Canadian Neteller users

[celiboy]

Hello

I have tried in vain to search for a post from awhile back about Canadian Neteller users. If i recall the advice given was to make sure the Neteller account used was in US dollars and not Canadian. I think the reasoning was that Neteller's conversion rate was quite bad and that it would be better off to let the bank do it.

I contacted Neteller support and asked them to cahnge my account to USD, but they said this was not possible and I would have to open up another account. I find it hard to understand how I could not just change this option. Would you recommend me opening up another account or is the hassle just not worth it?

[celiboy]

I just was on Neteller's site. In very fine print they state that Neteller charges a 1.9% foreign currency exchange fee on any conversions they make...what a joke. I still think it's ridiculous I can't just change this as part of my options. I now have to close my neteller account and open up a new one just to avoid this fee. (ie...scam)

[busguy]

They used to let you change it without having to close one and open a new one . . . but that changed a few months ago. As you seem to have figured out . . . you definitely want your account in USD.

busguy

[celiboy]

Will changing my Neteller to US do anything...I guess the fee would still be there since I would be transferring from a poker site in USD to Neteller to my CDN bank account so I am screwed either way. Is the only way around this to open up a USD bank account. This seems to be more of a hassle than necessary.

[Punker]

Basically, you are correct: you are screwed whether you keep the account in US$ or C$. If you have it in US$ you get hit with the fee when you EFT to your bank. If you have it in C$, you get hit with the fee when you transfer to sites.

If you don't need the money desperately, I'd advise keeping it in US$, and requesting cashouts via cheque, then converting them at your bank. If you DO, I'd advise keeping the NT account in US$, as lets say you have 1K online and you deposit in one site, cash it out, deposit in another site, cash out, etc etc. Basically, if you have your NT in C$, you will be paying the currency fee on each transaction, or paying it on the "same money" several times, whereas if you are in US$, you will pay it only once: when sending an EFT to your bank.

[celiboy]

[ QUOTE ]
Basically, you are correct: you are screwed whether you keep the account in US$ or C$. If you have it in US$ you get hit with the fee when you EFT to your bank. If you have it in C$, you get hit with the fee when you transfer to sites.

If you don't need the money desperately, I'd advise keeping it in US$, and requesting cashouts via cheque, then converting them at your bank. If you DO, I'd advise keeping the NT account in US$, as lets say you have 1K online and you deposit in one site, cash it out, deposit in another site, cash out, etc etc. Basically, if you have your NT in C$, you will be paying the currency fee on each transaction, or paying it on the "same money" several times, whereas if you are in US$, you will pay it only once: when sending an EFT to your bank.

[/ QUOTE ]

Could I not get around this and open a USD bank account? I only will cash out via Neteller as all my deposites are made via VISA and I have not had a problem that way.

[stinkypete]

[ QUOTE ]

Could I not get around this and open a USD bank account? I only will cash out via Neteller as all my deposites are made via VISA and I have not had a problem that way.

[/ QUOTE ]

neteller sucks and won't let you do that.

[Frequitude]

I'm Canadian. You want it in $US, so you don't get hit with every site/neteller or neteller/site transfer.

Also, don't withdraw your money via Neteller. Use Party's EFT to Canadian bank accounts option. They give a better exchange rate than neteller by about 2 cents on the dollar.

[celiboy]

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Could I not get around this and open a USD bank account? I only will cash out via Neteller as all my deposites are made via VISA and I have not had a problem that way.

[/ QUOTE ]

neteller sucks and won't let you do that.

[/ QUOTE ]

Damn....so I would assume most everyone just asks for a cheque and cashes it at their local bank. Assuming $500 transfers, 1.9% adds up each time. I assume there is no fee for them to "process" a cheque

[celiboy]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm Canadian. You want it in $US, so you don't get hit with every site/neteller or neteller/site transfer.

Also, don't withdraw your money via Neteller. Use Party's EFT to Canadian bank accounts option. They give a better exchange rate than neteller by about 2 cents on the dollar.

