Destination guide
Send money to Canada
GBP to CAD payments for UK businesses trading with Canadian counterparties.
Payment snapshot
CanadaNorth America
- Settlement currency
- CAD — Canadian dollar
- Corridor
- GBP → CAD
- Beneficiary format
- BIC/SWIFT
- Local clearing
- Lynx · EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer) · Interac e-Transfer
- Reference rate
- Published daily GBP/CAD
- Eligibility
- Subject to eligibility
Other currencies may be available on request.
Outbound payments from the UK.
Confirmed with you before the first payment is set up.
Domestic rails used once funds reach the destination.
Indicative daily reference data, not an executable customer rate.
Acceptance of any individual business is decided during onboarding.
GBP/CAD reference rate
Movement shown is across the selected period.
Historical reference rates are published once per working day, so the chart shows end-of-day values rather than intraday movement. Past movement is not an indication of future rates.
Indicative transfer estimate
Reference rateYou send
Recipient receives (indicative)
Estimates use daily published reference rates and are for information only. They are not a quote and not an executable customer rate. No transfer is initiated from this website; your rate and any fees are confirmed before a transaction is arranged.
Who we help
Paying into Canada
GBP to CAD payments for UK businesses trading with Canadian counterparties.
UK–Canada trade spans natural resources, manufacturing and professional services, and has been given a modest boost by the UK's accession process to the CPTPP trade framework in which Canada participates. Canadian suppliers typically invoice in CAD, though US-dollar invoicing is not uncommon for Canadian exporters that also sell heavily into the US market and price accordingly across both markets.
The Canadian dollar is often described as a commodity-linked currency, given Canada's oil, gas and mining exports, but it also trades with a meaningful correlation to the US dollar given the depth of economic integration between the two economies — a UK business should not assume CAD behaves independently of broader USD sentiment.
Canadian banking is more concentrated than the UK's, with a small number of major national banks handling the large majority of commercial transactions, which in practice tends to make beneficiary bank details more standardised and errors less common than in more fragmented banking systems.
- Paying Canadian suppliers and manufacturers
- Settling natural-resource and commodity invoices
- Paying Canadian contractors and agencies
- Receiving CAD revenue from Canadian customers
GBP/CAD exposure for a UK business is influenced both by Bank of England/Bank of Canada policy divergence and by the Canadian dollar's close trading relationship with the US dollar, meaning broader USD sentiment can move CAD even in the absence of Canada-specific news. Businesses with resource-sector or cross-border-integrated Canadian counterparties should also be alert to oil price moves as a secondary driver of CAD strength or weakness.
Who executes the payment
TIMEFX LTD is your provider throughout. Payments are executed under the UK regulatory framework for payment services.
Regulatory disclosureTechnical details
Clearing systems and beneficiary details for Canada
Payment-rail detail for finance and operations teams. You do not need any of this to open an account — we confirm the exact fields with you during setup.
Clearing, beneficiary fields and local rulesShowHide
Local clearing systems
Lynx
Canada's real-time gross settlement system, used for large-value CAD interbank payments (replaced the former LVTS).
EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer)
The standard batch clearing system for everyday CAD business payments, typically settling within one to two business days.
Interac e-Transfer
A widely used domestic transfer method in Canada, though generally for lower-value and personal rather than commercial international payments.
What the beneficiary record needs
- Canadian accounts are identified by a 3-digit institution number, a 5-digit transit (branch) number, and an account number — there is no IBAN in Canada.
- A SWIFT/BIC code for the beneficiary bank is required for international transfers into Canada.
- Beneficiary name should match the account holder exactly as recorded with the Canadian bank.
- Some Canadian banks additionally request the beneficiary's civic address for compliance purposes on incoming international wires.
Local points worth knowing
- Canada's banking sector is dominated by a handful of major national banks, so beneficiary bank details tend to be more standardised than in more fragmented systems, but transit and institution numbers must still be entered precisely as they are not interchangeable with routing numbers from the US.
- Canadian federal and provincial holidays do not always align (e.g. some provinces observe additional civic holidays), which can affect processing timing depending on the beneficiary's province.
- GST/HST (federal and provincial sales tax) is a domestic Canadian matter for the invoicing party and does not affect the mechanics of the currency payment itself.
- Given the close CAD-USD trading relationship, US dollar market commentary is often a useful leading indicator for CAD movement even without Canada-specific news.
Getting started
How a first payment to Canada usually goes
- 1
Tell us about the route
What you're paying for, roughly how much and how often. This tells us whether CAD is the right settlement currency and which checks will apply.
- 2
Apply for an account
A short application, reviewed by us. Full verification comes afterwards, once we know we can help — we don't ask for documents before that point.
- 3
Set up the beneficiary once
We help you capture the receiving details correctly the first time, which is what prevents the returned-payment cycle most businesses have experienced at least once.
- 4
Arrange and track your payment
Your rate and fees are confirmed before the payment is arranged, and each payment carries a reference you can follow end to end.
No payment is initiated from this website
FAQ
Payments to Canada
Get started
Speak with our team
Tell us about your business and the currencies you work in. We will respond within one UK business day.
We respond to enquiries within one UK business day.