Simplii Bank - no foreign exchange fees

[mullysisters]

I looked and didn't see a thread about this: So FYI-

Simplii has also launched a no-fee foreign cash delivery service. Clients can now use Simplii FinancialTM Foreign Cash to order 65 foreign currencies at competitive exchange rates through online or mobile banking, and have the cash delivered securely to their home or preferred Canada Post location.

 

[Alderbrook]

There are still exchange fees associated with this just like every bank. The bank makes money. Still cheaper to go to Kantor or Continental. We bank with Simplii and looked in to it. Cheaper to get gift cards and have a straight exchange.

 

[mullysisters]

I guess its best to check the exchznge rate before exchanging money and see where you're at. Of course you have to bank with them.
I can only beleive Disney charges a fee to exchange when you use the card. They are likely not using the straight Federal Reserve rate.But I cant find that info anywhere.
Currently Bank of Canada 1US=1.32 Cdn, Simplii 1.36Cdn so close enough for me.

 

[cdnSpinalTap]

You're right - it is close enough...however, my strategy has always been to get every % you can, wherever you can. I do this via credit card rewards, buying gift cards at grocery stores where I get rewards, and using gift cards.

For example, I have $3000 in gift cards waiting to be used to buy my Canadian park tickets. I signed on this morning and Disney will give me $2,264.49 for those cards - yielding an exchange rate of 1.3248. The posted rate right now is 1.3244 - so pretty close.

If I use 1.36 instead of 1.32, this would cost me an additional ~$60. Not a lot of money, but like I always tell my kids, that's 5 margaritas from the Mexico pavilion

Our next trip down is for 2 weeks and the Disney portion of that trip is around $14,000 USD. If I utilize gift cards as much as I can, and using today's rates, I could save around ~$500.00. Again, maybe not a lot compared to $14,000 - but certainly enough to make me work a bit for it.

All that being said - everyone's convenience factor is different and this works for me. Simplii does sound convenient and could be a good alternative for some people.

 

[cdnSpinalTap]

Just an FYI - for what it is worth. If you go to the MasterCard Foreign Currency Calculator site, you would currently be charged 1.36 (as of yesterday) if you were to use a credit card for US purchases - so the same as Simplii.

 

[youngdeb12]

I guess its best to check the exchznge rate before exchanging money and see where you're at. Of course you have to bank with them.
I can only beleive Disney charges a fee to exchange when you use the card. They are likely not using the straight Federal Reserve rate.But I cant find that info anywhere.
Currently Bank of Canada 1US=1.32 Cdn, Simplii 1.36Cdn so close enough for me.

Disney charges the FX rate from the close of the previous trading day almost within a couple of hundredths of a cent. From what I can tell, they are not charging you anything on exchange, and definitely not nearly as much as the banks will. Simplii is owned by CIBC, and although a lot of their fees are cheaper because you're foregoing other banking conveniences, they aren't going to give the cash away for free. I would guess that they are advertising this since Simplii customers can't actually visit a bank branch and purchase currency directly from their accounts since they don't have teller privileges.

 

[Alderbrook]

Disney charges the FX rate from the close of the previous trading day almost within a couple of hundredths of a cent. From what I can tell, they are not charging you anything on exchange, and definitely not nearly as much as the banks will. Simplii is owned by CIBC, and although a lot of their fees are cheaper because you're foregoing other banking conveniences, they aren't going to give the cash away for free. I would guess that they are advertising this since Simplii customers can't actually visit a bank branch and purchase currency directly from their accounts since they don't have teller privileges.

You can get US money from a CIBC bank machine if you are with Simplii charged to your account. I did it last time we travelled because we didn’t have time to go to Kantor. The exchange was the same as any bank would charge you. Disney charges the previous business day close on the exchange directly and no fee charged by them so straight exchange which equals cheaper. I am buying our tickets with my cc because I want the cancelation insurance on them provided by cc. We are buying gift cards for our food and souvenirs tho.

 

[youngdeb12]

You can get US money from a CIBC bank machine if you are with Simplii charged to your account. I did it last time we travelled because we didn’t have time to go to Kantor. The exchange was the same as any bank would charge you. Disney charges the previous business day close on the exchange directly and no fee charged by them so straight exchange which equals cheaper. I am buying our tickets with my cc because I want the cancelation insurance on them provided by cc. We are buying gift cards for our food and souvenirs tho.

