Why FX Fees Hit Canadian Merchants Harder
US merchants selling in USD get USD payouts. That's their domestic currency. No conversion, no drag.
Canadian merchants selling in USD — on Shopify, Etsy, Amazon US, or to American B2B clients — get paid in CAD by default. The processor converts it. You don't see the spread; it just shows up as a slightly worse exchange rate than what you'd get at a bank.
At $5,000 USD/month, 1.5% FX markup costs you about $900 CAD per year. At $20,000/month it's closer to $3,600. That's not a rounding error — it's a part-time employee or a trade show.
The markup vs. the spread: Processors charge an explicit "FX fee" (e.g., Stripe's 1%). But Visa and Mastercard also have a built-in rate spread — the exchange rate they quote is slightly worse than the interbank rate. Together, these add up to total FX drag of 1–2% depending on your processor.
The USD Business Account Option
If your processor supports USD payouts (Stripe does, Helcim does), you can route USD to a USD business bank account and convert on your own schedule — when the rate is favorable, or in larger batches to reduce transaction costs.
Canadian banks that offer USD business accounts: RBC, TD, BMO, Scotiabank, CIBC, and EQ Bank Business. Monthly fees typically run $10–$20. EQ Bank Business has no monthly fee on their USD account as of early 2026 — worth checking if cost is the sticking point.
The math is straightforward: if your annual FX fees exceed the annual account fee plus the time cost of manually managing conversions, open the account. Most merchants hit break-even at around $1,500–$3,000 USD/month in cross-border volume.
What "converting on your own schedule" actually means
Banks like RBC and TD let you hold USD in a business chequing account indefinitely. You can wire USD to a broker like Wise or Knightsbridge FX for better rates than your bank offers (typically 0.4–0.7% over interbank vs. 1.5–2% at a processor). You convert when you need CAD for payroll or expenses — not every time a customer pays you.
This isn't sophisticated treasury management. It's just not letting Stripe quietly skim 1% off every payout.
Shopify Payments: The Hidden Rate Problem
Shopify Payments is opaque about FX. They don't publish their conversion spread — it's embedded in the rate you see when a payout settles. You can check by comparing the rate on your payout statement against the Bank of Canada rate for the same day. Most merchants find a 1.5–2% difference.
Shopify does offer USD payouts to US-incorporated entities. If you have a US entity (Delaware LLC, etc.) and a US bank account, that eliminates the FX step entirely. For a purely Canadian business, you're converting regardless — so the question is just who does the conversion and at what rate.
When to Switch Processors vs. Open a USD Account
These aren't mutually exclusive. Moving to Helcim from Stripe already cuts FX drag roughly in half. Adding a USD account on top eliminates it almost entirely. But processor switching has setup costs — integrations, testing, staff training — so the bar should be higher than just the FX savings.
Rough rule: if you're doing under $3,000 USD/month in cross-border volume, optimize your payout settings and open a USD account. If you're over $10,000/month, it's worth properly evaluating Helcim's total cost of ownership including FX.