To transfer money from the US to Canada, you’ll collect the recipient’s Canadian bank details, choose between a bank wire and an online transfer platform, and authorize the payment — a process that takes anywhere from a few minutes to three business days depending on the route. The mechanics are straightforward. The cost isn’t: exchange rate markups and intermediary fees can quietly take 2% to 5% of your transfer on top of whatever flat fee you saw advertised.
What You Need Before You Start
Every provider asks for the same core details. Get any of them wrong and the transfer can bounce back, often with a fee attached to the failed delivery.
You’ll need the recipient’s full legal name exactly as it appears on their Canadian account, plus their physical address. Then the banking details, which is where U.S. senders usually get tripped up. Canada doesn’t use a single nine-digit routing number. Canadian banks identify themselves through two separate codes: a three-digit Institution Number for the bank, and a five-digit Transit Number for the specific branch.1Canadian Payments Association. Rule F8 – Automated Funds Transfer System Direct Payment Routing Numbers Institution Number 001, for example, identifies the Bank of Montreal.2Payments Canada. Directories Both numbers appear at the bottom of Canadian checks or inside the recipient’s online banking under account details. Transfer forms usually want the Transit Number followed by the Institution Number as one combined string.
You’ll also need the account number itself (length varies by bank) and the receiving bank’s SWIFT/BIC code. A SWIFT code runs eight or eleven characters: the eight-character version identifies the bank, and an optional three-character suffix pinpoints the branch.3Swift. Business Identifier Code (BIC) Enter the account number without spaces or dashes. If you’re paying a business, ask for the invoice or reference number too so the company can match your payment internally.
Your Options and What They Really Cost
Three routes cover almost every scenario, and the price gap between them is bigger than it looks.
Bank wire transfers. Your bank sends a SWIFT message through its correspondent network to deliver funds to the Canadian institution. Outgoing international wire fees at major U.S. banks typically run $25 to $50, and the Canadian bank on the other end may charge an incoming wire fee of its own. The bigger cost, though, is the exchange rate. Banks routinely add a spread of 2% to 5% above the mid-market rate when converting your dollars to Canadian currency. On a $5,000 transfer, that hidden markup alone runs $100 to $250 before you notice a thing.
Online transfer platforms. Services like Wise, OFX, and Remitly often hold pools of currency in both countries and settle internally rather than pushing every payment through SWIFT. That structure lets them offer exchange rates much closer to the mid-market rate, and their flat fees tend to sit under $10 for common amounts. These companies register as Money Services Businesses with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and follow the same anti-money laundering rules as banks.4Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. Money Services Business (MSB) Registration
Peer-to-peer payment apps. Link a debit card or bank account and send through a digital wallet. Convenient for small amounts, but these apps typically cap daily or per-transaction sends. For anything above a few thousand dollars, a wire or dedicated transfer platform is usually the only real option.
The only comparison that matters is the total delivered amount in Canadian dollars. A “zero fee” service running an exchange rate 3% worse than mid-market costs more than a $7 fee paired with a near-market rate. Run the numbers on the amount your recipient actually receives, not the fee at the top of the page.
Sending the Transfer, Step by Step
The sequence looks the same across providers once you’ve picked one and have the details in hand.
- Enter the recipient’s details: name, address, account number, SWIFT/BIC code, Institution Number, and Transit Number. Verify every digit. One wrong number can reroute or reject the payment.
- Choose the currency and amount: select Canadian Dollars as the destination currency. The platform will show the exchange rate it’s using and calculate the amount that will land on the other side.
- Review the disclosure: federal law requires remittance providers to show you the exchange rate, all transfer fees, and any third-party fees before you pay, with estimates clearly labeled. This is your last chance to compare against another service.5eCFR. Subpart B – Requirements for Remittance Transfers
- Pick a fee instruction (bank wires): “OUR” means you pay every fee and the recipient receives the full amount; “SHA” splits the fees; “BEN” deducts everything from the recipient’s end. Choose OUR if you want the exact amount to arrive.
- Authorize the payment: confirm and complete any multi-factor authentication, usually a code by text or email. That authorizes the debit.
The system then generates a confirmation with a tracking or reference number. Save it. You’ll need it for any follow-up, delay, or dispute.
Most banks apply a daily cap on online international wires. If your transfer exceeds it, you may need to visit a branch or split the transfer across multiple days.
How Long It Takes, and Why It Sometimes Stalls
A standard bank wire to Canada typically arrives within one to three business days. The SWIFT network has sped up considerably: nearly 60% of SWIFT gpi payments now reach the recipient’s account within 30 minutes, and almost all within 24 hours.6Swift. Swift GPI Online platforms that settle internally can deliver funds the same day.