[/ QUOTE ]

Unfortunately a lot of sites don't have this withdrawal option as of yet. When you say you deposit from Neteller to sites are you not being hit by the conversion fee when you transfer from your CDN bank account to Neteller?

[Eder]

I'm in same boat....now that I'm moving a few k every few weeks the conversion is too much juice. I think I will make new neteller account in USD, I;m sure party skins will all freeze my accounts when trying to use new account. Dunno about other sites.

I wish Vegas Casino's took neteller transfers.

I bet neteller applies the juice when transfering CAN funds to new USD account as well...so another few % shot to hell as well.

[celiboy]

Cut and Paste of a convo with Neteller. Basically there is no way around some kind of fee - as confirmed by a previous poster they will not allow CDN citizens to link a USD account to them, and cheques have a processing fee of $2.

Daniela: Welcome to our live chat service. How may we help you?

Me: Hi. I have a simple question. Are there any fees for withdrawing fron Neteller with a cheque. I live in Canada - generally how long would this take for a cheque to get here.
Me: I ask because I don't want to pay the conversion fee of 1.9% every time.

Daniela: When you request a cheque through regular mail there is a $2 fee

Daniela: Through Fed-Ex mail it is $11

Me: OK thank you. Also is it correct that I can not change my account to USD from Canadian?

Daniela: Fed-Ex the cheque takes 1 business day to process and then it is sent out over night. WIth Regualr mail it can take anywhere from 7-21 business days to arrive

Me: I would have to open a new Neteller account?

Daniela: In order to change the currency of your account, you'll need to create a new Neteller account with the base currency that you'd prefer to use. In order to sign up a new account, you'll need to use an alternate email address. Once you've created the new account, please contact Neteller Customer Service by phone, and we'll be able to move any information or balance from your old account to your new account.

Me: Can I open up a USD bank account here in Canada and link it to a new USD Neteller account? Do you allow this? I am trying to avoid the conversion fees altogether

Daniela: No, Unfortuantely at this time Canadian Clients are not able to register a USD Bank account with their NETeller account.

[celiboy]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm in same boat....now that I'm moving a few k every few weeks the conversion is too much juice. I think I will make new neteller account in USD, I;m sure party skins will all freeze my accounts when trying to use new account. Dunno about other sites.

I wish Vegas Casino's took neteller transfers.

I bet neteller applies the juice when transfering CAN funds to new USD account as well...so another few % shot to hell as well.

[/ QUOTE ]

You will still get dinged when you move the money from Neteller to your CDN bank account though.

[celiboy]

So how are Canadian players getting cash outs?

I play on Absolute and asking for a cheque directly is a $25 processing fee which is ridiculous. Neteller will screw me because they won't let me link to a US bank account since I am not a US citizen so they will ding me with their 2% fee. Am i the only one pissed off about this. I'm not paying 10 bucks to transfer 500 of my own money back to me for some BS charges.

[celiboy]

Well I keep replying to my own post. I think I will open a USD Neteller account and not link it to my account and simply have Neteller send me a cheque. It seems to be the cheapest option at $2 per cheque. I see no other options.

[afk]

[ QUOTE ]
So how are Canadian players getting cash outs?

[/ QUOTE ]

One possible answer lies just a few replies above you....

Use Party's withrawal straight to bank account without the 2% fee.

[celiboy]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
So how are Canadian players getting cash outs?

[/ QUOTE ]

One possible answer lies just a few replies above you....

Use Party's withrawal straight to bank account without the 2% fee.

[/ QUOTE ]

Unfortunately I don't play at Party. I think only a handful of sites do this.

[Punker]

The cheque cashout option is the best; just limit the number of cashouts you do and you'll be fine. If you are requesting cashouts of $2000, the $2 cheque fee is only really 0.1%.

[Wyers]

Empire offers EFT for Canadian accounts as well. I used it for the first time last week and it worked like a charm.

