As an international business, you’re probably looking for the most efficient and cost-effective way to transfer business money. Here we’ll take a look at how you can send business money to Canada from the US to pay your employees, suppliers, and venadar in the smoothest way possible.
We’ll help you determine the right method to avoid high foreign exchange (FX) rates and supply chain delays to keep your business running effectively.
Compared to the SWIFT network, Airwallex relies on a network of local bank accounts for transfers. We send your business money where it needs to go within one business day, and our global accounts are free to open with zero monthly account fees. You won’t see any “gotcha” charges from us.
Opening a foreign currency account with Airwallex also means you can collect various currencies (essentially wherever you do business) without exchanging them. For example, you can receive payments from your Canadian customers in CAD, hold them in your account, and then transfer them to your Canadian employees when the time is right to avoid double conversion
over 10,000 financial institutions around the world to provide a consistent and reliable method of transferring business money. SWIFT will first create a payment order for your transfer. It’s then sent through several financial institutions before arriving at its destination.
Businesses choose SWIFT because they want to continue working with the same bank to maintain their relationship with them. And the process of sending SWIFT payments is quite simple, too.
If you prefer SWIFT, you can set up a wire transfer with your US bank and find your relevant Canadian SWIFT code (also known as a Business Identifier Code [BIC]). A BIC is an international standard for identifying a specific bank and its branch to route your transactions.
However, there are a couple of drawbacks to SWIFT that you should consider before choosing this method for your transfers to Canada.
However, there are a couple of drawbacks to SWIFT that you should consider before choosing this method for your transfers to Canada.
Cost
You’ll face several fees when making a SWIFT payment. Each bank that your business money transfers to on the way to its destination will likely charge a handling fee or a service commission.
Due to the international nature of SWIFT, a set table of fees is difficult to predict. The financial institutions that your transfer passes through are likely different from that of another business. Fortunately, your bank might charge one flat fee to cover the transfer costs. But you’ll have to reach out to your bank and speak with them directly to know for certain.
And since your transfer will involve changing currencies from USD to CAD, there are exchange rates as well. Large retail banks don’t always offer
Wait time
SWIFT payments also aren’t the fastest. They can take up to four business days to clear, which is often frustrating for your business as well as who you’re sending business money to. A lengthy wait time could be detrimental to your business if you’re on a tight deadline with vendors and suppliers, and also fuels uncertainty for employees who expect to see payroll money deposited into their accounts on a certain day.
These wait times might also affect the flow of your supply chain. Vendors and suppliers will have to wait for payments to clear before they can send products and services. This creates hurdles in your overall operations.
Lack of Transparency
A lack of transparency is another factor to consider if you opt for transfers through SWIFT.
It’s generally well known that large retail banks aren’t the most clear on the service fees and FX rates that they charge. They’re also not the easiest to understand. And sometimes you won’t know what the exchange rate was or the amount of the service fee until after the transfer was made and you see them on your statement.
Using a business money transfer service
Using a money transfer service is another way to send money to Canada from the US.
Western Union and MoneyGram are just a couple examples of businesses that provide money transfer services. They’re specifically designed to help people and businesses send money internationally.