When a transfer runs late, there are usually three reasons. Timing: anything initiated on a Friday afternoon or before a banking holiday in either country doesn’t start processing until the next business day. Intermediary banks: if your bank doesn’t have a direct relationship with the receiving Canadian bank, the payment hops through one or more correspondents, and each hop adds time. Sanctions screening: every U.S. financial institution runs wires against the Treasury Department’s list of Specially Designated Nationals and other lists, and a possible name match holds the payment for manual review until the bank clears it as a false positive.7Office of Foreign Assets Control. Blocking and Rejecting Transactions Common names trigger this more often than people expect, and the hold can run several days with little explanation.
Intermediary Bank Fees
Each correspondent your payment passes through can deduct its own service charge, typically $15 to $50 per bank across one to three intermediaries. That’s why the amount your recipient receives can come in below what you sent even after accounting for the exchange rate. Under “SHA” or “BEN” those charges come off the recipient’s end; choosing “OUR” is the only way to guarantee the full amount arrives.
Your 30-Minute Right to Cancel
Federal law gives you a 30-minute window to cancel a remittance transfer after you pay, provided the recipient hasn’t already picked up or received the funds.8eCFR. Procedures for Cancellation and Refund of Remittance Transfers Cancel in time and the provider must refund the full amount, including fees, within three business days at no extra cost.
To cancel, call the provider immediately with your name, phone or address, and enough detail to identify the specific transfer. The right applies to banks, online platforms, and any other remittance transfer provider under Regulation E. The clock starts when you pay, not when you first entered the recipient’s information, so don’t wait if you spot a mistake.
If Something Goes Wrong
If the money arrives late, arrives short, or never shows up, federal remittance rules let you file an error notice with your provider up to 180 days after the funds were supposed to be available.9eCFR. Procedures for Resolving Errors
Include your name and contact information, the recipient’s name, which transfer you’re disputing, and what you believe went wrong. The provider then has 90 days to investigate and must report its findings within three business days of finishing. If an error is confirmed, the provider must correct it or make the funds available within one business day of your instructions on how to resolve it.9eCFR. Procedures for Resolving Errors
Reporting Rules That Catch Senders Off Guard
There’s no limit on how much you can send to Canada electronically, and moving your own money between your own accounts isn’t a taxable event. But a few thresholds trigger federal reporting obligations with real penalties attached.
FBAR (FinCEN Form 114)
If you have a financial interest in or signature authority over Canadian accounts whose combined value exceeds $10,000 at any point during the year, you must file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts by April 15 of the following year, with an automatic extension to October 15.10Internal Revenue Service. Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) The $10,000 threshold is aggregate across all your foreign accounts, not per account. Non-willful penalties can reach $10,000 per account, and willful violations run far higher.
This catches people who don’t think of themselves as having foreign accounts. If you opened a Canadian account to receive money you’re sending yourself, it counts.
Form 8938 (FATCA)
Separately from FBAR, specified foreign financial assets exceeding $50,000 on the last day of the tax year or $75,000 at any point during the year require Form 8938 attached to your tax return.11Internal Revenue Service. Do I Need to File Form 8938, Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets Married couples filing jointly have higher thresholds. The failure-to-file penalty is $10,000 and can climb to $50,000 if you don’t comply after IRS notice.12Internal Revenue Service. FATCA Information for Individuals
FBAR and Form 8938 can both apply to the same accounts. They go to different agencies (FinCEN and the IRS) with different thresholds. Filing one doesn’t satisfy the other.
Carrying Cash Across the Border
If you’re thinking about hand-carrying funds instead of wiring them, transporting more than $10,000 in currency or monetary instruments into or out of the United States requires FinCEN Form 105 filed with U.S. Customs and Border Protection.13U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Money and Other Monetary Instruments For families traveling together, the $10,000 threshold is collective, not per person. Failing to report can result in seizure.
Gift Tax If You’re Sending to Someone Else
Moving your own money between your own accounts has no gift tax consequence. The rules kick in when you’re giving the money away. For 2026, you can give up to $19,000 per recipient with no gift tax filing.14Internal Revenue Service. What’s New — Estate and Gift Tax Above that, you’ll need Form 709 with the IRS.15Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 709 Filing the form doesn’t mean tax is owed; amounts over the annual exclusion count against your lifetime exemption, and most people never approach it. But skipping the form when it was required creates problems later, so treat $19,000 as the point at which a tax professional should be involved.