Looking to send money to friends and family abroad? The CIBC Global Money Transfer (GMT) service makes it easy to send funds to more than 120 countries without transfer fees.
CIBC GMT users also benefit from its promotional offer of $50 to $300 when they send their first global money transfer.
In this CIBC Global Money Transfer review, I cover how it works, transfer fees and exchange rates, countries you can send money to, pros and cons, and alternative options for money transfer.
CIBC Global Money Transfer Summary
CIBC Global Money Transfer
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Exchange rates
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Transfer fees
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Speed
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Convenience
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Trust & Credibility
Overall
Summary
The CIBC Global Money Transfer (GMT) is a service that allows you to send money to your recipients within 1-3 business days. While it has $0 transfer fees, it charges a “spread” or “markup” to the exchange rate you pay when sending money. Other benefits of using CIBC GMT include delivery of funds within 24 hours, multiple ways to transfer funds, and its promotional offer of up to $300 on first transfers. The major cons of the CIBC GMT include expensive FX markups, the requirement to have a CIBC account to use the service and lower transaction limits in some countries.
Pros
- Fast fund delivery, often within 24 hours
- High limits per transaction
- Many options to fund your transfer
- Up to $300 on first transfers
- Supports transfers to 120+ countries
Cons
- Foreign exchange fees can be costly
- Lower transaction limits in some countries
- A CIBC account is required
CIBC Global Money Transfer
The CIBC Global Money Transfer service allows you to send money to recipients within 1-3 business days.
The process is straightforward and works as follows:
- Sign on to your CIBC or mobile banking account
- Select “Global Money Transfer” from the menu
- Provide the recipient’s details and how much you want to send
- Choose your payment account and click “submit”
Transfer can take up to 3 business days to reach your recipients; however, most transactions are completed within 24 hours.
You can fund money transfers using your Canadian bank account, lines of credit, and eligible CIBC credit card.
You can also send money internationally by using CIBC wire transfers.
CIBC Global Money Transfer Fees
CIBC’s Global Money Transfer service is advertised as having $0 transfer fees. This means you don’t pay a specific transfer fee to use GMT.
So, how does CIBC make money when you conduct international money transfer transactions?
They add a “spread” or “markup” to the exchange rate you pay (more on this below).
Other fees may also come into play depending on how you found your transfer.
For example, if you use a CIBC Everyday Chequing Account that includes 12 transactions to fund your transfer, it counts towards your monthly limit.
Each debit transaction over the limit costs $1.25.
CIBC Global Money Transfer Exchange Rates
The exchange rate used for your global money transfer rate in CIBC is not the “mid-market” or “spot” rate you see when you search on Google.
CIBC’s foreign exchange rates include a markup which makes it more expensive.
The difference between the mid-market rate and CIBC’s rate is how they make money.
For example, on January 31, 2022, I checked the rates for sending CAD $10,000 to a recipient in the U.S. (receiving USD).
The mid-market rate for CAD-USD was 1 CAD = 0.787703 USD.
CIBC’s rate was 1 CAD = 0.767898 USD.
Based on the spread, the money transfer using CIBC GMT would cost me $198.
If you are looking to transfer money abroad at a competitive mid-market rate, Wise is a much better option.
CIBC Global Money Transfer Limits
When paying with your bank account or line of credit, you can send up to C$30,000 to most countries.
For credit card-funded transfers, the maximum limit per transaction is C$15,000.
Some countries have a lower transaction limit, including:
- Bosnia: $6,000
- Brazil: $10,000
- China (CUP only): $6,000
- Colombia: $10,000
- Indonesia: $5,000
- Kenya: $10,000
- Nigeria: $10,000
- Vietnam: $5,000
The minimum transfer amount is $100.
CIBC Global Money Transfer Countries
As of this writing, you can send money using the CIBC GMT service to over 120 countries, including:
| Countries | Currency | Countries | Currency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | ALL | Luxembourg | EUR |
| Algeria | DZD | Macau | MOP |
| Argentina | ARS | Macedonia | MKD |
| Armenia | AMD | Madagascar | MGA |
| Australia | AUD | Mali | XOF |
| Austria | EUR | Malaysia | MYR |
| Bangladesh | BDT | Malta | EUR |
| Barbados | BBD | Mauritius | MUR |
| Belarus | BYN | Mexico | MXN |
| Belgium | EUR | Monaco | EUR |
| Belize | BZD | Morocco | MAD |
| Bermuda | BMD | Netherlands | EUR |
| Bolivia | BOB | Nepal | NPR |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | BAM | New Caledonia | XPF |
| Brazil | BRL | New Zealand | NZD |
| Bulgaria | BGN | Nicaragua | NIO |
| Burkina Faso | XOF | Nigeria | NGN |
| Cambodia | KHR | Northern Ireland | GBP |
| Cameroon | XAF | Norway | NOK |
| Chile | CLP | Pakistan | PKR |
| China | RMB and USD | Paraguay | PYG |
| Colombia | COP | Peru | PEN |
| Costa Rica | CRC | Philippines | PHP |
| Croatia | HRK | Poland | PLN |
| Cyprus | EUR | Portugal | EUR |
| Czech Republic | CZK | Qatar | QR |
| Denmark | DKK | Romania | RON |
| Djibouti | DJF | Russia | RUB |
| Dominican Republic | DOP | Rwanda | RWF |
| Ecuador | USD | Saudi Arabia | SAR |
| Egypt | EGP | Scotland | GBP |
| El Salvador | USD | Senegal | XOF |
| England | GBP | Singapore | SGD |
| Estonia | EUR | Slovakia | EUR |
| Ethiopia | ETB | Slovenia | EUR |
| Fiji | FJD | South Africa | ZAR |
| Finland | EUR | South Korea | KRW |
| France | EUR | Spain | EUR |
| French Polynesia | XPF | Sri Lanka | LKR |
| Georgia | GEL | St. Vincent | XCD |
| Germany | EUR | Sweden | SEK |
| Ghana | GHS | Switzerland | CHF |
| Gibraltar | GBP | Tajikistan | TJS |
| Greece | EUR | Tanzania | TZS |
| Guatemala | GTQ | Thailand | THB |
| Guernsey | GBP | Togo | XOF |
| Guyana | GYD | Trinidad and Tobago | TTD |
| Haiti | HTG | Tunisia | TND |
| Honduras | HNL | Turkey | TRY |
| Hong Kong | HKD | Uganda | UGX |
| Hungary | HUF | United Arab Emirates | AED |
| Iceland | EUR | United Kingdom | GBP |
| India | INR | United States | USD |
| Indonesia | IDR | Uruguay | UYU |
| Ireland | EUR | Vietnam | VND |
| Isle of Man | GBP | Wales | GBP |
| Israel | ILS | Italy | EUR |
| Jamaica | JMD | Jersey | GBP |
| Japan | JPY | Jordan | JOD |
| Kenya | KES | Kuwait | KWD |
| Kyrgyzstan | KGS | Latvia | EUR |
| Liechtenstein | EUR | Liberia | LRD |
| Lithuania | EUR |
For transfers using Visa Direct (credit card), you can send money to more than 80 countries.
