Currency
The unit of currency is the Canadian Dollar. There are one hundred cents to
the dollar.
Coins are 1¢ (penny), 5¢ (nickel), 10¢ (dime), 25¢ (quarter), 50¢ (50-cent
piece; rarely seen/never used), $1 (loonie) and $2 (toonie). The penny,
nickel, dime, and quarter match their U.S. counterparts in size, shape, and
colour.
Canadian notes come in $5 (blue), $10 (purple), $20 (green), $50 (red) and
$100 (brown). The $1,000 (pinkish) denominations is being withdrawn from
circulation since 2000 and you are best advised not to accept any. Most
notes in circulation today are from the 2001-2004 series,
Canadian Journey. Please note that both the $5 and $10 bills may be
encountered with two different levels of security features. Older notes from
the 1986 Series,
Birds of Canada are still legal tender and in circulation. Leaflets
about
identifying counterfeit notes are also downloadable from the Bank of
Canada website.
Exchange Rates
You can check exchange rates on Google by doing a search like
1.00 CAD in USD. Be sure to use the correct three
character currency code. Here are some of the more common ones:
Canada CAD; United States USD; United Kingdom
GBP; European Union
EUR; Australia
AUD; Denmark
DKK; New Zealand
NZD; South Africa
ZAR; Japan
JPY; China
CNY.
At most banks in the area it is possible to convert major currencies to
Canadian dollars. Even in the most rural areas, converting between Canadian
and American dollars should not pose a problem, although travellers
expecting to convert other currencies may need to be patient. All Canadian
banks provide currency exchange at the daily market value, but private
businesses are under no obligation to exchange currency at international
rates. However, most tourist destinations will accept American dollars, and
are likely to give a good exchange rate.
Banks, ATM's and cards
All of the towns and larger villages have at least one bank:
Bank
of Nova Scotia (ScotiaBank)
Amherst, Pugwash, Tatamagouche, Pictou, Westville, Stellarton, New Glasgow,
Antigonish.
Bank of
Montreal
New Glasgow
CIBC
Amherst, New Glasgow
RBC Royal Bank
Pictou, Westville, Stellarton, New Glasgow, Antigonish.
TD Bank
Amherst, New Glasgow.
Credit Unions
New Glasgow, Antigonish, St. Andrew's.
Teller hours vary but 10am to 3pm, Monday to Friday is the minimum. Some
open at 9am and some stay open until 5pm or even 7pm on at least one day a
week. None are open on Saturday or Sunday as far as I can tell, and are
closed on
public holidays.
You should have no trouble
locating an ATM
which may let you withdraw cash from your
Visa card,
MasterCard and certain debit cards. Most ATM's are part of Canada's
Interac system.
Credit cards are widely accepted, with Visa and MasterCard being accepted in
most places, American Express less frequently and Diner's Club only in the
more upscale restaurants and hotels. Many retailers and restaurants/bars
will often allow purchases by debit card through Interac. Many grocery
stores offer 'cash back' when using an Interac card which allows you to
purchase cash along with your groceries.
Sales tax
Most purchases that you make in Nova Scotia will be subject to the 14%
Harmonised Sales Tax (HST). Basic groceries are the most likely zero-rated
item that visitors are likely to encounter.
Most establishments do not include the HST in their ticket prices; it will
be added at the checkout. Petrol pump prices are one exception.
Some very small businesses may not be registered to collect HST.
