How to Start Saving Money Sending and Receiving Remittances in Canada

A remittance is sending money to someone in another country, according to Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, Sending money to someone in another country. This guide covers sending money from Canada and receiving money in Canada, as a process and comparison exercise only. It was checked November 4, 2026, against the pages in Sources. It ranks no provider, recommends no provider, states no provider as cheapest or best, and gives no financial advice. Where a verified page is silent, this guide states a check instead of a figure. Compare only your own quoted figures, for your own corridor, amount, and payout option, on the same date.

1. Total cost is three parts

Do not compare transfers on the upfront fee alone. Total cost may include transfer fees, exchange-rate costs, and charges paid by the recipient, according to Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, Sending money to someone in another country. All three parts must be in front of you before any comparison means anything, because a transfer can look inexpensive on one part and cost more on another.

The exchange-rate part is the part most easily missed. A low or no transfer fee may be offset by a less favourable exchange rate, so check both the fee and the rate, according to Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, Sending money to someone in another country. Ask for the rate in writing, ask for the recipient amount in writing, and work out what the rate does to your amount, using the illustration in section 3. A fee label, on its own, is not a total cost.

The recipient-side part is also part of your total cost, even though someone else pays it. The recipient may need ID and may pay a fee or tax to collect, on top of sender fees, according to Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, Sending money to someone in another country. Ask, before you send, whether the recipient will pay a fee or tax to collect, and how much, for your payout option and destination. If that answer is unconfirmed, the total cost is unconfirmed.

Two further rules from the same page govern what you should be told and how the payment method changes the cost. Federally regulated institutions must tell you how much they charge to send money abroad, and that fee does not include charges that may apply in the other country, according to Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, Sending money to someone in another country. Fees vary by institution, amount, and payment method, on the same page. Paying by credit card may count as a cash advance, with interest right away at a higher rate, on the same page. Check the payment-method treatment with your own institution before you pay by credit card, because this guide states no cash-advance rate.

2. The routes

You can send money through banks, credit unions, money transfer businesses, cheque cashing businesses, and currency exchanges, according to Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, Sending money to someone in another country. Outlets for these services are also in post offices, grocery stores, pharmacies, and convenience stores, on the same page. The route and the outlet are separate choices. Ask which business is behind a grocery-store, pharmacy, post-office, or convenience-store outlet, and run the registry check in section 4 for that business, not only for the outlet name.

The recipient can receive the money in different ways, and the payout option changes the checks. The recipient may get cash, a bank-account deposit, or credit to a credit, debit, or prepaid card, according to Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, Sending money to someone in another country. Confirm, for your destination, which payout options are actually available, because availability varies. For Western Union, you can send online to cash pickup, directly into the receiver's bank account, or to the receiver's mobile wallet, with services varying by destination country, according to Western Union, Send Money Online from Canada. Do not assume a payout option available for one destination is available for another.

A bank wire is one route, and its published starting figures show how a fee schedule is written, not what every bank charges. For RBC, the outgoing wire fee starts at $45.00 CAD for Canadian-dollar accounts, with an additional $35.00 CAD if an IBAN is not provided for a wire going to countries that use IBANs, according to RBC Royal Bank, Additional Account Services. Cancellation or amendment of an outgoing wire starts at $25.00 CAD plus GST, and tracing starts at $25.00 CAD plus GST if the wire was delivered as instructed, while tracing is free if it was not delivered as instructed, on the same page. Additional charges may be deducted from the payment amount by the receiving financial institution and its intermediaries, on the same page. Present every RBC figure in this paragraph only as RBC's published starting figures on the page checked, never as all-bank figures, and check your own bank's current schedule before you send.

A money-transfer service reached online or in store is another route, with its own payment and ID checks. For Western Union, you can pay by bank account, credit or Visa debit card, or cash in-store or at an agent location, according to Western Union, Send Money Online from Canada. Verify your profile with a driver's licence, passport, or government-issued ID, and agent locations require government-issued ID, according to Western Union, Frequently Asked Questions - Send Money. Ask the provider, before you start, which payment methods it accepts for your corridor, what ID it requires, and what its sending limits are. This guide states no sending limit for any provider, because no sending limit was verified on an opened page.

3. Reading a quote

A quote is only comparable when it shows the fee, the rate, and the recipient amount together, on the same date, for the same corridor and payout option. Ask for all three in writing, and do not compare a quote that shows only one of them with a quote that shows all three.

