Methodology

USD2CAD.ca is a research and aggregation site — not a product tester. This page documents exactly how each number, comparison and recommendation on the site is produced, so any reader, regulator or journalist can audit the work.

1. Primary sources

Every figure on this site comes from a documented public source. We do not rely on secondhand industry summaries.

Exchange rates. Bank of Canada Valet API, endpoint bankofcanada.ca/valet/observations/FXUSDCAD/json. This is the BoC's official daily indicative rate, published Monday–Friday around 16:30 ET. The Frankfurter API is used as a fallback if Valet returns an error.

Bank fees, rates and product terms. Issuer-published rate sheets and product pages, accessed within 14 days of any article publication or update. Sources: RBC, TD, BMO, Scotia, CIBC, National Bank, Desjardins, Wealthsimple, EQ Bank.

Broker and fintech pricing. Wise (wise.com/ca/pricing/), OFX, Knightsbridge FX, Currency Direct, Questrade, Disnat, Interactive Brokers — each direct from the provider's pricing or commission schedule.

Regulatory and policy facts. CRA, OSFI, FINTRAC, CDIC, IRS, FinCEN, FDIC for the federal level. AMF, RAMQ and Loi 25 for Quebec specifics. Each citation references the regulator's current publication, dated.

2. Calculating all-in cost

Every fee comparison on the site uses the same formula:

spread_pct       = (BoC_rate − provider_quoted_rate) / BoC_rate × 100
fixed_fee_pct    = fixed_fee_amount / transfer_amount × 100
all_in_cost_pct  = spread_pct + fixed_fee_pct

When an article says "you save $X on a $Y transfer", that number is reconstructible: take the BoC USD/CAD rate for the cited date, the provider's quoted rate for the same amount, rerun the formula.

3. Canonical fee benchmarks (USD → CAD)

Service	All-in cost	Source
Wise	0.4–0.8%	wise.com/ca/pricing/
Big-5 Canadian banks (counter)	2.5–3.0%	rate sheets, verified Q2 2026
PayPal	4–6.9% (4.0% FX + 2.9% fee)	PayPal Help Center
OFX	0.6–1.0% online	ofx.com pricing
Norbert's Gambit (Questrade)	flat $10–25	Questrade commission schedule
Airport kiosks	8–10%	ICE Travel Cash, Travelex Canada

4. Update cadence

Data type	Cadence
Live homepage widget rate	Each page load (direct from BoC Valet API)
Article rate references	At publication, with stated date
Bank rate sheets	Quarterly or on announced change
Regulator facts	When regulator updates its publication
Full content audit	Annually (January)

5. What we don't do

• We do not personally test every product. Jocelyn Lamothe is an independent researcher, not a customer of every institution covered.
• We do not accept ghostwritten content from financial institutions.
• We do not republish PR pitches without verification against primary sources.
• We do not adjust rankings or comparisons based on affiliate payouts.

6. Corrections

Spot a factual error? Email contact@usd2cad.ca or use the contact form.

• SLA: factual corrections within 48 hours of verified report.
• Visibility: corrections include a dated note on the affected article.
• Process: every correction is logged with the original claim, the corrected version, and the source citation.

7. Affiliate independence

Currently active: Wise via Partnerize. Pending applications: OFX, Knightsbridge FX, Questrade, Wealthsimple.

How we keep this real:

• Norbert's Gambit (Questrade or Disnat with $0 commission) is consistently recommended above $5,000 USD even though no affiliate revenue flows to us from that recommendation.
• Banks (no affiliate program with us) are compared honestly against fintechs.
• Products with weak terms — even from partners we're affiliated with — are flagged or omitted.

Full disclosure on /disclosure/. Editorial principles on /editorial-policy/.