We checked the personal fee schedules of BMO, CIBC, RBC, Scotiabank and TD on November 13, 2026. Two of them already have wire fee increases scheduled for early 2027.

The short answer

Sending a wire from a big Canadian bank costs $50 at TD and BMO, from $45 at RBC, and $30 to $80 at CIBC depending on the amount. Receiving one costs $15 to $17.50. If the money changes currency, the exchange rate the bank sets adds a cost that can be larger than the fee.

The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) says federally regulated banks must tell you what they charge to send money abroad, but that fee does not include charges in the other country. Banks that pass the payment along, and the receiving bank, can take their own cut. Use the calculator below to see what the rate alone costs you.

Wire fees at the five big banks

These are the standard personal-account fees each bank publishes. Some bank plans waive or discount them, so check your own plan before you pay.

Sources: each bank’s personal fee page or fee change notice, checked November 13, 2026. Fees are per wire and do not include exchange-rate costs or other banks’ charges. Scotiabank’s personal fee page lists incoming wires but not outgoing ones.

BMO’s notice of fee changes raises the outgoing wire fee from $50 to $75 on February 1, 2027: a $65 wire fee plus the same $10 communication charge. That is a 50% increase. CIBC’s page says its incoming wire fee goes from $15 to $17 on January 16, 2027.

A few details change what you pay. CIBC is the only one of the five with tiers, and its $30 fee for wires of $10,000 or less is the lowest posted outgoing fee in the group.

TD charges $16 instead of $50 when the wire goes to another TD Canada Trust account. RBC lists a separate $35 charge when a wire goes to a country that uses International Bank Account Numbers (IBANs) and you do not provide one, and its wire page says wires can only be sent from a branch.

The costs you will not find on a fee schedule

The exchange-rate spread

When your wire goes out in another currency, you buy that currency from your bank at a rate it sets. TD’s account fee document says so directly. Scotiabank’s fee page goes further and says it earns income from its transfer fee “as well as the difference (the spread)” built into the rate it quotes.

The spread is the gap between your bank’s rate and a reference rate. The Bank of Canada publishes daily average rates once each business day by 4:30 p.m. ET. They are indicative only, so you cannot trade at them, but they make a fair yardstick. Every 1% of spread on $5,000 costs $50, the same as the TD or BMO wire fee.

Charges by other banks

An international wire can pass through one or more intermediary banks before it lands. CIBC says extra charges may be deducted from the wire amount to cover fees charged by intermediaries and by the receiving institution. RBC says the same. These come out of what your recipient gets, and you usually will not know the amount in advance.

A worked example: $5,000 to a US account

Say you send $5,000 from a TD chequing account to a US bank account, converted to US dollars. The Bank of Canada rate on November 10, 2026 was 1.4181 Canadian dollars per US dollar. Assume, hypothetically, that your bank quotes 1.4500.

• At the Bank of Canada rate, $5,000 would buy US$3,525.84.
• At the bank’s rate, it buys US$3,448.28, which is US$77.57 less.
• That shortfall is worth $110.00 in Canadian dollars, a 2.2% gap.
• Add TD’s $50 wire fee and the transfer costs $160 before any intermediary charges, or 3.2% of what you sent.

Hypothetical example. The 1.4500 bank rate is an assumption, not a quote from any bank. The cost was worked out two ways, from the rate gap and from the US dollars lost converted back at 1.4181, and both give $110.00.

Cheaper ways to send money from your own bank

Most big banks now offer an online international transfer service that costs less than a wire on the fee side. TD Global Transfer has no TD transfer service fee. CIBC Global Money Transfer charges a $0 transfer fee for amounts under $30,000 sent through online or mobile banking. Scotiabank International Money Transfer costs $1.99 per transfer on select accounts.

In every case the bank’s own exchange rate still applies, so a $0 fee does not mean a free transfer. The FCAC makes the same point: a low or no transfer fee can be offset by a less favourable exchange rate. Compare the amount your recipient will actually get, not the fee.

For money staying in Canada, an Interac e-Transfer is often a simpler option for smaller amounts. If you send one to the wrong person, getting it back is a separate process, covered in our guide to recovering a misdirected e-Transfer.

Do banks report large wires?

Yes, for international transfers. The Canada Revenue Agency says that since January 2015, reporting entities such as banks have reported international electronic funds transfers of $10,000 or more. Two or more smaller transfers made within 24 consecutive hours by or for the same person count as one transfer if they total $10,000 or more.

A report is not a tax and does not mean you did anything wrong. The CRA uses the information to look for people hiding income or assets offshore. Large cash deposits fall under a separate rule, explained in our guide to cash deposits over $10,000.

How to send a wire for less

1. Check whether a wire is needed. For many international payments, your bank’s online transfer service has a lower fee. Some recipients may still ask for a wire specifically.
2. Look up the Bank of Canada rate for the day. Compare it with your bank’s quote using the calculator above.
3. Ask what the recipient will receive. The FCAC suggests asking whether the amount depends on the exchange rate when you pay or when the money is collected.
4. Get every detail right. Have the recipient’s full name, account number, bank code and, where used, the IBAN, so you avoid extra charges and amendment fees.
5. Keep your receipt and reference number. You need them to trace a wire. If the bank mishandles it, start with its complaint process, which has its own response deadline.

Frequently asked questions

• Sources, checked November 13, 2026: FCAC: Sending money to someone in another country (modified 2026-10-29); TD: About Our Accounts and Related Services (effective March 5, 2026); CIBC: Sending and receiving wire transfers; RBC: Additional account services and fees; RBC: Wire transfers; BMO: Everyday banking fee changes (effective February 1, 2027); Scotiabank: Bank account fees at a glance; Bank of Canada: Daily exchange rates (USD/CAD rate for November 10, 2026); CRA: Electronic funds transfer reporting (modified 2015-01-07).
• Method: Fees are the standard personal-account amounts each bank publishes. Exchange-rate costs were calculated in Python as amount x (1 – reference rate / bank rate) and checked by converting the US dollar shortfall back at the reference rate. The bank rate in the example is hypothetical.

Important: This guide is general information, not financial or legal advice. Fees change and can differ by account or bank plan, so confirm the current fee with your bank before sending. Gizly is not paid by any bank mentioned here. See our affiliate disclosure.