Start with the rate, and compare it with a reference rate you did not get from the provider. The Bank of Canada daily exchange rates for November 4, 2026 were US dollar 1.3961, European euro 1.5688, and UK pound sterling 1.8811, stated as Canadian dollars per unit of foreign currency, according to Bank of Canada, Daily exchange rates. These are the Bank's daily reference rates on that date, not any provider's retail rate, and the rate moves daily. Use the reference rate for the date of your quote, not for another date, and recheck it on the day you compare.

Use one worked illustration only, to see what a rate does to an amount. At the November 4, 2026 reference rate of 1.3961 Canadian dollars per US dollar, CAD 1,000 converts to USD 716.28 before any fee or margin, by the arithmetic 1000 divided by 1.3961, using the rate in Bank of Canada, Daily exchange rates. A 2% margin illustration is arithmetic only, not a provider figure. Two percent of CAD 1,000 is $20 of value on CAD 1,000. That illustration shows the size of a margin effect. It states no provider margin, because no provider margin was verified on an opened page. Apply the same arithmetic to your own quoted rate and your own amount, and write down the difference between the reference-rate amount and the quoted-rate amount, before any fee.

Next, pin down when the rate is fixed. Ask whether the recipient amount depends on the exchange rate when you pay or when the recipient collects, according to Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, Sending money to someone in another country. If the rate is fixed when the recipient collects, the recipient amount can move between payment and collection, and a quote that shows a recipient amount without stating when the rate is fixed is incomplete. Get the answer in writing, with the quoted recipient amount.

One provider's published pricing language shows the shape of a transparent quote, without making it a recommendation. Wise states that it only uses the mid-market rate, the one you can check on Google, with transparent pricing, so you know what you pay upfront, according to Wise, Fees & Pricing. Its sending and converting fee varies by currency, from 0.23%, on the same page. State that 0.23% only as Wise's stated "from" figure, with "varies by currency" attached, and check the live quote for your corridor. Do not carry any other Wise fee percentage, and do not treat the "from" figure as the fee for your transfer.

4. Verifying registration on the FINTRAC registry

Before you send money through a money services business, verify its registration. A money services business, and a foreign money services business, provides at least one of foreign exchange dealing, remitting or transmitting funds, issuing or redeeming money orders, traveller's cheques, or similar instruments, dealing in virtual currencies, or crowdfunding platform services, according to FINTRAC, Conducting transactions with a money services business. Money services businesses operating in Canada, and foreign money services businesses directing or providing services to clients in Canada, must register with FINTRAC, on the same page. Operating unregistered is a violation and an offence, on the same page.

Run the check in this order, and keep a record of what you found.

• Identify the exact legal or operating name of the business you are dealing with, not only a brand name or an outlet name. Verify the registration name, number, and status in the registry, according to FINTRAC, Conducting transactions with a money services business.
• Search the registry on the FINTRAC website at FINTRAC, Money Services Businesses Registry. The registry is updated monthly, according to Open Government Portal, Money Services Businesses Registry.
• Read the status, and do not treat every listed name as currently registered. The statuses are Registered, meaning currently registered, Expired, meaning it did not renew after 2 years, Ceased, meaning it notified FINTRAC it no longer offers prescribed services, and Revoked, meaning it is no longer registered for not answering a clarification request, not providing assistance, or ineligibility, according to Open Government Portal, Money Services Businesses Registry. Check the status on the FINTRAC registry itself at FINTRAC, Money Services Businesses Registry before you rely on it, because the registry is the searchable record.
• If the name, number, or status does not match, or the business is not listed as Registered, stop and ask the business for an explanation in writing before you send anything. This guide states no finding about any named business, because no named business was checked for this guide.

Understand what registration does not mean. Registration does not indicate that FINTRAC endorses or licenses the business, and FINTRAC issues no licences or certificates, according to FINTRAC, Conducting transactions with a money services business. Do research and understand the terms, on the same page. FINTRAC cannot assess business practices, approve or delay transactions, freeze or seize funds, or help recover funds, on the same page. A registration check is therefore one check, not a complete assessment of the business.

Treat unsolicited contact as a fraud warning, not as a transfer instruction. The FINTRAC page warns about unsolicited contact, advises not to share bank details, and advises reporting to your financial institution and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, according to FINTRAC, Conducting transactions with a money services business. Do not share bank details in response to unsolicited contact, and do not send money on the strength of an unsolicited message alone.

