when they are trying to attract tourists. The best place to get Canadian Dollars is at an ATM machine. Much better than the airport exchanges. Some hotels also will provide US Dollars at the usual exchange rate, although some try to make a profit on the exchange. The same is true in many countries all over the world. When I was in London, Paris and Berlin, I always got my local currency with my ATM card, and now there are a number of credit/debit cards that don't charge foreign transaction fees. So look carefully and you can save some significant amounts. The worst place is when you want to exchange foreign currency back to US dollars back in the US. American Express offices used to be a great place for that, but no longer unless you got the foreign currency there in the first place and then they redeem back without a surcharge, only the normal exchange rate.

[+ Gar1eth]

Four or five years ago when the Dollar was equal to 1.05 Canadian or more--I found that they treated our money like theirs. So they were actually making more off the deal if I used my USA money--not a lot more, it's true. But a little bit. So now when things have 'swung' the other way--I was wondering if they looked at the exchange rate or continued equal parity.

 

Thank you for for replying.

 

Gman

[+ sam.fitzpatrick]

#2. Would it even be legal for a business establishment here in the USA to accept Canadian currency as legal tender- as long of course that they didn't pass it along to pay taxes or official fees?

 

There is nothing illegal about accepting other forms of payment rather than the US dollar. However, for tax purposes, the USD equivalent most be reported.

 

For example, if I own an office supply store and one of my customers, Joe's Lawn Care, writes me a bad check, I can allow him to mow the yard next week rather than bringing cash, assuming that the lawn care equals the bad check. (From an accounting perspective, it is a little more complicated than that, but that is the net effect.)

 

The same holds true for other foreign currency. The problem is that other countries have pulled some out of circulation, so making sure that the notes are not counterfeit or obsolete is more difficult.

[spunky]

curiously enough, until maybe a couple of years ago, canadian parking meters allowed either U.S. or Canadian quarters. and now they don't! which sucks majorly!

 

source: me, canadian who goes down to the States pretty often

[+ poolboy48220]

I live in Detroit. Windsor, Ontario is just over the border. It's rare to find an American business who takes Canadian money, even when it's more valuable than the American dollar. Most vending machines and parking meters would not accept Canadian coins. It's just the opposite in Canada, I've almost never had an issue using American money, usually with an exchange rate factored in. I second the feeling that an ATM is the best place for the exchange rate.

[Steven_Draker]

... that they will accept our money

 

Slightly off-topic: You will be surprised in the number of Caribbean countries and ports of Mexico that would accept the US dollar.

 

If you go to Geneva (Switzerland) you'll notice that most businesses accept Euros along with Swiss Franks.

 

I prefer to settle my payments in the local currency and my credit card is always charged in the local currency (even when I'm given the 'choice' to be charged in currency of my bank).

[bobchitown]

I grew up just across the border in Michigan, and back in the day the small currency was intermingled. In those days the two currencies were mostly at par. It was common to get a mixture of Canadian and US change back when making transactions. But, I never remember seeing bills used that way, it seemed limited to small coins.

 

In any case, those days are long over and if I accidentally try to use a Canadian penny as change it's handed back to me as not accepted. I would never expect to walk into a business in Canada and pay my bill with US currency, and the same in reverse.

[+ Chris Eisenhower]

I prefer to settle my payments in the local currency and my credit card is always charged in the local currency (even when I'm given the 'choice' to be charged in currency of my bank).[/color]

 

My bank is a small one and they charge some ridiculous foreign transaction fee of like 25 cents. I use that card every time I go out of the country.

[+ deej]

curiously enough, until maybe a couple of years ago, canadian parking meters allowed either U.S. or Canadian quarters. and now they don't! which sucks majorly!

 

Not sure about now, but a long time ago (when dirt was new) the Mexican peso coin was exactly the same size and weight as the U.S. quarter but the peso was only worth about 8 cents. It drove vending machine businesses nuts along the southern border because the machines couldn't tell the difference.

[+ Gar1eth]

I grew up just across the border in Michigan, and back in the day the small currency was intermingled. In those days the two currencies were mostly at par. It was common to get a mixture of Canadian and US change back when making transactions. But, I never remember seeing bills used that way, it seemed limited to small coins.

 

In any case, those days are long over and if I accidentally try to use a Canadian penny as change it's handed back to me as not accepted. I would never expect to walk into a business in Canada and pay my bill with US currency, and the same in reverse.

 

When I was in Canada, I usually tried to have Canadian money. But it seems to me that once or twice 4 or 5 years agao--I at least asked about using a dollar even if I didn't do it. I must have seen someone else do it--or maybe there was a sign up saying they accepted dollars. In any case I never did it more than a few coins or a dolar or two.