That works well if you're in an area that has a bank machine that dispenses USD. They are non-existent outside of large business centres. This would be the only option for Simplii customers who may want currency prior to their trip, or in a different currency than USD. If I'm taking cash anywhere, I want it before I leave. It's also handy to be able to request when you know the FX rate might be more favourable.

 

[TigerlilyAJ]

Everyone claims they don't charge fees anymore--because they just wrap it into a poor exchange rate. My town is only 110k people, and we have multiple banks (TD, CIBC) that have ATMs that dispense US$. But I would never use them since I discovered our local Global Currency office, which is charging C$1.345, saving $15 on every thousand compared to Simplii. Simplii would be more convenient, but it's worth the 7-minute drive to the GC office to wait behind 1-2 people in line for me.

Gift cards are still a good bet. Companies make money off of gift cards because of unused amounts, whether lost cards or the last $1.26 on the card you never spend. Not to mention you pay them today for goods and services you don't purchase until tomorrow, giving them interludes of receiving money for nothing. So that's my guess on why they're the only place to get the straight exchange rate for your dollar. I know that at least Disney and Old Navy/Gap et al handle cross-border GCs this way.

 

[tinkerone]

For me (for me) GC's are not my main go to because while it looks great, having an exchange rate equal to the Bank of Canada rate, your dollar is always fluctuating. If you buy US today and pay $1.36 then you have spent $1.36. Your GC may be at $1.32 and that sounds great, you have saved money, however when you go to use that GC that rate may be $1.40 and so you have lost money. On the other hand your GC could be worth $1.25, who knows. There is no way to blanketly say GC's save you money, you just can't. Your taking your chances and can never be sure until the card is used. Then you can say I saved money because the dollar today is $1.36 and I got $1.32 but did you really save money? If you had bought US when it was at $1.30 then no you actually didn't.
I buy US as I go. It's dollar cost averaging and the best way (IMO) to do it. Not that its everyone's preferred way, as we can see, but there are other ways to purchase US and get a good rate. Yes I do have some DGC's but they are from rewards programs where I have no other options. If I have options, such as paying for goods with points and keeping the cash, instead of purchasing GC's I convert those funds right away. Then its done and I don't have to wonder if I will get the best bang for my buck. Dollar cost averaging!

 

[AdamsMum]

that's 5 margaritas from the Mexico pavilion

You think like me...last time I went to a casino, I put $10 into the machine and worked it up to $20 then cashed out. I thought that's a decent bottle of wine. Every little bit counts with the state of the Canadian $.

 

[AdamsMum]

You can get US money from a CIBC bank machine if you are with Simplii charged to your account. I did it last time we travelled because we didn’t have time to go to Kantor. The exchange was the same as any bank would charge you. Disney charges the previous business day close on the exchange directly and no fee charged by them so straight exchange which equals cheaper. I am buying our tickets with my cc because I want the cancelation insurance on them provided by cc. We are buying gift cards for our food and souvenirs tho.

I usually go that route for my cash too, but I don't carry that much cash, probably around $500. Most of my Disney costs are paid with DGC to save the forex fee, and its a convenient way for me to separate out the money for my Disney vacation.

 

[Alderbrook]

That works well if you're in an area that has a bank machine that dispenses USD. They are non-existent outside of large business centres. This would be the only option for Simplii customers who may want currency prior to their trip, or in a different currency than USD. If I'm taking cash anywhere, I want it before I leave. It's also handy to be able to request when you know the FX rate might be more favourable.

I’m about as rural as you can almost get, less than 10k in my town and I can get US money no problem from CIBC and it’s been that way for a while

Its a gamble if I buy cash now or wait on the gift cards. I’m not going until aug 2020 so if I buy cash now and the dollar rises I’m out but if I decide that I’ll see what happen in August and go with gift cards I could be out as well. Damned if I do and damned if I don’t. Also the main reason for GC for us is we are buying them with optimum points.

We never get US money from the bank machine except that once because we have to drive to the next city for a currency exchange store and didn’t have time. Simplii is no better than any other bank for
fees tho as the original poster said. We’ve been with them since 2001.

 

[cdnSpinalTap]

I agree that dollar cost averaging is a good way to go, but only really works if your time frame is long enough (by definition). For me, my time frame for saving for my Disney trips is usually 1 year. With such a short time frame, I would be gambling on the rates, no matter which way I did it (spot purchases or investing in US cash). For me, it works better to save my cash in its Canadian form in an HIS, rather than playing the currency market.