The short answer
A U.S. card on a Canadian merchant account is a cross-border sale, even if you charge in U.S. dollars. The card's country sets the fees, not the currency. For small U.S. sales, keeping your Canadian account (and pricing in USD if your provider allows it) is usually simplest. Once U.S. sales are steady and large, a U.S. merchant account alongside your Canadian one lets U.S. cards process as domestic sales. U.S. providers often require a U.S.-registered business, and requirements vary by bank, so tell us your structure and we'll tell you what applies.
Canadian Business Selling to U.S. Customers: Why It Costs More
Owners describe it the same way: "I'm losing a few percent on every U.S. order." That loss usually comes from two places.
- Cross-border card fees. Every card has an issuing country, the country of the bank that gave your customer the card. When that country differs from your merchant account's country, the sale is international. Your acquirer (the bank that processes your card sales) pays higher international interchange, the fee that goes to the card-issuing bank, plus the card network's cross-border charges. Visa's interchange tables base "international" on where the card was issued, not the currency charged.
- Currency conversion. If you charge USD and your deposits land in a Canadian-dollar bank account, the money is converted along the way, and there's a spread on that conversion.
Charging in USD means your customer avoids a currency conversion (though some U.S. card issuers still charge a foreign transaction fee on purchases from merchants outside the U.S.), but it doesn't fix the card fees. A U.S. card is still a U.S. card. The same applies in person: a U.S. tourist tapping a card at your counter in Canada is a cross-border sale too.
International card-not-present sales (online, phone and mail order) also tend to be declined more often, so some U.S. customers simply fail at checkout. For the fee lines, dated rates and a worked example on a single sale, see U.S. and Canada cross-border payments.
Three Ways to Accept USD as a Canadian Business
| Option | U.S. cards are… | Best fit | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| A. Keep your Canadian account | Cross-border, in CAD or USD | U.S. sales are small or occasional | Higher fees on every U.S. card |
| B. A U.S. merchant account | Domestic, in USD | Nearly all your customers are in the U.S. | Canadian cards become the cross-border ones |
| C. Both accounts | Domestic on the U.S. account | Real volume from both countries | Two accounts and two gateways to run |
A. Keep your Canadian account
This is the least work. You can charge U.S. customers in CAD and let their card convert it, or price in USD so they see a familiar number. Some Canadian providers publish USD options, each in its own way (checked September 27, 2026):
- Stripe: "Accounts opened in Canada can use USD-denominated bank accounts."
- Shopify Payments (Canada): USD payouts go to a USD bank account "with a Canadian or United States financial institution."
- Helcim: a separate processing account for each currency, and a Canadian business asking for a USD terminal needs "a USD bank account with a Canadian financial institution."
These are those providers' published policies, not a general rule. Whatever the currency, U.S. cards on a Canadian account still carry cross-border fees. Ask us whether USD pricing fits your Canadian setup.
B. A U.S. merchant account
A merchant account in the U.S., settling in U.S. dollars. U.S. cards process as domestic sales. It suits a business whose customers are almost all American. The catch: your Canadian customers' cards now become the cross-border ones, and the account usually comes with U.S. paperwork (next section).
C. Both: a Canadian account and a U.S. account
This is how START sets up businesses that sell in both countries: two merchant accounts, a Canadian account in CAD and a U.S. account in USD, each with its own Authorize.Net gateway, set up and managed together by START. It isn't one dual-currency account. Each country's cards go through that country's account, so both process as domestic sales. For how the three setups compare, see Canadian merchant accounts: Canada only, U.S. only or both.
Why two gateways? Authorize.Net says each gateway account is "set to one currency", and another currency needs another account. More in Authorize.Net in Canada. Your website or checkout sends each order to the right one, usually based on the currency the customer chose.
What a U.S. Merchant Account Requires from a Canadian Business
This is where most Canadian owners get stuck. A U.S. account is usually underwritten as a U.S. business, and many U.S. providers expect some or all of the following:
- A business registered in the U.S. (for example, a U.S. corporation or LLC)
- An EIN, the U.S. federal tax ID for businesses
- An SSN or ITIN for the owner (U.S. personal tax numbers)
- A U.S. business address and a U.S. or USD bank account for deposits
Stripe's published rule is a clear example. For a U.S. Stripe account, "Registered businesses must be registered in the US, even if you operate in another country," and Stripe "will verify your legal entity name, legal entity type (such as Sole Proprietor or LLC), EIN, SSN (or ITIN), and business address" (Stripe support, checked September 27, 2026). PO boxes aren't accepted.
That's one platform. Requirements vary by bank and by how your business is set up. Some Canadian businesses already have a U.S. subsidiary; others don't want one. Card processors also check that the legal name and tax ID you give match tax records.
Tell us your structure (where you're incorporated, whether you have a U.S. entity, EIN or U.S. bank account) and we'll tell you what applies. For the Canadian side, see Canadian merchant account requirements. Going both ways means two applications, one per country.
When a U.S. Merchant Account Pays Off
A U.S. account makes sense when the extra fees you pay on U.S. cards today are bigger than what the second account costs you to run. Work it out in three steps:
- Find your U.S. card volume. Your statement shows volume by card type; your sales reports show where customers are.
