Canadian vs US dollars

[Christine Frances]

I need to check my credit cards. This has never been an issue in my previous trips as the exchange has been close enough to not be an issue. As I recall my bank did not charge a fee for purchasing Canadian $ last year and the teller did tell me that I could exchange what I didn't use back to US$ when I returned. I do remember the loonies and twonies. I wouldn't want to carry many of those around.....too heavy!

 

 

We don't walk around with a sack for the loonies and toonies lol. They spend very quickly thank you! I was a very fast convert to the streamlining of our currency, especially the plastic bills and no pennies. No more ripped,torn or dog-eared bills! :)

[RW20]

In Canada you can use your chip and pin cards and we also have tap. If you don't have a chip card then you should still be able to swipe. When we travel to the US we find it really wierd having to swipe our cards and then sign... we never sign anymore with the chip and tap technology. Funny thing is when we went to Disney they didn't realize their magic band technology enables tapping cards, we were doing it all the time much to the retailers surprise it worked.

[sail7seas]

 

All the new cards I get as they renew are chip p but the companies are all still arguing which style PIN machine. Until they can all agree, the merchants cannot be expected to have a line up of different style machines so we only have chip now. Visa wants one style, M/C another etc

[Christine Frances]

In Canada you can use your chip and pin cards and we also have tap. If you don't have a chip card then you should still be able to swipe. When we travel to the US we find it really wierd having to swipe our cards and then sign... we never sign anymore with the chip and tap technology. Funny thing is when we went to Disney they didn't realize their magic band technology enables tapping cards, we were doing it all the time much to the retailers surprise it worked.

 

I feel very uneasy swiping my card.

[CruisingSince2012]

In Canada you can use your chip and pin cards and we also have tap. If you don't have a chip card then you should still be able to swipe. When we travel to the US we find it really wierd having to swipe our cards and then sign... we never sign anymore with the chip and tap technology. Funny thing is when we went to Disney they didn't realize their magic band technology enables tapping cards, we were doing it all the time much to the retailers surprise it worked.

 

Huh? Last time I was in Canada Mom swiped her Visa on the electronic thing all waiters gave her to pay for meals. :confused:

[kazu]

Huh? Last time I was in Canada Mom swiped her Visa on the electronic thing all waiters gave her to pay for meals. :confused:

 

If her card comes from the U.S., of course she did. Chip cards are not widespread in the U.S. yet, unlike Canada.

[Folk Singer]

Also the smallest bill we have is $5 (all our notes are plastic), we have $1 coins (Loonies - there is a Loon on one side) and a $2 coin (Toonie) = 2 Loonies lol and, as been mentioned, no pennies. I love this system as everything is more compact. Enjoy Canada:)

 

 

Agree and have fun.

[summer slope]

I have several pennies, nickels, and maybe dollars of Canadian money. Am I still able to use them in Canada?

[Alberta Quilter]

I have several pennies, nickels, and maybe dollars of Canadian money. Am I still able to use them in Canada?

 

Yes. The youngsters may look at you funny if you have dollar bills, though!;). Pennies might be more difficult to use but they may take them. A bank likely would exchange them for you.

Edited May 16, 2015 by Alberta Quilter

[kazu]

I have several pennies, nickels, and maybe dollars of Canadian money. Am I still able to use them in Canada?

 

You won't be able to use the pennies anymore at all here.

 

All other coins are fine as well as the bills.

 

The only issue is the $1 and $2 bill. They have been replace by coins. They can still be used I believe. You might have to take them to a bank. I am not sure.

 

They were taken out of circulation a number of years ago and people had so long to use them, but I believe they are still legal tender.

 

If one happens to be in mint condition, you might want to save it :)

[superoma]

The penny is still legal tender. It is just not being produced anymore and basically no one is accepting it. The one and two dollar bills are also still legal tender but again, a merchant does not have to accept them because they are no longer being produced. A bank will take them and give you coin for them. I use my pennies for bingo markers!!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[sail7seas]

If the penny is no longer produced or used in Canada, one has to think that pricing on items is such that pennies are not required. No one would price something for $1.99, for example. The price went up to $2.00.

 

I'm imagining all the items that are now priced as much as four cents higher so no pennies required.

 

Edited May 17, 2015 by sail7seas

[RW20]

The prices are still 1.99 and the taxes in Ontario are 13%, but 1,2,6,7 round down and 3,4,8,9 round up when you pay cash. However most people use debit/credit and they get charged to the penny.

[Blue Mudshark]

If her card comes from the U.S., of course she did. Chip cards are not widespread in the U.S. yet, unlike Canada.

 

I have a question about Canadian chip cards. Are they chip-and-pin? Or chip-and-signature?

 

The US banks almost universally issue only chip-and-signature for their new EVM replacement card, and then they (incorrectly) call them chip-and-pin. It's difficult to find a US-issued chip-and-pin card, and a big part of the problem is that when I think I've found one, a few specific questions reveal that the bank's promotional material is lying; they're really chip-and-signature, but they're calling it chip-and-pin.

 

My own local credit union is pulling this scam, and although they've explicitly acknowledged that their new cards aren't chip-and-pin, their advertising and product information web pages say otherwise.

 

There's a big effort in the US, by both banks and merchants, to resist the PIN cards. It's a race to remain decades behind the times. But there's no big effort to be honest about it.

