Transferring Money to Canada (2026): How to Receive Money from Abroad

When money comes to Canada from abroad, most of the cost is in the currency conversion: the gap between the exchange rate applied and the mid-market rate. A bank wire adds a sending fee at the other end, possible deductions by intermediary banks, and the receiving fee your Canadian bank charges; transfer services such as Wise and OFX usually convert closer to the mid-market rate and deliver to your Canadian account as a local payment. This page covers receiving money in Canada, including moving savings when you immigrate. Sending money the other way is covered in how to send money internationally, and the other ways to move money are in the money transfers guides.

How transfer services work

When a bank sends an international wire, it converts the money at an exchange rate it sets internally, not the mid-market rate shown on XE or Google, and keeps the difference. The wire then travels through the SWIFT network, sometimes through one or two correspondent banks that can each deduct a fee before the money arrives.

Wise works differently. It holds money in local accounts in many countries, so a transfer to Canada is paid into your account from Wise’s Canadian account rather than crossing borders as a SWIFT wire. It converts at the mid-market rate and charges a fee it states up front. OFX, XE and similar currency dealers also settle through local accounts and earn a margin on the exchange rate. The guide to sending money internationally compares how each provider charges; the comparison works the same in either direction.

What a conversion costs

The markup is a percentage of the whole amount, so on a transfer ten times as large it costs ten times as much, while a flat wire fee stays the same. The Bank of Canada’s daily rate on the CAD/USD exchange rate page is a reference point for checking a quote.

Receiving a bank wire in Canada

To receive an international wire into a Canadian bank account, the sender needs:

• your full legal name as it appears on the account
• your bank’s SWIFT/BIC code
• your five-digit transit (branch) number
• your three-digit institution number
• your account number
• sometimes your branch’s street address

The list of Canadian bank routing numbers has the SWIFT codes for each bank and the institution numbers. Your bank charges its own incoming-wire fee, shown for each major bank in the wire transfer fees by bank, and an incoming international wire usually takes one to five business days; how long a wire transfer takes covers the timing.

Not every account can receive a wire. EQ Bank: Not offered – EQ Bank does not support wire transfers in either direction. For international transfers, EQ Bank offers a Wise-integrated international money transfer service (zero markup; not available in Quebec). Tangerine: Not offered – Tangerine has no SWIFT/BIC code and does not support wire transfers in either direction.

A bank wire is the usual choice when the sender is a business or institution that pays only by wire, or when the paper trail of a bank-to-bank payment matters to the counterparty. For a personal transfer, a transfer service usually delivers the same money for less.

Moving money to Canada when you immigrate

For newcomers bringing savings to Canada, a few points shape the cost and the timing:

A Canadian account ready before the money arrives. Several banks let newcomers open an account before or soon after arriving through their newcomer programs; best bank accounts for newcomers compares them, and the newcomer finance guide covers the rest of setting up.

One transfer or several. Exchange rates move every day. Converting everything at once fixes the rate on one day; spreading the transfer over a few weeks or months averages the rate over that period. On a large amount, a small move in the rate is worth a lot of money either way.

The bank as the destination, not necessarily the converter. A newcomer account at a Canadian bank is where the money lands, but the conversion can be done by a transfer service that pays into that account, which usually costs less than the bank’s own rate.

Documents for the source of the money. Large transfers can lead your Canadian bank to ask where the money came from. A short letter explaining the source (sale of a property, an inheritance, savings from employment, sold investments) with supporting documents speeds this up.

Large transfers

On a large transfer, the rate margin matters far more than any flat fee. Currency dealers such as OFX and Knightsbridge FX quote rates per transaction for large amounts, and a quote by phone is worth comparing with Wise’s online price and your bank’s. For a payment with a known future date, such as a home purchase with a set closing date, some dealers offer forward contracts that lock in today’s rate for a future transfer.

A bank or money services business in Canada that receives an international electronic funds transfer of $10,000 or more reports it to FINTRAC (the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada). That report is routine anti-money-laundering reporting by the institution; it isn’t a tax and you don’t file anything. The FINTRAC reporting rules cover the threshold and what counts as one transaction.

Guidance by country

From the United States

The US-to-Canada corridor is busy and competitive: Wise, OFX and XE all convert US dollars to Canadian dollars. TD, RBC and BMO also offer cross-border banking that links a US account with a Canadian one, which can suit regular transfers between the two; the best US dollar accounts page covers these and other ways to hold US dollars.

From the United Kingdom

Wise, OFX and XE all cover pounds to Canadian dollars, so quotes from two or three of them on the same day are easy to compare.

From India

Wise, Remitly and Western Union all cover rupees to Canadian dollars, and Remitly sometimes runs introductory offers on this corridor. Not every currency dealer handles every currency, so it is worth confirming that a dealer supports the corridor before opening an account.

From the Philippines

Remitly and Western Union have large networks in the Philippines, which matters most for money going the other way, to recipients without a bank account. For a bank-to-bank transfer into Canada, Wise and Remitly are worth quoting.

From China

China’s currency controls limit how much foreign currency individuals can buy each year (an annual quota of US$50,000 per person), and fewer online services send from Chinese yuan accounts, so bank wires are common for this corridor. Banks with Chinese operations in Canada, such as Bank of China (Canada) and ICBC Canada, are familiar with the documents involved, and large asset transfers out of China often need legal and banking help under the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) rules.

Avoiding transfer scams

A common scam offers an exchange rate that is too good to be true from an unlicensed service that disappears once it has the money. A legitimate money services business is registered with FINTRAC, which publishes a searchable registry, and holds licences in its home country. Warning signs include:

• a rate better than the mid-market rate (no legitimate service can sustain one)
• pressure to send quickly before an offer expires
• requests for payment by cryptocurrency, gift cards or cash
• no verifiable address or FINTRAC registration number
• unsolicited contact from someone offering a better rate than your bank

The banking fraud guide covers other payment scams and where to report them.

Does the timing of a conversion matter?

On a small transfer, daily movements in the exchange rate make little difference next to the choice of provider. On a large one, timing can matter, and Wise and XE both offer rate alerts that notify you when the market reaches a target rate. For converting currency without a transfer, such as cash for a trip or US dollars in a brokerage account, where to exchange currency compares the options.