I thought we were supposed to encourage small businesses and international trade. In the past, when cashing a Canadian check at my bank, I could literally ride a mule from Denver to Canada, in less time than it took the check to clear.
This week, the bank informed me that the fee for for processing the $20 check would be more than the face value of the check. I asked them to process it anyway so that I would have an example to complain about.
Whenever possible, I have the client use Paypal, which goes through immediately for a minor fee. However, sometimes I get Canadian checks, always $20 in amount.
There has to be a better way. No wonder our balance of trade is in trouble if this is the best our banks can do.
Other suggestions.
Still a current issue - here is a past closed thread on the subject:
I’m not sure you can attribute that to banking practices, nor am I sure what you mean by ‘balance of trade’, exactly. But rather than framing this as a geopolitical issue, why not just look for a different way to move money around?
My bank will accept Canadian checks for a reasonable fee, and I haven’t had much trouble getting clients to wire in money for larger sums. Lots of Canadian banks allow customers to write checks in USD, which makes things easy, and I’m sure there are lots of other options.
If you are only depositing a $20 check, I wouldn’t really expect the banks to very accommodating. Check clearing is expensive and with that amount, you really aren’t doing much to encourage international trade, as you mentioned. Further, since you mentioned that you were willing to pay a huge fee just to ‘have something to complain about’ it seems like you’re more interested in griping than actually doing business.
The listing service being purchased sells for $20, so the price is fixed. I try to get purchasers from other countries to use Paypal. However, sometimes the purchaser is not willing to pay online or occasionally the Paypal won’t work for them.
While not a huge sum, multiple $20 checks do help.
I’m not sure what the fee will be from my bank in the last round, they seem to have changed their policy recently. I’ve deposited checks in the past for a reasonable fee. If anyone knows of a bank in Colorado that will handle Canadian checks for a reasonable fee, please let me know.
And yes, I think that we do what we can to bring in money to the U.S. from other countries.