CIBC Global Money Transfer for Business
This service is for CIBC business banking clients.
They can use it to send money abroad to clients, employees, vendors, and for other purposes.
Business clients get access to preferred rates, and you can request an FX price quote.
The maximum limit per transaction is higher at C$50,000.
Pros of CIBC Global Money Transfer
The benefits of using CIBC Global Money Transfer include the following:
- CIBC GMT has no” transfer fees”
- Funds are often delivered within 24 hours
- There are multiple ways to fund your transfer, including credit cards
- CIBC is a top-five bank in Canada
- High maximum limits per transaction (up to C$30,000 for personal accounts)
- Supports transfers to 120+ countries
- CIBC GMT promotional offer of up to $300 on first transfers
- Real-time transfers to eligible Visa cards are delivered in 30 minutes or less
Downsides of CIBC Global Money Transfer
Some downsides to watch out for when sending money abroad using CIBC GMT and other bank money transfer services include:
- FX markups can be very expensive (2% or more). In the example I used above, it was going to cost me $198 to send C$10,000 to a recipient in the U.S.
- You need to have a CIBC account to use this service
- Some countries have lower transaction limits
Is CIBC Global Money Transfer Safe?
Yes, CIBC GMT is safe. CIBC is one of the largest banks in Canada, and it has a solid reputation.
Your deposits at the bank are protected by Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation up to a limit.
That said, when sending money, you should ensure the recipient information you provide is accurate.
The bank relies on the bank information you provide, so if this is wrong, your funds could fall into the wrong hands.
CIBC Global Money Transfer Promo
When sending your first money transfer, you could take advantage of the CIBC Global Money Transfer promo code GMTEVENT and get up to $300 back.
You can even earn more by using the Simplii Global Money Transfer service (up to a $300 bonus).
CIBC Overview
The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) is one of the biggest banks in Canada.
It was founded following a merger between The Canadian Bank of Commerce and the Imperial Bank of Canada, both established in 1867 and 1875, respectively.
CIBC offers personal and business banking services around the world and has over 10 million clients.
It also owns the online bank Simplii Financial.
Alternatives To CIBC Global Money Transfer
You can save on fees or get a better exchange rate using these services:
1. Simplii Global Money Transfer
Simplii Financial is an online bank that offers free chequing accounts, savings accounts, investments, and one of the best cash back credit cards in Canada.
Like its parent bank (CIBC), it also offers money transfers.
You can use Simplii to send up to $50,000 CAD using your chequing account or credit card (no cash advance fees).
Simplii GMT has a promotional offer that pays you up to $300 when you send your first global money transfer.
2. Wise
Formerly known as TransferWise, Wise is one of the cheaper money transfer services in Canada.
You can use this platform to send money to recipients in 80+ countries at the mid-market rate, which makes it a lot cheaper than banks.
There is an upfront fee that varies depending on your funding type and amount.
Even better, you can also open a free multiple-currency account and hold up to 54 currencies, so you send money using local currencies and not have to worry about FX rates.
You can send up to $800 CAD free here when making your first transfer. Here’s a detailed Wise review for more details about how it works.
3. Xe Money Transfer
Xe is another international money transfer service that uses live mid-marker rates.
You can use it to send money to 130+ countries.
Delivery is fast (often within minutes), and recipients can be paid in 98 currencies.
Visit Xe to transfer money or check live FX rates.
FAQs
There is no transfer fee when you use CIBC Global Money Transfer; however, you get a more expensive exchange rate. For international wire transfers, there is a $30 to $80 transfer fee.
CIBC GMT takes 1-3 business days to complete.
Anyone who has a CIBC bank account can send money abroad using the service, including businesses.
Yes. CIBC Global Money Transfer service supports credit card money transfers using Visa credit and debit cards.
Related:
CIBC Global Money Transfer is very slow. I have sent 2 wires, 1 took 6 days, the other has not been delivered yet and has been held up for 30 days so far by recipient bank even though the wire is shown as “complete” on my end. I would not recommend this method of transfer between Canada and the US.