US$ drawn on a US bank

[Rick Adams]

The real issue is that US banks like to process their checks through the US
Federal Reserve System. That happens "overnight" for US banks.

For non-US banks, they actually US MAIL the check to a clearing house which
eventually electronically transfers the money into the US banks account.

Not surprisingly, this is a major nuisance and most US banks charge
a special handling fee to discourage the practice.

UUNET processes dozens of Canadian checks in US$ per month. Its a
non-trivial hassle. Fortunately our bank doesnt surcharge,
but we often go a month before getting the money (or finding that
the check has bounced). The US$ doesn't make life any easier. All
it does is make the currency conversion simple (i.e. there isnt one).

If you want to do the businesses you deal with a big favor, get
a check in US$ on a US bank. There are lots Canadian banks that can
offer that (We get 2/3 of our Canadian payments in US$ on a US bank
with a Canadian Bank name on the check).

UUNET currently chooses to go through the hassle of the "collection item"
checks, however once you've done it, it's not surprising that
smaller business won't do it.

---rick