5. ID, limits, and details to have ready

Have ID ready, and confirm the exact requirements with the provider or bank before you start, because requirements vary by route, destination, and payout option. Western Union verifies a profile with a driver's licence, passport, or government-issued ID, and agent locations require government-issued ID, according to Western Union, Frequently Asked Questions - Send Money. That is the only ID list stated in this guide. Do not assume another provider or bank requires the same ID, and do not assume an online route and an in-store or agent route require the same ID. Ask each provider or bank what ID it requires for your route, and have it ready before you start.

Treat sending limits as a check, not as a figure in this guide. Ask the provider or bank, before you start, what its sending limits are for your corridor, amount, payment method, and payout option, and whether a limit changes with verification. This guide states no sending limit for any provider or bank, because no sending limit was verified on an opened page. Where a limit is unconfirmed, the transfer is unconfirmed until the provider answers.

Treat recipient details and wire instructions as checks as well. Ask the provider or bank, before you start, exactly which recipient details and which wire instructions it requires for your route and destination, and confirm them in writing. Do not guess a detail, and do not reuse instructions from a different destination, corridor, or provider. A wrong detail can delay a transfer, and cancellation or amendment of a bank wire can itself carry a charge, as shown by the RBC starting figures in section 2, according to RBC Royal Bank, Additional Account Services.

Remember that the recipient side has its own ID check. The recipient may need ID to collect, according to Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, Sending money to someone in another country. Tell the recipient, before you send, what ID the payout option requires and what tracking information they will need, using the tracking details in section 7.

6. Receiving money in Canada

Receiving money has its own charges, and they must be checked before the money is sent, not discovered when it arrives. For RBC, an incoming wire from an RBC Royal Bank unit in Canada is free, an incoming wire from another financial institution worldwide is free when under $50 CAD, and fees start at $17.00 CAD when higher than $50 CAD, according to RBC Royal Bank, Additional Account Services. Present those figures only as RBC's published figures on the page checked, never as all-bank figures. Additional charges may be deducted from the payment amount by the receiving financial institution and its intermediaries, on the same page. Ask your own bank, before money is sent to you, what it charges for an incoming wire, what threshold applies, and whether intermediary deductions can reduce the amount.

Receiving through a money-transfer service has its own published receiving figures, again only for the named provider. Wise states that receiving domestic, non-Swift and non-wire, payments is free for CAD and listed currencies, and that receiving USD wire or Swift payments carries a fixed fee of 6.11 USD per payment, according to Wise, Fees & Pricing. Check the live receiving terms for your currency and payment type before you rely on them, and do not carry the USD wire figure across to another currency or payment type.

For cash pickup, the ID and tracking checks from sections 5 and 7 apply at collection. The recipient may need ID to collect, according to Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, Sending money to someone in another country. For Western Union, a confirmation email carries the money transfer control number to track the transfer and share with the receiver, according to Western Union, Frequently Asked Questions - Send Money. Share the tracking number with the receiver through a channel you trust, and tell the receiver which ID to bring. Ask, before collection, whether the recipient will pay a fee or tax to collect, on top of sender fees, according to Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, Sending money to someone in another country. If that answer is unconfirmed, the amount the recipient will actually receive is unconfirmed.

7. Speed, tracking, and what to do when money is late or short

Speed varies, and faster usually costs more. The time it takes varies from a few minutes to a few days, and faster usually costs more, according to Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, Sending money to someone in another country. Ask for the delivery time for your corridor, amount, payment method, and payout option, in writing, before you send. This guide states no delivery time for any corridor, because no corridor delivery time was verified on an opened page. Do not assume a transfer will arrive in minutes because another corridor, amount, or payout option did.

Keep the tracking record from the start. Keep the receipt and transaction number to track a transfer, according to Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, Sending money to someone in another country. For Western Union, a confirmation email carries the money transfer control number, known as the MTCN, to track the transfer and share with the receiver, according to Western Union, Frequently Asked Questions - Send Money. Keep the receipt, the transaction number or MTCN, the quoted fee, the quoted rate, and the quoted recipient amount together, so any later question can be answered from documents rather than memory.

