| Account | Network | Type | Overseas foreign ATM fees | International ATM surcharge rebates | Foreign currency transaction fees | annual/ monthly fees | notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Koho Extra (Peoples Trust) | Mastercard | Prepaid | 0 | 1 per 30 days rolling | 0 | $9 monthly or $84 annually | long list of restricted countries |
| Manulife Bank Advantage Account | Maestro | Debit | 0 | none, but surcharge free at Allpoint ATMs abroad | 0 | 0 | need to keep $1000 min. balance to avoid all transaction fees. |
| SBI Canada Chequing Account | Maestro | Debit | 0 | none, but surcharge free at Allpoint ATMs abroad and 65000 SBI ATMs in India | 0 | $4 monthly | monthly fee can be waived with $1000 min. balance or being over 60, under 18 or a student. Not available in Quebec. |
| Laurentian Bank Chequing Account | Accel (US only) | Debit | 0 in the US on Accel | none, but surcharge free at Allpoint ATMs abroad | 0 in the US on Accel | 0 | transaction fees can be waived with a youth account, a $3000 min. balance or a fixed fee banking plan. The free LBC Digital Account offered the same benefit but can no longer be opened. |
| EQ Bank | Mastercard | Prepaid | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | short list of restricted countries, only the usual suspects |
| Wealthsimple Cash (Peoples Trust) | Mastercard | Prepaid | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | long list of restricted countries |
| Wise | Visa | Prepaid | 2x and max. $350 per month free | - | min. 0.43% for 40+ currencies, 0 for the rest | 0 | own exchange rates for 40+ currencies, Visa rates for the rest, see terms. Short list of restricted countries |
| Home Trust Preferred | Visa | Credit | 1.50%, min. $5.50 + 1.67% interest per month | - | 0 | 0 | not available in Quebec, inactivity fee after 12 months without usage |
| ICBC Dual Currency Classic | China UnionPay | Credit | $5 + 1.66% interest per month | - | 0 | $19 annually, first year free | also works on Discover network in the US, Canada, Mexico and the Bahamas |
| Scotiabank Gold American Express Card | American Express | Credit | ($5 at Global ATM Alliance, $7.50 elsewhere) + 1.74% interest per month | none, but surcharge free at Global ATM Alliance abroad | 0 | $120 annually | |
| Scotiabank Passport Infinite | Visa | Credit | ($5 at Global ATM Alliance, $7.50 elsewhere) + 1.74% interest per month | none, but surcharge free at Global ATM Alliance abroad | 0 | $150 annually | |
| Scotiabank Platinum American Express Card | American Express | Credit | ($5 at Global ATM Alliance, $7.50 elsewhere) + 0.8% interest per month | none, but surcharge free at Global ATM Alliance abroad | 0 | $399 annually |
Recommendations:
Tangerine used to be the Canadian travellers’ favorite, but they started charging a 2.5% currency conversion fee, which makes them less attractive. Best alternative is Manulife or the new EQ Bank prepaid card.
For spending: the best credit card is the Home Trust card. Alternatively prepaid cards and Maestro debit cards (like Manulife) can also be used abroad, see below.
Notes:
- Almost all Canadian debit and credit cards charge a currency conversion fee of at least 2.5%, the above are some of the exceptions.
- Scotiabank and Tangerine are members of the Global ATM Alliance and offer free ATM withdrawals at their partner banks worldwide, but still charge the 2.5% conversion fee
- Desjardins offers free ATM withdrawals at Credit Mutuel in France and Desjardins Bank ATMs in Florida, but will also still hit you with those 2.5%. Same goes for TD and CIBC and their US subsidiaries – free withdrawals, but also currency conversion fees.
- The Canadian debit card system Interac does not work overseas, so Canadian debit cards come cobranded with international networks to ensure access overseas, with varying levels of functionality:
- Cirrus or Plus only cards do not work for POS purchases abroad (with exception of the US where there are some arrangements through NYCE and Accel), but many Canadian banks issue debit cards that are this limited (that’s RBC, Laurentian, First Nations, Desjardins, many Credit Unions etc.).
- Maestro cards work fine overseas at ATMs and many PIN based Point-of-Sale terminals, but Canadian Maestro cards do not work for internet purchases. Having a second card that works online would be helpful, e.g. a credit card or prepaid card.
- Scotiabank, TD, BMO and CIBC are expensive but issue debit cards with full Visa or Mastercard debit functionality, which can be used everywhere: ATM, POS and online. A few others now issue such a card as well.
- ICBC distributes China UnionPay debit (also cobranded) and credit cards without currency exchange fees. China UnionPay works in some form in 174 countries, but especially POS is still limited except for North America (where it cooperates with Discover), North Asia (China plus cooperation with local networks in Korea and Japan) and India (cooperation with their national Payment Network).
- If your bank/card participates in the Exchange network, you get surcharge-free ATM access at around 40000 Allpoint ATMs in the US.