does canada have the same checking account system as the US?

Question

When they write a check, does their check also have routing number, account number? Does Canada's checking system also work with ACH?

Answer 1

yes, jerk, it aint a foreign land like Africa or Nebraska

Answer 2

Canada Dollars are not worth the same as US Dollars.

Each nation has a banking system that is able to accept money from the banking system of any other nation, such as via checks, cashier's checks, money orders, wire transfers, you name it, but then the money needs to have a currency conversion.

ACH is a type of electronic funds transfer, which can be done between banks in any nation in the world.

For many businesses, there is an advantage by having money go directly between the banks of our customers vendors and our bank account. We do not have to have an employee hand carrying a lot of money to the bank (risk of mugging), and we also keep that out of the snail mail. The money is immediately deposited in our account.

But there has to be an accompanying record of what the money is for. There can be problems there, but they generally are with the companies that off-shore out-source their accounting to personnel who do not understnand accounting, banking, business etc. so that when you ask them for such things as "remittance advice listing what invoices the money transfer was for" they have no idea what you are talking about because no one has ever explained to them the meaning of such concepts as:
* remittance advice
* invoices
* money transfer

Each Nation has banks, operating within a set of government rules that might not neccessarily be identical to those of a different nation, but all able to cooperate within International banking.
http://www.imf.org/external/np/rosc/can/banking.htm

The really big banks in both USA and Canada have branches in both nations, and also in other nations around the world.

In the USA, the banking system is run by the Federal Reserve, known as "The Fed"
http://www.federalreserve.gov/general.htm

The USA also has Savings & Loan banks which are under the control of the individual State governments.

In Canada there are domestic banks and foreign banks
http://www.fin.gc.ca/toce/1995/fctshtsum95-e.html

http://ideas.repec.org/p/bca/bocatr/81.html

http://www.bank-banque-canada.ca/en/financial/financial_system.html

Answer 3

Yes our cheques have the same things you describe such as routing numbers etc. I don' know what ACH is either but I have sent cheques to the US and had them cashed and I can cash american cheques at my bank so I suppose the system is well integrated..
Also we spell cheques differently than you!

Answer 4

Pretty much same system as the US. Other than that, I don't know what ACH means, sorry.