[Lauranne]

I have a question about Canadian chip cards. Are they chip-and-pin? Or chip-and-signature? SNIP

 

Our cards are chip and pin or if the amount of purchase is under $50.00 (I believe) you can just tap your card.

 

Laurie

[xlxo]

I have a question about Canadian chip cards. Are they chip-and-pin? Or chip-and-signature?

 

The US banks almost universally issue only chip-and-signature for their new EVM replacement card, and then they (incorrectly) call them chip-and-pin. It's difficult to find a US-issued chip-and-pin card, and a big part of the problem is that when I think I've found one, a few specific questions reveal that the bank's promotional material is lying; they're really chip-and-signature, but they're calling it chip-and-pin.

 

My own local credit union is pulling this scam, and although they've explicitly acknowledged that their new cards aren't chip-and-pin, their advertising and product information web pages say otherwise.

 

There's a big effort in the US, by both banks and merchants, to resist the PIN cards. It's a race to remain decades behind the times. But there's no big effort to be honest about it.

• depends on the card and retailer. Amex at some gas stations are chip, swipe and signature....
  
• talking with one retailer when PINs were introduced.... it was a $500 car repair. The user could not remember the PIN and was unable to pay for his repairs, but needed the car to get to a bank machine. Huh. Personally I prefer different PIN's for bank machine withdraws and different amounts.
  
• have you heard about the wave/tap? It's convenient, but have you heard about electronic pickpocketing?
  

[YOUTUBE]bUz6oe6AlFs[/YOUTUBE]

[Dismomx5]

You won't be able to use the pennies anymore at all here.

 

All other coins are fine as well as the bills.

 

The only issue is the $1 and $2 bill. They have been replace by coins. They can still be used I believe. You might have to take them to a bank. I am not sure.

 

They were taken out of circulation a number of years ago and people had so long to use them, but I believe they are still legal tender.

 

If one happens to be in mint condition, you might want to save it :)

The penny remains legal tender. I have a friend who paid cash $5.01 just last week for an item. Stores will round down/up for cash, and if you use debit, you are charged the exact amount .

Our cards are chip and pin or if the amount of purchase is under $50.00 (I believe) you can just tap your card.

My one card is able to be tapped until $100. I'm lousy at tapping, though! Just don't have the knack. :p

 

[Folk Singer]

If the penny is no longer produced or used in Canada, one has to think that pricing on items is such that pennies are not required. No one would price something for $1.99, for example. The price went up to $2.00.

 

I'm imagining all the items that are now priced as much as four cents higher so no pennies required.

 

 

The price for example if 1.92 is a 1.90 and if 1.93 is 1.95.

[dheianevans]

If the penny is no longer produced or used in Canada, one has to think that pricing on items is such that pennies are not required. No one would price something for $1.99, for example. The price went up to $2.00.

 

One would be wrong. :)

 

Looking at the flyer for a big grocery chain, there are a lot of X.99, X.49 prices etc. And with taxes in Ontario, a 10.99 item turns into 12.42. If you pay cash it's 12.40 and if you pay debit or credit it's 12.42.

[zerbot]

Pennies haven't been used on US military bases overseas in... sheesh, must be 30 years or so now. IMO, I would be quite happy if they quit making pennies altogether, they're a pain in the butt.

[Folk Singer]

Pennies haven't been used on US military bases overseas in... sheesh, must be 30 years or so now. IMO, I would be quite happy if they quit making pennies altogether, they're a pain in the butt.

 

 

Good for playing Rumoli. :):);)

[3rdGenCunarder]

 

All the new cards I get as they renew are chip p but the companies are all still arguing which style PIN machine. Until they can all agree, the merchants cannot be expected to have a line up of different style machines so we only have chip now. Visa wants one style, M/C another etc

 

Interesting. We recently got replacement cards that have a chip. I thought, at last! chip-and-pin. But no, it's chip and sign. The issuer said that it's more convenient for users because we wouldn't have a pin to remember. How's that for "spin"??

[hcij2015]

 

All the new cards I get as they renew are chip p but the companies are all still arguing which style PIN machine. Until they can all agree, the merchants cannot be expected to have a line up of different style machines so we only have chip now. Visa wants one style, M/C another etc

 

How very odd.

This issue - if it ever was one - was resolved

by both companies years ago in Canada.

One machine takes everything.

[iancal]

same in Canada....and in many other countries where we have travelled. Same device for both cards.

 

There must be another reason. We have been using CHIP/PINS cards for about 4 or 5 years now.

Edited May 18, 2015 by iancal

[Blue Mudshark]

same in Canada....and in many other countries where we have travelled. Same device for both cards.

 

There must be another reason. We have been using CHIP/PINS cards for about 4 or 5 years now.

 

The reason is that vendors in the USA don't want to spend money on new point-of-sale terminals, and banks don't want to spend money on new ATMs. They have been fighting the introduction of EVM cards in general, and chip-and-pin cards specifically. The banks are, mostly, going along with this, and are going out of their way to avoid providing the chip-and-pin technology that most of the industrialized world has had for decades. Although they don't word it this way exactly, many banks are also concerned that their American customers won't be able to understand and remember their PINs. It's ridiculous.

Edited May 18, 2015 by Blue Mudshark