[celiboy]

[ QUOTE ]
The cheque cashout option is the best; just limit the number of cashouts you do and you'll be fine. If you are requesting cashouts of $2000, the $2 cheque fee is only really 0.1%.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think this is the route I'll take although I am not 100% comfortable having $1000+ cheques mailed to me from the UK. I wish sites would allow withdrawals straight back to my VISA card.

[Wyers]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
The cheque cashout option is the best; just limit the number of cashouts you do and you'll be fine. If you are requesting cashouts of $2000, the $2 cheque fee is only really 0.1%.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think this is the route I'll take although I am not 100% comfortable having $1000+ cheques mailed to me from the UK. I wish sites would allow withdrawals straight back to my VISA card.

[/ QUOTE ]

There is little or no difference in the transaction fees you will have to pay regardless of whether Neteller mails you a check vs. them depositing the money straight into your CDN bank account.

Neteller (like all major banks) charges you a fee to convert your money from US to CDN. When you withdraw from your Neteller account (in US funds) to your Canadian bank account, Neteller charges you a fee to convert this US money back to Canadian.

If you request Neteller to send you a check in US funds, you can take it to your Canadian bank to deposit the check. However, when you make the deposit, your bank will also charge you a transaction fee to convert the funds to Canadian dollars. It is (almost) unavoidable.

On a $4000 exchange, the transaction fee is approx $130. There is very little difference in this fee between Neteller and all major Canadian banks. To whom you choose to pay this money to comes down to your preference.

Having your Neteller account in US funds saves you from having to pay this transaction fee when transfering your money from Neteller to a poker site that does business in $USD. However you will get pinched when taking the money out of Neteller and have them deposit it into your CDN bank account.

Party and Empire allow you to withdraw from their site directly to your CDN account via EFT - and the charge ZERO in transaction fees. However they may not appreciate me depositing large(ish) chunks of money from my Neteller account to their site only to immediately transfer the money out, taking advantage of their fee free EFT.

[celiboy]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
The cheque cashout option is the best; just limit the number of cashouts you do and you'll be fine. If you are requesting cashouts of $2000, the $2 cheque fee is only really 0.1%.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think this is the route I'll take although I am not 100% comfortable having $1000+ cheques mailed to me from the UK. I wish sites would allow withdrawals straight back to my VISA card.

[/ QUOTE ]

There is little or no difference in the transaction fees you will have to pay regardless of whether Neteller mails you a check vs. them depositing the money straight into your CDN bank account.

Neteller (like all major banks) charges you a fee to convert your money from US to CDN. When you withdraw from your Neteller account (in US funds) to your Canadian bank account, Neteller charges you a fee to convert this US money back to Canadian.

If you request Neteller to send you a check in US funds, you can take it to your Canadian bank to deposit the check. However, when you make the deposit, your bank will also charge you a transaction fee to convert the funds to Canadian dollars. It is (almost) unavoidable.

On a $4000 exchange, the transaction fee is approx $130. There is very little difference in this fee between Neteller and all major Canadian banks. To whom you choose to pay this money to comes down to your preference.

Having your Neteller account in US funds saves you from having to pay this transaction fee when transfering your money from Neteller to a poker site that does business in $USD. However you will get pinched when taking the money out of Neteller and have them deposit it into your CDN bank account.

Party and Empire allow you to withdraw from their site directly to your CDN account via EFT - and the charge ZERO in transaction fees. However they may not appreciate me depositing large(ish) chunks of money from my Neteller account to their site only to immediately transfer the money out, taking advantage of their fee free EFT.

[/ QUOTE ]

I see what you are saying....Neteller charges the 1.9% conversion fee and if I were to go to my local bank and cash a US cheque I would also have this conversion fee hidden in the exchange rate. What I will have to do is compare the Neteller rate versues what my bank is charging. I would think the 1.9% is on the high end of things.

[Wyers]

I would think the 1.9% is on the high end of things.

You will be surprised. The bank rate and the Neteller fees are virtually identical.

My last withdrawal, the posted exchange rate was 1.25x. Both the bank and Neteller were offering 1.23x. The difference was miniscule.

[celiboy]

[ QUOTE ]
I would think the 1.9% is on the high end of things.

