Is 2.5% the fee at every Canadian bank?

No. Several credit card documents opened on 16 October 2026 print 2.5% or 2.50%. Scotiabank's Passport Visa Infinite, Passport Visa Infinite Privilege, Gold American Express, and Platinum American Express print no foreign currency conversion fee. The EQ Bank Card prints no foreign exchange fees. RBC's 2.5% row is the RateAdvantage Visa disclosure, not every RBC card.

Does the exchange rate sit on top of this percent?

Yes. The percent is the bank's conversion fee. The network or the bank still converts the currency. BMO prints the network rate plus 2.50% on a purchase. EQ says it passes on Mastercard's rate and does not add a fee.

Why are Simplii and Wealthsimple missing?

CIBC's summary says it does not apply to Simplii, and a Simplii percent was not opened. The Wealthsimple credit card page did not open. This table does not guess either one.

Is a debit card included?

Only when the bank's own page printed it. Tangerine's bank fee schedule prints 2.50%. The EQ Bank Card prints no foreign exchange fee, and EQ says that card is a prepaid card. The big-bank rows are credit card documents.

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Foreign currency conversion fees by Canadian bank

A foreign currency fee is extra, on top of the exchange rate. This page is the percent each bank prints on the document named in the row. A different card at the same bank can print a different percent. A debit card markup is included only when that bank's own page printed one.

Last checked: Oct 2026

The percent each document prints

Opened 16 October 2026. Amounts below are the conversion fee, not the exchange rate itself. Foreign transaction fees explained is the US disclosure rule. It is not a Canadian percent.

Opened 16 October 2026. One named document per row. Match the card before you use the percent.
Document	Fee the page prints	What the same page also says
RBC RateAdvantage Visa disclosure	2.5% over the benchmark rate	The disclosure says the Canadian dollar amount charged to the account is 2.5% over the benchmark rate. Some transactions convert straight to Canadian dollars. Others convert to U.S. dollars first, then to Canadian dollars. This row is that disclosure. It is not every RBC card.
TD Cash Back Visa Infinite information box	2.5% after conversion	TD charges 2.5% of the transaction amount after the payment network converts it to the currency of the account. On a refund or credit of a foreign currency transaction, TD also charges 2.5% of that refund or credit. This row is the Cash Back Visa Infinite application. It is not every TD card.
Scotiabank credit card fees	2.5% of the converted amount	The fee applies to both debit and credit transactions on the card. It does not apply to Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite, Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Privilege, Scotiabank Gold American Express, or Scotiabank Platinum American Express. Those cards have no foreign currency conversion fee. Only the exchange rate applies.
BMO credit card cost of borrowing	2.50% added on purchases, 2.50% taken off refunds	The PDF is valid as of June 2, 2026. The exchange rate is the rate the payment network charges BMO on the day the transaction posts, plus 2.50% for purchases and minus 2.50% for refunds. Canadian dollar cards convert to Canadian dollars. U.S. dollar cards convert to U.S. dollars. Fees on a BMO U.S. Dollar Mastercard are in U.S. dollars.
CIBC credit card summary	2.5% of the converted amount	You pay the same conversion rate CIBC must pay, on both debits and credits, plus a fee of 2.5% of the converted amount, on both debits and credits. A foreign currency convenience cheque uses CIBC's branch selling rate instead. The summary says it does not apply to Simplii Financial credit cards. Rates and fees are current as of October 14, 2026.
National Bank credit card help	2.5%	The fee is 2.5%, charged on the Canadian dollar amount after conversion. National Bank uses the daily Mastercard exchange rate for purchases and withdrawals.
Desjardins credit card travel FAQ	2.5% on the day of conversion	A purchase outside Canada, or on a foreign currency website, is converted at that day's rate set by Desjardins or its provider, then a 2.5% conversion fee is added. A cash advance in a foreign currency is also 2.5%, plus interest from the transaction date. On the U.S. Visa card, a purchase in the United States or on an American website is charged in U.S. dollars, so there is no currency conversion fee. Used abroad, or for a Canadian dollar purchase, the amount is converted to U.S. dollars and 2.5% is added.
Tangerine Money-Back credit cards	2.50% added to the converted amount	The credit card FAQ says neither Money-Back nor Money-Back World Mastercard has an annual fee, and that foreign currency conversion adds 2.50% to the converted transaction amount. The bank fee schedule prints the same 2.50% as a foreign currency conversion fee added to the exchange rate and reflected in the Canadian dollar amount.
EQ Bank Card	No foreign exchange fees	EQ says it passes on Mastercard's exchange rate without the 2.50% fee that most cards charge. The page also says no FX fees, and that the EQ Bank Card is a prepaid reloadable card. The 2.50% in that sentence is EQ's comparison. It is not a fee EQ prints for itself.

Banks not in this table

Simplii is not here. The CIBC summary says it does not apply to Simplii Financial credit cards, and a Simplii page that prints its own percent was not opened. Wealthsimple is not here. The Wealthsimple credit card page did not open. Debit card markups for RBC, TD, Scotiabank, BMO, CIBC, National Bank, and Desjardins are not in the table. The pages opened for those banks were credit card pages, and they did not print a separate debit card percent.

Card fees that are not this conversion percent are in credit card fees by Canadian bank. How fees show on a Canadian statement keeps a conversion line apart from the monthly plan fee.

Questions

Is 2.5% the fee at every Canadian bank?: No. Several credit card documents opened on 16 October 2026 print 2.5% or 2.50%. Scotiabank's Passport Visa Infinite, Passport Visa Infinite Privilege, Gold American Express, and Platinum American Express print no foreign currency conversion fee. The EQ Bank Card prints no foreign exchange fees. RBC's 2.5% row is the RateAdvantage Visa disclosure, not every RBC card.
Does the exchange rate sit on top of this percent?: Yes. The percent is the bank's conversion fee. The network or the bank still converts the currency. BMO prints the network rate plus 2.50% on a purchase. EQ says it passes on Mastercard's rate and does not add a fee.
Why are Simplii and Wealthsimple missing?: CIBC's summary says it does not apply to Simplii, and a Simplii percent was not opened. The Wealthsimple credit card page did not open. This table does not guess either one.
Is a debit card included?: Only when the bank's own page printed it. Tangerine's bank fee schedule prints 2.50%. The EQ Bank Card prints no foreign exchange fee, and EQ says that card is a prepaid card. The big-bank rows are credit card documents.

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