Canadian Dopers: is this usual/unambiguous? (check denominated in 'dollars')

Factual Questions
1

I have got before me a check that I know the clerk at my small South German bank branch will find a sore trial when I will deposit it to my account, because it isn’t clear what currency it is denominated in:

  • issued by the Canadian branch of a certain online store, with an address in Seattle, WA given (but the check does not say which country that address is in)
  • drawn on a bank in Toronto, Ontario (again, no country stated)
  • amount stated in words as so many ‘Dollars’, and as a number with the $ symbol.

From the online account this payment is recorded in I know that the check is intended to be denominated in Canadian dollars, much as I’d prefer the same number of US dollars :wink:

As a matter of interest, would this (check issued by an entity with an US address, drawn on a Canadian bank, denominated in ‘dollars’) be considered unambiguous in Canada?

2

Personally, I’d just assume that if it’s drawn on a Canadian bank, it’s in Canadian dollars, unless it said otherwise. (You can get US$ accounts with a Canadian bank, but I’ve always assumed that cheques drawn on a US$ account would say US$.)

So I wouldn’t consider it ambiguous.

3

I am not a bank manager but I was. My branch was in Windsor, right on the U.S. border so this type of thing would happen a lot. If the cheque is drawn on a Canadian branch of the bank then it is deemed to be in Canadian dollars unless otherwise specified. The person writing the cheque does not necessarily need a US account, they may simply write “US Funds” on the cheque and the exchange will be processed manually by the bank. (for a small fee)

Now to your dilemma. The cheque is presumed to be in Canadian dollars however if your bank cashes it as USD the liability rests with them. The Canadian branch will debit the payor’s account for the amount in USD and now it becomes the payor’s problem and it’s up to him to decide if it’s worth pursuing. Often it’s not. I have seen this happen several times.

You could just play dumb and hope it gets processed in USD.

4

My parents have a U.S. Dollar account at a branch of Bank of Montreal in Winnipeg. Every now and then they send me a cheque to pay me back for random expenses. Their cheques always have the Canadian bank address on it, but in small-ish print across the top they say “Payable in U.S. Dollars at [Bank of Montreal’s office in NYC.]”