Conference 7.286::dcu

    Re .0:           -< DCU check not accepted in Canada >-
    
    Sending checks from the U.S. to Canada is a hit-or-miss proposition,
    even when the addresses are pre-printed on them.  Many Canadian
    merchants have U.S. bank accounts in addition to their Canadian
    accounts in order to simplify the problem.  Some don't, such as the
    motel where we stayed (on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls) a few
    years back.  They needed a room deposit in CANADIAN FUNDS to hold the
    reservation.  Perhaps this problem has abated, but I doubt it.
    
    (Our European friends are probably laughing that there IS such a
    problem between such close neighbors as the U.S. and Canada.  European
    banks are QUITE used to handling checks that specify whatever type of
    funds the maker requests.  They simply add a fee to the converted
    amount of the check.)
    
    The solution is to buy a U.S. Postal Money Order made out in Canadian
    Dollars.  The service charge is something like $1 and the conversion
    rate isn't bad, either.  BayBank quoted $25 for a bank check in
    Canadian funds, so I punted there.  DCU wasn't willing, either.

    I guess it wouldn't be applicable in this case, but I've found that
    the easiest way to buy something in foreign currency is to use a
    charge card.  It gets charged in pounds, or Australian dollars, or
    Canadian dollars, or paisters, or rupees, or whatever, when you buy, 
    and you get billed in American dollars.  It all just works, and the 
    exchange rate is excellent.

    I am surprised that the cheque was rejected ... (I am in Canada and
    regularly deposit cheques from foreign banks in foreign currencies).
    That said, there are essentially 3 forms of banks in Canada ...
    
    The Chartered banks (5 nation wide banks)
    Trust companies (about 10 that cover most of the nation)
    Caisse Populaires and Credit Unions (all local in nature)
    
    The trust comapnies and credit unions are MUCH stricter about cashing
    anything that looks odd ... generally because they have to use the
    facilities of one of the chartered banks, and that costs money ...
    
    Note that for a foreign cheque to be accepted readily in Canada,
    it must have along the bottom in MICR encoding
    
    the universal bank code and the account number
    
    And the account holding bank must be clearly identified and preprinted
    on the cheque.
    
    Also, the cheque must be deposited into a bank account with either
    sufficient funds to cover the value of the cheque or a hold will be
    placed until the cheque is cleared.  (Note that cheque holds are not
    normally applied to customers in good standing in Canadian banks).
    
    Stuart