You will be surprised. The bank rate and the Neteller fees are virtually identical.

My last withdrawal, the posted exchange rate was 1.25x. Both the bank and Neteller were offering 1.23x. The difference was miniscule.

[/ QUOTE ]

OK cool

I just want to make sure that I understand how Neteller works then

I move funds from a poker site in USD to my CDN Neteller account and from Neteller to my bank account. The only fee I will face is the 1.9% conversion fee that would be charged by my bank anyways. I just don't want to make my first deposit ($500 this weekend /images/graemlins/wink.gif) and be faced with a surprise.

[busguy]

[ QUOTE ]

I move funds from a poker site in USD to my CDN Neteller account and from Neteller to my bank account. The only fee I will face is the 1.9% conversion fee

[/ QUOTE ]

Are you really this thick ?? If your Neteller account is in Canadian dollars you will pay a fee EVERY time you do a transaction with a Poker site or Casino (both on deposit and withdrawl) from Neteller.

Set up your Neteller account in US dollars . . . end of story.

busguy

[Voltron87]

I think the guy expects poker sites and neteller to act as a free bank, who absorb currency changes on their behalf for nothing.

[celiboy]

[ QUOTE ]
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I move funds from a poker site in USD to my CDN Neteller account and from Neteller to my bank account. The only fee I will face is the 1.9% conversion fee

[/ QUOTE ]

Are you really this thick ?? If your Neteller account is in Canadian dollars you will pay a fee EVERY time you do a transaction with a Poker site or Casino (both on deposit and withdrawl) from Neteller.

Set up your Neteller account in US dollars . . . end of story.

busguy

[/ QUOTE ]

Wow, you are so smart....so I withdraw from a site into my USD Neteller account...guess what when I move it to my bank account I still get charged with the fee you dumb ass. There is also no way to set up a US bank account as Neteller does not allow non US citizens to use a US bank account.

[busguy]

[ QUOTE ]
Are you really this thick ??

[/ QUOTE ]

Well I think the answer to this question has become painfully obvious.

If you were not a fellow Canadian I would have given up on this way before now. Let me see if I can be as clear as possible with this.

As a Canadian, you will very likely get hit with a fee when you withdrawl to your Canadian Bank account FROM Neteller. This being the case you can do one of two things;

1) Set up your Neteller account with CDN funds as your base currency. If you chose to do this you will be hit with exchange fees EVERY time you do a deposit and/or withdrawl between a Poker site or Casino and your Neteller account.

2) Set up your Neteller account with USD as your base currency. If you do this you will NOT be charged ANY fees whatsoever when doing any transaction (deposit or withdrawl) between a Poker or Casino site and your Neteller account.

With re-load bonuses and a little Casino whoring you could easily do 10 + Neteller transactions a month. Most people wouldn't withdrawl to a bank account more than once or twice a month.

Does this make it clear enough as to you which one of these options you should choose ??

For what it is worth, many Canadian's on this site DO have their Neteller accounts linked to a US bank account in either Canada OR the United States.


busguy
(aka. dumbass)

[Eder]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Are you really this thick ??

[/ QUOTE ]

Well I think the answer to this question has become painfully obvious.

If you were not a fellow Canadian I would have given up on this way before now. Let me see if I can be as clear as possible with this.

As a Canadian, you will very likely get hit with a fee when you withdrawl to your Canadian Bank account FROM Neteller. This being the case you can do one of two things;

1) Set up your Neteller account with CDN funds as your base currency. If you chose to do this you will be hit with exchange fees EVERY time you do a deposit and/or withdrawl between a Poker site or Casino and your Neteller account.

2) Set up your Neteller account with USD as your base currency. If you do this you will NOT be charged ANY fees whatsoever when doing any transaction (deposit or withdrawl) between a Poker or Casino site and your Neteller account.

With re-load bonuses and a little Casino whoring you could easily do 10 + Neteller transactions a month. Most people wouldn't withdrawl to a bank account more than once or twice a month.

Does this make it clear enough as to you which one of these options you should choose ??

