In October I made a short business trip to Saratoga Springs in New York. When I returned to Canada I promptly filed my expense reports as I usually do. I was surprised to find that when my charged items finally showed up on my credit card statements, the credit card company had used an exchange rate about 10 cents higher than the rate I had used on my expense reports. It seems the credit card companies have started to charge a hefty premium when doing money conversions. Fortunately it was a short trip so I was only out about $15.00 total.
Yesterday I made three transactions that required conversion from Canadian to US dollars. Paypal used an exchange rate of 1.22. My Canadian bank used a rate of 1.2587. Canada Post used a rate of 1.30. Even if you include the 3% Paypal charges on every transaction, they are still cheaper than the best finacial services I have access to for making payments to US destinations. When it comes to receiving US funds, Paypal provides a much better conversion rate and I am away ahead using their service.
I wonder how long it will take for the Paypal folks to catch on and change the way they do business.
dan
Yesterday I made three transactions that required conversion from Canadian to US dollars. Paypal used an exchange rate of 1.22. My Canadian bank used a rate of 1.2587. Canada Post used a rate of 1.30. Even if you include the 3% Paypal charges on every transaction, they are still cheaper than the best finacial services I have access to for making payments to US destinations. When it comes to receiving US funds, Paypal provides a much better conversion rate and I am away ahead using their service.
I wonder how long it will take for the Paypal folks to catch on and change the way they do business.
dan
