Those in the USA - Canadian checks question
 

How in the hell do you cash these checks?

Just called my new bank and they charge between $45-75 to send it out for collections. It's from a program I do not promote too much, so it's only a bit over $100. Only other payout options are wire and Paxum which I refuse to use. :(

I used to receive some checks from another Canadian sponsor, Platinum Bucks I believe. Their checks drew from a US Bank which I always spent 20 minutes trying to get them to deposit, but they always did.

Paxum is a useful way to receive payments. It's free to signup to use our service and we have multiple withdrawal methods to access your payments. Feel free to give us a try, you never know, you might find you like the convenience of our service. :2 cents:

If you have any questions or concerns that I can assist you with, I'd be happy to talk it through with you, just hit me up. :thumbsup

No thanks.

your bank charges you 45-75 to cash a canadian cheque?

Yup. Totally forgot about this until now since I haven't had any issues lately with most of my sponsors being in the US or paying via Paypal.

Wells Fargo, Bank of America and now my little hometown bank all want(ed) to charge me. Absolutely ridiculous. It's already in USD too.

just confusing as 'sending out for collections' would mean they're trying to collect the funds

if i were to have a cheque from a US bank, id just cash it and get the exchange rate etc

the cheque that was sent to you is already in USD, ie, the company converted it here in order to prevent you from paying for the exchange where-ever you are

you should be able to just cash it like normal, with no fees

That is fucking ridiculous
I've cashed canadian checks many times at many banks in the states
Tell them to fuck off
Try cashing it at one of those check cashing stores where poor people go

Thank god for paxum I dont have to worry about cashing ridiculous checks all the time, ugg.

We used to send Postal Money Orders and TD Canada Trust Money Orders to our nieces and Nephews in Texas for their birthdays.

We found out about a year later that the Texas bank (I forget which one) was charging my brother-in-law $40 to cash the money orders, even though both were drawn in US funds. Now we just send them Gift Cards from large chains which honor the cards on both sides of the border.

Crazy it's that expensive. Almost all my cheques come from the US, even most Canadian sponsors use US banks and it's never an issue the other way around.

I never have problems cashing american checks. Just go to the bank and I will either deposit to my US account or if I want the money just have them exchange it to CDN funds.

:2 cents::2 cents::thumbsup

i think what we're missing here is we're gonna be looking at $45-$75 fees to cash these USD cheques for the near future :(

isn't there td bank in the states? perhaps they don't have those fees because they are in canada as well?

That's because you are dealing with Canadian Banks and depositing US checks. The issue the OP is trying to describe, I think, is being in the US and trying to cash a cheque or Money Order from a Canadian Bank / Postal Money, even if it's in US funds. Some US banks seem to cringe at any checks/money orders from outside their own borders like it's a leprosy infected piece of paper that's need to be quarantined (thus the reason for a $40 quarantine fee)

TD North I think is what it is in the US

nix financial in compton long as it under 200 bucks they cash my canadian checks

I called a few and they all told me they wont cash any Canadian checks.

Yup. I'm in the US.

Another problem I can foresee is that it's hand-written. I know I'm going to get shit for that if I try. It's actually from CrakRevenue (4355768 CANADA INC.) That's a bit weird too. :2 cents:

Not sure what I'm going to do here. I can cash it and get about $35 from it, or give it to Paxum which I once again refuse to do. :disgust

I just switched my payment type to Paxum. Did not realize they sent Canadian checks. Would be nice if they could come clarify this issue.

I belong to a credit union and they simply won't take foreign checks. So I ended up opening a second account at US Bank because they will take them and there is no fee. I only ever use that account for that purpose.

So, if there is a US Bank near you check them out.

you send them all to a buddy in Canada who cashes them for you and sends you the money, You save a ton on taxes too LOL

Your bank is ripping you off. Tell them you will go to another bank, period.

A long time ago I used to run another business, and we were struggling. My fucking bank, "Caisse Populair", tried to charge me $45.00, to make a long distance call to another Caisse Populaire, to verify a CERTIFIED check. I told the teller to go fuck herself, nice and loud, and closed all my accounts with them. While its true that I had less than 1 year with that bank, it was still robbery.

Since then I moved to BMO and had zero problems. They charge be nothing to deposit any any check, from Canada, US or UK, and clear the funds instantly. We get the same free service from Citibank.

Your banks need you. The next time any loser at the bank tries to charge you ridiculous fees, don't put up with it. Even better if you see you're being nailed on bank fees, call and demand a discount. Same goes for credit card fees.

The fee is due to having to process the check manually since it does not have a 10 digit routing number that the US banking system uses. US checks are scanned and quickly converted to digital transfers. The physical checks no longer get sent to the originating bank.

I ran into this same fee issue with Twistys checks, a number of years ago before they were bought by Manwin.

Qbert, then why is there never a problem to deposit US checks in Canadian banks? Our check codes are different too. Are our banks offering more efficient service, or extending a courtesy to their customers without the excessive fees? In 15+ years of accepting US checks and money orders, I have never once been assessed a fee to deposit a US check to my Canadian Bank.

One would assume that amount of business that occurs daily between Canada and the US, the very least US banks could do is make it less prohibitive for US customers to deposit Canadian checks. $40 check cashing fee is just robbery for those that have to endure it -- you may as well get wires if it costs you that much.

I have no idea, but I'd imagine it's far more common for a Canadian to receive US checks than vice-versa.

I think you're severely over estimating the number of Canadian checks being presented by US customers. As a percentage of the total it's likely a fraction of a percentage. I get checks from several non-US based entities on a semi-regular basis. They're all drawn on US based banks, with US routing numbers. I promote a couple of EU based sponsors that don't issue checks of any kind, so I use wires and pay a sizable fee. I just have my minimum payout set high enough so the fee doesn't eat up most of the payout.

As for the OP's original problem. I'd contact the sponsor and return the check. They'll credit it back to his account and he can then use a different payout option. Either make peace with Paxum or bump his minimum payout and use wire transfers. It would be nice if they would offer checks to US affiliates, issued from a US Bank, but that's their choice. You deal with the options available.

I bank with BB&T and they never charge me for cashing a Canadian check?

I've had problems depositing USD cheques from TD Canada trust at my Australian bank. The tellers scratch their head, and say "whoah, it's in US dollars but there's the word Canada on the cheque! Hurrrr what's that all about?"

Lace, see if your bank offers negotiation/purchase. It's where the bank agrees to purchase the cheque rather than waiting 4-6 weeks for collection. There are usually less fees involved too.

Did you make sure to let than know it's a usd$ check written from a usd account from a canadian bank?

Any TD or RBC bank shouldn't have issue with it.

I have no issues at TD Bank

What kind of sponsor sends a handwritten check to another country? Idiots at the wheel.