If money is late, ask the provider, in writing, where the transfer stands, using the receipt and transaction number or MTCN. If money arrives short, work through the three checks in the FAQ on a shortfall, which are the rate timing, the recipient-side fee or tax, and intermediary deductions, with citations in that FAQ. For a bank wire, additional charges may be deducted from the payment amount by the receiving financial institution and its intermediaries, according to RBC Royal Bank, Additional Account Services. For tracing a wire, RBC tracing is free if the wire was not delivered as instructed, and starts at $25.00 CAD plus GST if it was delivered as instructed, on the same page, presented only as RBC's published starting figures.

If the provider's answer does not resolve the problem, use the complaint route for that kind of institution. Banks must have a complaint-handling process, and other money transfer businesses may be provincially regulated, according to Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, Sending money to someone in another country. Ask the bank for its complaint-handling process in writing, and ask the money transfer business which provincial regulator, if any, applies to it. Keep the provider's written answers with the receipt and the quote. Do not expect FINTRAC to resolve the transfer, because FINTRAC cannot assess business practices, approve or delay transactions, freeze or seize funds, or help recover funds, according to FINTRAC, Conducting transactions with a money services business.

8. Comparison worksheet using only your own quoted figures

Fill in one row per route you are actually considering, using only figures from your own written quotes, on the same date, for the same amount, corridor, and payout option. Leave a cell blank where the figure is unconfirmed, and do not fill it with a figure from another route, another provider, or another date. A blank cell means the comparison for that row is incomplete.

After you fill in the worksheet, check that every row with a figure also has a recipient amount, a rate-timing answer, and a FINTRAC registry check where the route is a money services business. A row that is complete on fee alone is not a comparison. Recheck the worksheet whenever a quote, rate, limit, or registry status changes, because your own quoted figures govern, not the figures in this guide.

Figures this guide does not state

This guide states no sending limit for any provider or bank, no delivery time for any corridor, no all-bank fee schedule, no provider margin, and no retail exchange rate for any provider. The only bank fee figures are RBC's published starting figures in sections 2, 6, and 7, according to RBC Royal Bank, Additional Account Services, and the only Wise fee figures are the "from 0.23%" sending and converting figure, with "varies by currency" attached, and the receiving figures in sections 3 and 6, according to Wise, Fees & Pricing. It carries no "$0 fee" wording as a general fact for any provider, and it states no document list beyond the Western Union ID verification in sections 2 and 5, according to Western Union, Frequently Asked Questions - Send Money. The only exchange rates stated are the Bank of Canada daily reference rates for November 4, 2026, in section 3, according to Bank of Canada, Daily exchange rates, and the 2% illustration in that section is arithmetic only. Recheck the pages in Sources, and your own written quote, before you send or receive money.

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• How to Start Opening Your First Bank Account as a Newcomer to Canada — opening a personal bank account as a newcomer to Canada, the documents that work, and the low-cost and no-cost accounts to ask for.
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Sources

• Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, Sending money to someone in another country — remittance definition, payout options, routes and outlets, total cost in three parts, fee and rate check, federally regulated fee disclosure, fee variation, credit-card cash-advance warning, rate timing, delivery time, recipient ID and fee or tax, receipt and tracking, and complaint-handling process
• FINTRAC, Conducting transactions with a money services business — money services business services, registration requirement, unregistered operation as a violation and offence, registration not endorsement or licensing, registry verification, FINTRAC limits, research and terms, and fraud warnings
• Open Government Portal, Money Services Businesses Registry — monthly registry update and the Registered, Expired, Ceased, and Revoked status definitions
• FINTRAC, Money Services Businesses Registry — the searchable registry for verifying a registration name, number, and status
• RBC Royal Bank, Additional Account Services — RBC outgoing and incoming wire starting fees, IBAN charge, cancellation, amendment, and tracing figures, and intermediary deductions, presented only as RBC's published starting figures
• Wise, Fees & Pricing — mid-market rate statement, transparent pricing, sending and converting fee from 0.23% varying by currency, domestic receiving free for CAD and listed currencies, and USD wire and Swift receiving fixed fee
• Western Union, Send Money Online from Canada — cash pickup, bank-account, and mobile-wallet payout options varying by destination country, and bank account, credit or Visa debit card, and cash payment methods
• Western Union, Frequently Asked Questions - Send Money — profile verification with a driver's licence, passport, or government-issued ID, government-issued ID at agent locations, and the confirmation email carrying the money transfer control number
• Bank of Canada, Daily exchange rates — November 4, 2026 daily reference rates for the US dollar, European euro, and UK pound sterling, used only for the worked illustration in section 3