Canada Price Comparison Research

A dedicated comparison research team in Wise compared Wise to 3 Canadian bank accounts, as well as PayPal, Western Union, and Remitly. They found that we’re on average 4x cheaper for spending abroad. And our fees to withdraw C$500 from an ATM abroad are on average 3x cheaper. Wise is also on average 2x cheaper to send C$500 abroad. This is based on the prices offered by Wise Payments Canada during the research period.

Research methodology

The competitor research was collected in September 2022 during a 5 day period (26/09/2022 - 30/09/2022).

They looked at data across multiple countries, currencies, and price points to make sure any price claims we make are fair and accurate. The data collected was publicly available information on the competitors website. The data was collected during standard trading hours and at the same time every day, whenever possible, to ensure consistency across the comparison.

The research scope looked at the following, across EUR, GBP, USD, INR and MXN, using C$500 as the transaction value:

• The cost to send money abroad from an account
• The cost to spend money abroad using a debit card
• The cost to withdraw money abroad from an account via an ATM

The costs collected for sending money abroad are made up of both the foreign transaction fee and any exchange rate markup. The exchange rate markup is a percentage added to the mid-market exchange rate by a provider when they sell you a currency. The costs collected for spending money abroad and withdrawing money abroad from an account via ATM are only made up of foreign transaction fees.

The research and results

1. Total cost to send C$500. Overall, Wise is 2x cheaper.

CAD > USD: Wise is 2x cheaper

• Wise: C$6.19
• Royal Bank of Canada: C$17.07
• Scotiabank: C$15.98
• Toronto-Dominion Bank: N/A*
• Western Union: C$7.38
• PayPal: C$27.08
• Remitly: N/A**

CAD > GBP: Wise is 3x cheaper

• Wise: C$6.09
• Royal Bank of Canada: C$27.88
• Scotiabank: C$22.77
• Toronto-Dominion Bank: N/A*
• Western Union: C$7.86
• PayPal: C$30.95
• Remitly: N/A**

CAD > EUR: Wise is 2x cheaper

• Wise: C$5.95
• Royal Bank of Canada: C$24.38
• Scotiabank: C$21.70
• Toronto-Dominion Bank: N/A*
• Western Union: C$7.66
• PayPal: C$24.37
• Remitly: C$9.05

CAD > INR: Wise is 2x cheaper

• Wise: C$7.15
• Royal Bank of Canada: C$23.18
• Scotiabank: C$16.09
• Toronto-Dominion Bank: N/A*
• Western Union: C$5.39
• PayPal: C$27.78
• Remitly: C$2.57

CAD > MXN: Wise is 2x cheaper

• Wise: C$7.95
• Royal Bank of Canada: C$22.26
• Scotiabank: C$18.19
• Toronto-Dominion Bank: N/A*
• Western Union: C$8.32
• PayPal: C$27.70
• Remitly: N/A**

*The data for Toronto-Dominion Bank is unavailable as the exact fees for sending money abroad are not communicated in the publicly available sources.
** Remitly does not offer money transfer services for these currency routes

2. Fees to spend C$500 using a debit card. Overall, Wise debit card is 4x cheaper.

CAD > USD: Wise is 5x cheaper

• Wise: C$2.75
• Royal Bank of Canada: C$12.50
• Scotiabank: C$12.50
• Toronto-Dominion Bank: C$17.50
• Western Union: N/A*
• PayPal: N/A*
• Remitly: N/A*

CAD > GBP: Wise is 5x cheaper

• Wise: C$2.60
• Royal Bank of Canada: C$12.50
• Scotiabank: C$12.50
• Toronto-Dominion Bank: C$17.50
• Western Union: N/A*
• PayPal: N/A*
• Remitly: N/A*

CAD > EUR: Wise is 5x cheaper

• Wise: C$2.60
• Royal Bank of Canada: C$12.50
• Scotiabank: C$12.50
• Toronto-Dominion Bank: C$17.50
• Western Union: N/A*
• PayPal: N/A*
• Remitly: N/A*

CAD > INR: Wise is 4x cheaper

• Wise: C$3.35
• Royal Bank of Canada: C$12.50
• Scotiabank: C$12.50
• Toronto-Dominion Bank: C$17.50
• Western Union: N/A
• PayPal: N/A
• Remitly: N/A

CAD > MXN: Wise is 3x cheaper

• Wise: C$3.90
• Royal Bank of Canada: C$12.50
• Scotiabank: C$12.50
• Toronto-Dominion Bank: C$17.50
• Western Union: N/A*
• PayPal: N/A*
• Remitly: N/A*

*Western Union, PayPal and Remitly do not offer a card in their account propositions

3. Fees to withdraw C$500 abroad via an ATM, using a debit card. Overall, Wise debit card is 3x cheaper.

CAD > USD: Wise is 3x cheaper

• Wise: C$5.38
• Royal Bank of Canada: C$15.50
• Scotiabank: C$15.50
• Toronto-Dominion Bank: C$17.50
• Western Union: N/A*
• PayPal: N/A*
• Remitly: N/A*

CAD > GBP: Wise is 3x cheaper

• Wise: C$5.23
• Royal Bank of Canada: C$17.50
• Scotiabank: C$17.50
• Toronto-Dominion Bank: C$17.50
• Western Union: N/A*
• PayPal: N/A*
• Remitly: N/A*

CAD > EUR: Wise is 3x cheaper

• Wise: C$5.23
• Royal Bank of Canada: C$17.50
• Scotiabank: C$17.50
• Toronto-Dominion Bank: C$17.50
• Western Union: N/A*
• PayPal: N/A*
• Remitly: N/A*

CAD > INR: Wise is 2x cheaper

• Wise: C$5.98
• Royal Bank of Canada: C$17.50
• Scotiabank: C$17.50
• Toronto-Dominion Bank: C$17.50
• Western Union: N/A*
• PayPal: N/A*
• Remitly: N/A*

CAD > MXN: Wise is 2x cheaper

• Wise: C$6.53
• Royal Bank of Canada: C$17.50
• Scotiabank: C$17.50
• Toronto-Dominion Bank: C$17.50
• Western Union: N/A*
• PayPal: N/A*
• Remitly: N/A*

*Western Union, PayPal and Remitly do not offer a card in their account propositions