Send Money From Canada
Wiring Canadian dollars to family or a business abroad? This page shows the true cost of a transfer, ranks the cheapest FINTRAC-registered service for your route, and walks through paying by Interac e-Transfer — so you know exactly what your recipient collects.
Compare live rates from Canada
Pick a destination and type an amount — the table sorts every CAD provider from cheapest to dearest, laying out each one's fee, its rate margin, and the final sum your recipient walks away with.
Loading comparison...
Best ways to send money from Canada — and who each suits
The best pick depends on the corridor, the size of the transfer, and how your recipient wants the money. The live table settles it for your route; think of the list here as a shortcut to which name earns its keep for each kind of send.
Wise
Best for transparent pricingHands you the real mid-market rate and one clearly-listed fee, so the cost is on the screen before you commit. Usually the sharpest value for bank-to-bank transfers out of Canada.
Instarem
Best for low-fee transfers to AsiaOne of the widest Canadian corridor line-ups, with keen rates to India, the Philippines and beyond and small, transparent fees. A strong first stop for Asian routes.
Remitly
Best for family remittancesTwo speeds — Economy for the lowest price, Express when it has to land today — with reliable bank, wallet and cash payout on Canada’s biggest routes to India, the Philippines and Pakistan.
Sendwave & TapTap Send
Best for fee-free app sendsFrequently charge nothing on their core African and Asian corridors, funded in a couple of taps from your Canadian bank. Built for the smaller amounts sent home each month.
Western Union
Best when they need cashThe one to reach for when your recipient collects in person: its pickup counters blanket almost every town abroad, with cash typically handed over within minutes. The trade-off is a rate that’s rarely the sharpest.
OFX
Best for large transfersNo maximum, little to nothing in fees and a dealer on the phone for five-figure sums — a fit when a sharper rate on a big transfer matters more than instant delivery.
Want the full field? Compare every provider side by side.
How to send money from Canada in 4 steps
- 1
Compare what each service really delivers.
Start in the tool above. It ranks the providers by how much your recipient ends up with once the fee and the rate markup are both counted — the only number that tells you the true cost.
- 2
Set up your account and payee.
Registration takes a few minutes. Add your recipient exactly as their bank or wallet has their name, plus their account or pickup details. Expect to verify your own identity once when you sign up — a FINTRAC requirement every registered provider follows, not a cause for concern.
- 3
Fund it with Interac e-Transfer.
Paying from your bank by Interac e-Transfer is the cheapest option and clears in minutes; a debit or credit card is quicker to set up but costs more. And Canada adds no tax to outbound transfers.
- 4
Send, then keep the tracking link.
Give the locked-in rate and fee a last look, hit send, and note the reference number so you can follow the transfer right up to the moment it’s collected.
Popular routes from Canada
The corridors Canadian senders use most — pick any of them (or another country) in the comparison above.
Fees vs the exchange rate: what you actually pay
A transfer out of Canada bills you twice over. First the fee you can see — often C$0 to C$5 on a specialist app, or C$30 to C$50 for a bank wire. Then the exchange-rate markup you can’t: providers set your rate a shade below the mid-market rate a currency converter shows and quietly keep the gap. Because it lives inside the rate, it never lands on your receipt — so a "no-fee" transfer can still be the dearer one.
Picture C$1,000 to India. A big-bank wire can shave 3% off in the rate — about C$30 — before its flat fee is even added, while a sharp app charges a few dollars on a rate within a whisker of mid-market. Same money, same destination, a noticeably fuller payout at the other end. The fair yardstick is the combined bite of fee and margin measured against your send amount — precisely the figure the table above puts in order for you.
How to pay, and how your recipient gets it
How you pay
- Interac e-Transfer — the cheapest way to fund a send, and it clears within minutes. No Canadian tax on sending abroad.
- Debit card — quick to set up for a little more.
- Credit card — priciest; your issuer may add a cash-advance fee and interest.
How they receive it
- Bank deposit — suits most transfers; typically one to two business days.
- Cash pickup — Western Union, Ria and MoneyGram agents; often ready in minutes.
- Mobile wallet — UPI in India, GCash in the Philippines, mobile money across Africa; frequently instant.
Is it safe? Canadian regulation in brief
Your money is safe when the company is registered — and in Canada that means FINTRAC, the federal financial-intelligence agency, where transfer firms must sign on as money services businesses and run identity and anti-money-laundering checks. Firms that serve Quebec are additionally licensed by the province’s AMF. Everything in the comparison above is a registered operator — the reason the one-time ID step at sign-up is routine, not a red flag.
That registration guards against the firm failing you, not against your own slip. Get the recipient’s name and account or wallet number right before you hit send — once the money’s collected it’s very hard to claw back — and treat any high-pressure push to send money as a warning sign, particularly from someone you’ve only dealt with online.
Sending money from Canada — FAQ
What is the cheapest way to send money from Canada?
A specialist app paid for by Interac e-Transfer wins for most senders. Wise passes on the real mid-market rate for a small fee, while Instarem, Remitly, Sendwave and TapTap Send are frequently free or near-free on Canada’s busy routes to India, the Philippines and Africa. A bank wire is the one to avoid — roughly C$30–C$50 plus a 2.5–4% markup buried in the rate. Which one comes out ahead depends on where and how much you’re sending, so let the table above rank them for your specific transfer.
Which app is cheapest to send money from Canada to India or the Philippines?
It flips with the day’s rate and the amount, so treat this as a starting point: to India, Wise and Instarem usually come out ahead; to the Philippines, Instarem and Remitly are the ones to beat, especially on bank deposit and cash pickup. The table above confirms the winner for your exact figure.
How much does it cost to send money abroad from Canada?
Your bill is a fee plus a hidden rate markup. Specialist services keep both small — think C$0–C$5 and under 1–2% on the rate — whereas a bank wire tucks 2.5–4% into the exchange rate on top of its flat charge. Across a C$1,000 send, cheapest versus dearest typically differ by C$30–C$50 for identical delivery.
How fast will money arrive when I send from Canada?
Often within the hour, sometimes a couple of business days. Cash and mobile-wallet payouts to high-volume destinations — India, the Philippines, Nigeria — can be instant or same-day, whereas a straight bank deposit usually settles in one to two working days. Your Interac e-Transfer clears fast on the Canadian end; only a bank’s own SWIFT wire drags things out to three to five days.
Are money transfer services in Canada regulated, and is my money safe?
Yes. Money-transfer companies in Canada must register as money services businesses with FINTRAC (the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada) and run anti-money-laundering and identity checks; firms serving Quebec are also licensed by the AMF. Wise, Remitly, Instarem, Western Union and the other services compared here are registered operators — a quick ID check when you sign up is normal and required by law.
Is there a tax on sending money abroad from Canada in 2026?
No — Canada doesn’t tax outbound remittances at all. That sets it apart from the United States, which brought in a 1% federal excise tax on certain cash-funded transfers in 2026. From Canada, your only costs are the provider’s fee and its exchange-rate markup.