For what it is worth, many Canadian's on this site DO have their Neteller accounts linked to a US bank account in either Canada OR the United States.


busguy
(aka. dumbass)

[/ QUOTE ]

For a guy from a socailist province you make excellent sense...thanks...(Dave Barrett for PM!!)

[stinkypete]

[ QUOTE ]

I think this is the route I'll take although I am not 100% comfortable having $1000+ cheques mailed to me from the UK. I wish sites would allow withdrawals straight back to my VISA card.

[/ QUOTE ]

the cheques are mailed from calgary. neteller is based in calgary.

[sumdumguy]

BC can't be that socialist.. they have to pay for health care!

[Frequitude]

[ QUOTE ]
When you say you deposit from Neteller to sites are you not being hit by the conversion fee when you transfer from your CDN bank account to Neteller?

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, you'd get hit there if your account is in US$. I made one $250 deposit back in January, and I haven't looked back since. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Wyers]

Party and Empire allow you to withdraw from their site directly to your CDN account via EFT - and the charge ZERO in transaction fees. However they may not appreciate me depositing large(ish) chunks of money from my Neteller account to their site only to immediately transfer the money out, taking advantage of their fee free EFT.

Yeah. I'm replying to myself.

For those who care... (re: Party/Empire EFT).

I had an account balance of $2000 at Empire. I transferred $3000 from Neteller to Empire. Following this I withdrew $4000 to my Canadian bank account using Empire's EFT.

Cashout hit my bank account in about 4 days - no problems and best of all NO TRANSACTION FEES. Actually, I received a SLIGHTLY better exchange rate from Empire compared to the posted rate. (an extra $20 over $4000).

[stinkypete]

this is definitely the way to do it... it's a good idea to make sure you actually play at the site, though. if you were to make neteller->party skin->bank account transfers without actually playing at the site, they'd probably freeze it and demand ID, etc.

in other words, if you don't play at party/empire/whatever, the best time to cash out is during party/empire bonuses. ie. deposit whatever you want to cash out, clear the bonus, and withdraw to your bank account.

[OldLearner]

[ QUOTE ]
If you request Neteller to send you a check in US funds, you can take it to your Canadian bank to deposit the check. However, when you make the deposit, your bank will also charge you a transaction fee to convert the funds to Canadian dollars. It is (almost) unavoidable.


[/ QUOTE ]

- I have NETELLER in $US
- A $US account with my bank (they actually suggested it)
- I request my cashouts from NETELLER via cheque
- I deposit it to my $US bank account
- I transfer from there to my $CAN chequing account and pay NO TRANSACTION FEE

[Wyers]

I transfer from there to my $CAN chequing account and pay NO TRANSACTION FEE

I can assure you that this is incorrect. You have been paying an exchange fee.. and you aren't even aware of it. You always pay a transaction fee when converting money from your USD account to your Canadian account.

Ask the bank what exchange rate you are being offered.
As I stated earlier, there is very little difference between what Neteller offers and what the bank offers as an exchange rate(i.e. 1.23x).

However, the ACTUAL/TRUE exchange rate is currently 1.25x. This difference between 1.23 and 1.25 is what the banks and/or Neteller take as their transaction fee (Neteller is 1.9%). The transaction fee amounts to approx. $130 on a $4000 exchange.

PartyPoker and Empire Poker offer an EFT to your Canadian account and charge ZERO in transaction fees. In other words, they offer you the full 1.25 on your exchange. At times their exchange rates have been (slightly) BETTER than the posted rate!!

Ask you bank if you are unsure... but there is ALWAYS a fee from your bank for converting that money out of your USD account. They do it in the form of a reduced exchange rate as opposed to a flat transaction fee.

So far, the only method I have found for dodging this fee is the Empire/Party EFT.

You can save a ton of money in your US account and then request a more favourable rate - but you will still not get the full rate.

EDIT: At this moment, the posted rate is 1.24485. Ask your bank what they are offering to convert your money to CDN funds. It will be a reduced rate most likely around 1.23.