USD CAD Exchange Rate Currency Converter

Buy in vs. Sell out

Each currency comes with two currency exchange rates, either Currency Mart buys from customers or Currency Mart sells to customers. Click two blue buttons, "Currency Mart Buys In" or "Currency Mart Sells Out", to switch buy in or sell out rates.

Rate vs. Inversed Rate

Each currency exchange rate comes with two expressions, either $1 foreign currency = $$$ local currency or $1 local currency = $$$ foreign currency. These two expressions descripe the same rate in two ways, but the effect rate remains the same. How to convert these two expressions to each other? 1 / rate in one expression = rate in another expression.

Cash Rate vs. Noncash Rate

Noncash applies to US currency only and means we pay out or receive payment via financial instruments, such as cheque, bank draft or balance transfer, anyway other than cash.

Preorder Option

Preorder option only apply to when customers purchase foreign currency from Currency Mart, not sell foreign currency to Currency Mart. Preorder option is available for two branches in Manitoba only.

Foreign Currency Retail Market

The currencies for international travel and cross-border payments are mainly purchased from banks, foreign exchange brokers and various exchange offices. These retail outlets obtain money from the interbank market, and the Bank ’s daily currency value is 5.3 trillion US dollars. The purchase is made at the spot contract exchange rate. Retail customers will charge them fees through commissions or other means to make up for the provider's fees and generate profits. One way to charge is to use an exchange rate that is less favorable than the wholesale spot exchange rate. The difference between the retail sale price and the sale price.

Exchange Rate Regime

Each country determines the exchange rate regime that will apply to its currency. For example, the currency may be free-floating, pegged (fixed), or a hybrid. If a currency is free-floating, its exchange rate is allowed to vary against that of other currencies and is determined by the market forces of supply and demand. exchange rates for such currencies are likely to change almost constantly as quoted on financial markets, mainly by banks, around the world. A movable or adjustable peg system is a system of fixed exchange rates, but with a provision for the revaluation (usually devaluation) of a currency. For example, between 1994 and 2005, the Chinese yuan renminbi (RMB) was pegged to the United States dollar at RMB 8.2768 to $1. China was not the only country to do this; from the end of World War II until 1967, Western European countries all maintained fixed exchange rates with the US dollar based on the Bretton Woods system. But that system had to be abandoned in favor of floating, market-based regimes due to market pressures and speculation, according to President Richard M. Nixon in a speech on August 15, 1971, in what is known as the Nixon Shock. Still, some governments strive to keep their currency within a narrow range. As a result, currencies become over-valued or under-valued, leading to excessive trade deficits or surpluses.

Foreign Exchange Market size and Liquidity

The foreign exchange market is the most liquid financial market in the world. Traders include governments and central banks, commercial banks, other institutional investors and financial institutions, currency speculators, other commercial corporations, and individuals. According to the 2019 Triennial Central Bank Survey, coordinated by the Bank for International Settlements, average daily turnover was $6.6 trillion in April 2019 (compared to $1.9 trillion in 2004). Of this $6.6 trillion, $2 trillion was spot transactions and $4.6 trillion was traded in outright forwards, swaps, and other derivatives. Foreign exchange is traded in an over-the-counter market where brokers/dealers negotiate directly with one another, so there is no central exchange or clearing house. The biggest geographic trading center is the United Kingdom, primarily London. In April 2019, trading in the United Kingdom accounted for 43.1% of the total, making it by far the most important center for foreign exchange trading in the world. Owing to London's dominance in the market, a particular currency's quoted price is usually the London market price. For instance, when the International Monetary Fund calculates the value of its special drawing rights every day, they use the London market prices at noon that day. Trading in the United States accounted for 16.5%, Singapore and Hong Kong account for 7.6% and Japan accounted for 4.5%. Turnover of exchange-traded foreign exchange futures and options was growing rapidly in 2004-2013, reaching $145 billion in April 2013 (double the turnover recorded in April 2007). As of April 2019, exchange-traded currency derivatives represent 2% of OTC foreign exchange turnover. Foreign exchange futures contracts were introduced in 1972 at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and are traded more than to most other futures contracts. Most developed countries permit the trading of derivative products (such as futures and options on futures) on their exchanges. All these developed countries already have fully convertible capital accounts. Some governments of emerging markets do not allow foreign exchange derivative products on their exchanges because they have capital controls. The use of derivatives is growing in many emerging economies. Countries such as South Korea, South Africa, and India have established currency futures exchanges, despite having some capital controls. Foreign exchange trading increased by 20% between April 2007 and April 2010 and has more than doubled since 2004. The increase in turnover is due to a number of factors: the growing importance of foreign exchange as an asset class, the increased trading activity of high-frequency traders, and the emergence of retail investors as an important market segment. The growth of electronic execution and the diverse selection of execution venues has lowered transaction costs, increased market liquidity, and attracted greater participation from many customer types. In particular, electronic trading via online portals has made it easier for retail traders to trade in the foreign exchange market. By 2010, retail trading was estimated to account for up to 10% of spot turnover, or $150 billion per day (see below: Retail foreign exchange traders).