 

In 1989 I remember that the main train station in Heidelberg had a McDonald's next to it. On the menu above the counter, it listed an exchange rate for dollars and Deutschmarks if you cared to pay for your meal in dollars. I figured they did that because of all the tourists and maybe for any nearby American military bases. Before that I had never really thought that a merchant in a foreign country would accept "greenbacks" unless on the Black Market in a communist country. I had actually been really surprised earlier on that trip before going to Germany when an American woman was shocked that a clerk in Victoria station wouldnt accept American currency. At the time, I thought she was being ridiculous to expect that. But maybe she was used to being in places like the McDonald's in Heidelberg?

 

Gman

[Steven_Draker]

Cross-border cooperation

 

I would never expect to walk into a business in Canada and pay my bill with US currency, and the same in reverse.

 

That's old school thinking. Paying in either currency in cross-border cities like Detroit and Windsor or enclaves like Geneva nowadays or Luxembourg, Lichtenstein or Andorra before the introduction of the Euro currency is just a natural thing.

 

We've been working hard on abolishing 'borders' in the past 62 years. It ain't goin' back ...

[Diverdan]

Chris,

There are a number of specially branded cards, like Hyatt, UA Explorer and others that do not charge foreign transaction fees. If you are going to travel a lot out of the USA, you would be wise to get a second one that has that feature. I have been lucky that when I did a lot of International Travel, my card never did charge me a foreign transaction fee and my debit card does not either when I use it in Canada to get cash from the ATM machines.

DD

[+ purplekow]

I was at a convention in Toronto and did not have time to exchange for Canadian dollars. i had no difficulty paying with US dollars at small businesses and large. I bought ice cream from a mobile vender, had a haircut and shave at a local barber shop and purchased a sweat shirt at a department store, all with US dollars. i did ask ahead of time at each location as to whether or not they would except US dollars. Now all of these places were very close to the convention center and the convention was a large one attended almost exclusively from Americans, so perhaps they just made a temporary adjust or it was possibly a local policy in view of the center. Notable that the escort I met, also took US dollars.

[Samai139]

Toronto and Montreal receive large number of American tourists and most businesses, even very small ones, are comfortable accepting US dollars. If US dollars are used there, I am sure an adjustment is made in the transaction, depending on what the exchange rate is on that particular date. When the US dollar was worth considerably more than the Canadian one, I remember having coffee and a snack at Tim Hortons and paying in US dollars and receiving change in Canadian currency---it was surprising how much change I got!! But then the rate was nearly 25% in US favouir. Now when the two currencies are nearly equal, the rate will certainly be in favour of Canada's currency.

American businesses rarely accept Canadian currency, even in places where many Canadian visitors can be found and I'm not sure why. There is an Outlet Mall not far from me whilch often has bus loads of tourists from Canada and there are signs informing shoppers that Canadian money is NOT accepted. Perhaps someone here who understands economics better than I, could give reasons to explain this seeming (to me at least) xenophobia.

[Steven_Draker]

Why the US Dollar is the Dominant World Currency?

 

"There is no such thing as a world currency. However, since World War II, the dominant or reserve currency of the world has been the U.S. dollar. At one time, all currencies were backed by gold, meaning that every country had to hold in reserve enough gold for all of the currency in circulation. In other words, gold was the standard by which all currencies were measured. After World War II, the United States became the world’s largest and most dominant economy. Due to the global expansion that took place after the war, bank reserves did not hold enough gold reserves to back the growth of the currency, which was needed to finance the global expansion further. Consequently, the U.S. disconnected from the gold standard and began to print more paper money to finance the world’s growth requirements. Because the U.S. was such a powerful economy, other countries agreed to accept the dollar as legitimate tender and followed suit to waiver the gold standard. Thus, the dollar became the most dominant currency and almost all commodities came to be quoted internationally in U.S. dollars.

 

As time went by and other economies developed, so did the value of their currencies. Today, the other two major currencies are the euro (the common currency of many European member states) and the Japanese yen. While the U.S. dollar remains the reserve currency of the world, it has depreciated in value in recent years and, consequently, the euro has increased in importance. In fact, the world can be divided into three main currency blocks, with the Americas dealing mostly in U.S. dollars, Europe dealing in euros, and the Asian countries becoming more connected to the yen. It is no coincidence that the three largest economies – the U.S., Europe and Japan – also represent the three most dominant currencies."

 

source: http://beastsofephesus.wordpress.com/2009/06/21/did-you-know-why-the-us-dollar-is-the-dominant-world-currency/

[geoffk]

I was in Niagara Falls, Ontario in October. Everyplace i went to took US Dollars as equal. Although they gave back Canadian as change. The coins are annoying.

 

I don't see why a US business couldnt accept Canadian, except that it may be difficult here to exchange the canadian dollars for us.

[Mark Gordon]

I accept US$, either at par when it's within 5 cents of the Canadian $ either way, or with a small adjustment. I have found that a good number of my American clients expect to be able to use their currency, even when I was working in London UK. As for spending the Canadian $ in the US, forget it. Many US online retailers won't even ship here, or only at absorbitant cost. By the way, I love our new plastic bills.

[Steven_Draker]

True that. People who travel a lot have several currencies in their wallet and more than once I've been asked to be paid simultaneously in two different currencies. I make no fuss about it.