What should I know about using my US based debit card in Toronto Canada?

Factual Questions
1

It’s a typical bank issued debit card that lets you run it as “credit”, issued by Chase, only other logo on the card is VISA. (I have a MasterCard network debit card as well but it’s with my hometown bank so I don’t keep more than the bare minimum in it.)

I’ll be renting a car (Hertz), paying for a hotel, buying gas, and eating out a few times. The other times that I’ve been abroad I just used cash to handle things but I know for at least the first two items on that list that would be a non-starter.

From Googling here is what I have found I should do:

[ul]
[li]See if I can get CAD from the bank before I go in order to avoid whatever international transaction fee they charge[/li][li]Call the bank in the morning to let them know I will be using the card out of the country[/li][/ul]

Will I run into any difficulties? Am I missing any other things to do?

2

Our debit system (Interac) is different up here, we use a bank issued ‘client card’ that directly accesses our regular bank accounts for point of sale. Your card will just be treated as a VISA card. Cashiers and servers will usually ask debit or Credit let them know its VISA debit and not Interac (debit). We have transitioned to chip cards here but you can still swipe the card in most machines, you may have to sign a paper receipt.

Edit to add: When travelling in the States I find the negligible fee charged by VISA for currency conversion is in no way worth my time to go to the bank to get local currency. You will find almost nowhere in Canada where they wont take your visa. Even hot dog stands have point of sale.

3

Telling people that you have no chip in your card will save a step in almost every transaction, since their default expectation is for a chip. It will mark you immediately as an American, which I’ve never had an issue with, but there’s always that someone out there.

Check with your bank to see what the extra charge made for Canadian conversion will be. It may or may not be worth the trouble to do a cash conversion. I get a nominal amount of cash just to have if needed, which can be done from a Canadian ATM, but almost everything goes onto a card these days.

4

I was in Toronto a couple years ago and had problems getting my credit/debits to work at a Tim Hortons ATM and a ticket dispensing machine at Rogers Skydome. They eventually did work. I also used a card at the Hockey HOF and the clerk asked for ID (showed her my US of A passport).
I didn’t have any problems the one time I used my debit card in a Montreal hotel in 2007. But since that hotel had people from Bridgestone (groups of 5 and 6 wearing white shirts saying Bridgestone) I assume the ATM was programmed differently.

5

I use my Canadian debit card in the USA all the time without problem. The ATM networks are, AFAIK, very compatible and similar.

Some POS systems will ask Credit or Debit, but if it’s a valid VISA card, likely it will be treated as a VISA card by stores. Most stores are Chip-ready now and only swipe if there’s no chip or the chip wont work. The credit card issued by my local Canadian bank is also tied to my bank accounts, like my debit-only card. So I stick it in the ATM, it asks DEPOSIT, WITDRAWAL, etc. (If the ATM is not for your bank, WITHDRAWAL is the only option.) then it asks withdrawal from CHEQUING, SAVINGS, CREDIT CARD?

the only other proviso - when I travelled to Europe or the Orient, the warning was that the ATMs wanted a standard 4-digit PIN. Not sure if that is a requirement in Canada, since I always have had only 4 digits. But… be sure your PIN is 4 digits to be safe. (I assume the programming in some ATMs does not handle longer PINs).

My ATM from TD Bank worked fine all over the world, except Egypt and Jordan. They would not even do in-the-bank withdrawals on an ATM debit card, but the ATMs did do cash advances on VISA. In the lobby of the Moevenpick outside Petra I found an ATM with a chip reader and my debit card worked with that. Regular debit worked fine in Europe, in ANZ (a decade ago), in Israel and Turkey.

I don’t know what happens if you try to do debit without a chip at the bank counter. Most ATMs in Canada are still mag stripe readers that take and give back your card, and you will note many have flashing lights around the slot to show you nobody has added a card skimmer to the slot. I have not heard of ATMs eating cards being a problem, but just in case, either cancel when it does not work or have a spare card handy.

(American Express chips don’t work in about 50% of the chip terminals I’ve run across in Canada. I heard from someone that there has been some significant store theft lately using counterfeit Amex cards, since they end up swiping them - much less secure. Her management issued a directive that any card when the chip fails or there is none, and the card must be swiped, they will ask for additional photo ID despite the cardholder agreement.)

6

Friends who come to visit never have trouble getting money from an ATM or paying with a credit card. If your debit card says Visa or MC on it, I guess they will treat it as such.

But I know a number of places that are cash only. A Chinese restaurant neat me, my doctor (who charges for blood tests sent to a private lab) and my chiropracter whose main concession to the modern world is that his receptionist’s typewriter is electric. (Really.) And students raise money by selling things like samosas and cupcakes on a cash only basis. I buy samosas from them when I can.

7

Update: My card worked everywhere I tried it. Usually didn’t even have to mention no chip.

Whenever I had to show photo ID, though, the cashier would look quizically at my Arkansas driver’s license and then ask for a second form of ID. So don’t go anywhere without your passport.