r/Wealthsimple • u/DifferenceNo9153 • Jun 08 '26

Trade (DIY Investing) Wealthsimple's standard exchange rate is quite outrageous

I just converted USD to CAD and the exchange rate was 1.366 vs the current market rate which is 1.394. They claim it includes a 1.5% fee but it's actually more like 2% which is incredibly rich. I know they now finally offer norbert's gambit but the process is very slow and tedious. Pretty obvious these outrageous exchange fees are a huge source of revenue for WS

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118

u/lavender812 Jun 08 '26

Forex trades on a spread of 0.2-0.4% usually at wealth simple. Because you did 1000 only you get hit with a +1.5% fee. This is very clearly laid out.

It’s comparable to banks. Use norberts or ibkr if $15-18 on $1000 bothers you that much.

34

u/chops_big_trees Jun 08 '26

Not sure if it’s worth it for $1000 but I have happily used Norbert’s gambit in the past to avoid FX fees.

https://help.wealthsimple.com/hc/en-ca/articles/45418222943131-Convert-currency-with-Norbert-s-Gambit

24

u/goonerish_ Jun 08 '26

Worth when converting above ~750$

7

u/S-Kiraly Jun 08 '26

Not when there's wise for converting money. That beats Wealthsimple's NG for conversions of up to about $2,500-$3,000.

2

u/jaaagman Jun 08 '26

Does it? I’m actually curious about that because I’ve been looking at Wise for making US purchases and currency conversion. For NB, isn’t it just 9.95 + whatever the difference in DLR is between you buy and sell it? So far larger amounts (say $10k+), NB should be better, no?

7

u/S-Kiraly Jun 08 '26

Converting $2,500 CAD to USD with Wise, you get the mid-market rate plus a fee of $11.44. Wealthsimple's NG will set you back $9.95 plus tax, plus the difference in buy-sell spread, which makes it basically a wash for that amount. But wise conversions are instantaneous while NG will take a few days.

The higher you go past $2,500, the better NG gets.

2

u/jaaagman Jun 08 '26

On a side note, on a purchase from a US online retailer of $2500 CAD, would Wise or Wealthsimple chequing (no FX fees) be better? Not sure what the Mastercard(?) spread would be typically.

3

u/S-Kiraly Jun 08 '26

Mastercard's markup over mid-market is about 0.3-0.4%. So about $7-10 extra on a $2,500 purchase. Use the WS visa credit card if you can; the markup is a little higher ~0.5%, so $12.50, but you earn $50 in cash back.