How do I send money to a friend in Canada?

[morningpaper]

I want to send a cheque to a friend (child) in Canada - how do I do that then?!

I wouldn't unless it's a substantial amount. It'll cost you around tenner, min, I think, to have one written out in the bank in Canadian dollars.

If it's a small amount, can you send the money by paypal or similar to an adult and get them to give cash in your name?

Paypal

They don't have paypal accounts so I think I will gave to get a cheque written - so I just get it done at the bank and pay a fee then?

My mum used to send cash / currency to her relatives in Australia. She changed it at the bank then sent it by registered airmail or something like that. It was cheaper than sending a cheque as the exchange rate was better that way (or something like that).
This was about 10+ years ago though so things could well be different.

If you go to google.co.uk and type in 'sending money abroad' without the quote marks, it should bring up details of various banks' methods.

There's also Western Union transfers - not sure how they work.

I would just get the cash at the bank and post it - only a slight gamble and much cheaper.

Oh - just seen Badhair's - see how much registered post costs on top.

An old friend in NY used to send us a cheque for $10 for DD1 and by the time it was converted and the bank charged £5 for the privilege she got about £1.50 .

Morningpaper, I've sent money to Canada lots of times - the best way is to find out the recipient's bank details, and then talk to your bank and find out what methods they support. Swift or whatever normally works pretty well. You pay a few quid, but it doesn't get lost.

You can also buy a postal money order at the post office - maybe not in Canadian dollars, but certainly in US dollars, which would work fine, I think. More hassle for the recipient, though.

A third option is Western Union or equivalent. Very quick, not very cheap, and a bit of hassle for the recipient.

Do not send cash. The Canadian postal system will just nick it.

NQC, how will they know? Do they have cash detectors at sorting office?

And I must add that I am shocked at this foul slander of the Canadian Post Office!

I would have thought they were impeccably honest (no real reason, just the image I have of Canadians - must be the Mountie thing...)

Oh, and don't send a cheque, a Canadian bank wouldn't know what to do with it. A money order is better, but more expensive.

It's really really simplest to do a wire transfer, particularly if you have phone banking. Of course, this depends on you being able to get the recipients' bank details.

My mother used to work in Market Research. At one point, they sent out silver dollars as thank-yous to participants. They all got nicked, and, in some cases, the post office started opening recipients mails regularly from then on, to be safe.

Oh, just noticed it's for a child. Do they have a bank account?

Another option: I bet amazon.ca do gift certificates ...

I don't think Canadians are particularly honest. We just have good PR.

And I am Canadian, I'm allowed to be rude about Canada. Don't get me started on those bloody Canucks running around London entirely covered in bloody Canadian flags. One of these days I'm going to shout "Moose-f**r" at one of them.

Who do you bank with, mp? I have an A&L online account and it now shows my international account details at the bottom of the statement page:

Bank Identifier Code (BIC)6 letters and 2 numbers

International Bank Account Number (IBAN): 2 letters, 2 numbers, 4 letters, 6 digit sort code and 8 digit account number

See if you can get their details. DH was just sent some euros from Germany for doing a telephone survey and I don't think he lost much in the conversion.

NQC, I know you are, hence the

I still don't believe they could find folding money, unless they open everything (silver dollars would be obvious!)

The thing is, the Canadian postal service is really unreliable, generally. Nobody posts anything important. I don't think people generally post important cheques inside the country, never mind across countries. I don't know where all the post goes, but it certainly doesn't show up.

Canadians must be more thankful than the rest of us for the internet then!

What about ebay? Is it not used much there? It couldn't function here if the PO wasn't reasonably trustworthy.

notquitecockney
moosef*er

that's a new one to me! must share that with everyone at home!!

hana, I don't think anyone uses that term, really. I still like it though.

Janh, I think Canada Post is ok if you pay extra, at least inside the country. Still, it's a big country with not that many people, ebay probably isn't as big as here, and in the States. Or Canadians bid on American stuff, and then Americans refuse to ship it across the border.

If you have the number of their visa account you can phone your bank and ask them to credit their visa account.

I worked in Canada on and off - and would back NQC up on the, er, rudimentary, nature of the canadian post office. It is slow, inefficient, and Canadians did, indeed, embrace e mail far earlier thamn we did!

There is also an expression in Canada (Toronto, anyway), 'going postal' which means completely losing it and becoming murderous - after a postman did just that!

Oh, Blu, that's really an American expression. Our post office is horrible, but at least we don't have guns.

I was deeply disturbed when people said they'd put a cheque in the post for me, here. I mean, why not just give it to a seagull?

Also, DH mocks me terribly, but I cannot post a letter without a return address on it. It just can't be done. Who knows what bizarre whims will strike someone in the post office, and they need to be able to send it back.

Not sure I can really say the UK Post Office is any better, at least in my area - I've had birthday cards for DS1 show up open, and there are many reports of bags full of undelivered mail found in rubbish bins. DH has found some, even!

grrrrr
sent a wedding card to friend in Canada about a month ago and it showed up in the post to me today - I had her number down as 47 instead of 48.......stupid mailman
at least I had my return address

you think he'd know!!!!

Our post doesn't ever work things out - I remember a Canadian friend sent me a letter, when I first moved to London, and had my flat number, but not my street address. The post office kept it until they got another letter for me, which told them my street address, at which point they delivered both of them. I was very impressed!

This sort of thing is why Canadians always put return addresses on things.