- Estimate the gap. The difference between what a U.S. card costs you on your Canadian account and what it would cost as a domestic sale on a U.S. account. It depends on your card mix, the networks and your pricing. The fee lines are in the cross-border cost breakdown.
- Subtract the cost of a second account. Its monthly fees, a second gateway, a U.S. or USD bank account, and, if you need one, the cost of forming and keeping a U.S. entity (legal and accounting fees).
An illustrative example. Say the gap works out to 1% of your U.S. card sales. That's a round number for the math, not a quoted rate:
| U.S. card sales per month (USD) | Extra cost at a 1% gap, per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| US$5,000 | US$50 | US$600 |
| US$20,000 | US$200 | US$2,400 |
| US$50,000 | US$500 | US$6,000 |
| US$100,000 | US$1,000 | US$12,000 |
At US$5,000 a month, a second account and a U.S. entity will likely cost more than they save. At US$50,000 a month, the savings can cover them several times over. In between, it comes down to your numbers. Also count what doesn't show in the fee lines:
- Fewer declines. Domestic sales tend to be approved more often, so fewer U.S. orders fail at checkout.
- Conversion costs. USD deposits into a USD bank account skip a conversion you'd otherwise pay for.
- Admin. Two accounts mean two statements to reconcile, and possibly U.S. filings for a U.S. entity.
Send us a recent statement and a rough split of U.S. and Canadian sales, and we'll tell you whether a U.S. account alongside your Canadian one makes sense.
Invoicing and Subscriptions for U.S. Clients
Not every U.S. sale happens through a shopping cart. For service businesses, wholesalers and subscription sellers, these tools do the work:
- Phone and emailed orders. A virtual terminal lets you key a card payment from a web browser, with no hardware. With two accounts, you pick the gateway that matches the invoice currency.
- Subscriptions and retainers. Automated recurring billing charges a card on a schedule, so you're not rebilling U.S. clients by hand each month.
- Repeat customers. The customer information manager stores card details securely in the gateway, so you can charge a returning client without handling the card number again.
Keyed and online sales are card-not-present, where fraud and disputes are more common. Address verification (AVS) checks the billing ZIP code or postal code; test that your settings handle both formats. See card-not-present fraud for the basics.
USD Merchant Account in Canada: Where Your Money Lands
The currency you settle in (the currency your card sales are deposited in) matters as much as the currency you charge. If you charge USD but your deposits are in CAD, you're converting every U.S. sale.
Canadian banks and credit unions offer USD bank accounts, so a Canadian business can hold U.S. dollars without a U.S. bank. That lets you pay U.S. suppliers, ad platforms and software bills in USD, and convert to CAD only when you choose. As the examples above show, some payment providers pay out USD to a USD account at a Canadian bank; others need a U.S. bank account. Ask before you open one.
With START's two-account setup, the U.S. account settles in USD and the Canadian account in CAD. Tell us where you bank and we'll tell you which deposit accounts your setup needs.
Shipping to U.S. Customers: Duties and Sales Tax
Duty-free de minimis is suspended. The U.S. used to let most shipments worth US$800 or less in duty-free. That treatment has been suspended for shipments from every country, including Canada, since August 29, 2025. Executive Order 14388, signed February 20, 2026, continued the suspension, and as of September 27, 2026 it's in effect with no set end date. Low-value parcels can now owe U.S. duties, and how they're collected depends on the carrier and the shipping method. If you ship physical goods, decide who pays duties (you, at checkout, or your customer, at delivery) and say so on your site before customers order. Surprise duty bills lead to refused parcels and chargebacks. Check U.S. Customs and Border Protection's de minimis guidance and your carrier for current rules.
U.S. sales tax is set by each state, and some states tax remote sellers once sales there pass a threshold. Ask a cross-border tax advisor whether it applies to you.
Selling the other way too? See selling to Canadian customers from the U.S.
General payments guidance, not legal or tax advice. Rules and rates as of September 27, 2026. Provider policies quoted here are those providers' published terms, not START's. Customs and tax rules change often; check the official sources and a qualified advisor before you act.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a Canadian business get a U.S. merchant account?
Yes, but many U.S. providers expect a U.S.-registered business, an EIN, an owner SSN or ITIN, and a U.S. address. Stripe, for example, requires U.S. registration for a U.S. account. Requirements vary by bank and business structure, so tell us yours and we'll tell you what applies.
If I charge in USD, do I avoid cross-border fees?
No. Cross-border fees depend on the country that issued the card compared with your merchant account's country, not the currency. A U.S. card on a Canadian account is cross-border in CAD or USD. Charging USD does spare your customer a currency conversion.
Can one account handle both Canadian and U.S. customers?
One account can accept cards from both countries, but cards from the other country are cross-border. For both to process as domestic sales, START sets up two merchant accounts, a Canadian account in CAD and a U.S. account in USD, each with its own Authorize.Net gateway, managed together.
How much U.S. volume justifies a U.S. account?
There's no set number. Compare the extra fees you pay on U.S. cards today with the cost of a second account, gateway, bank account and any U.S. entity. As an illustration, a 1% gap on US$20,000 a month is US$2,400 a year. Send us a statement and we'll run your numbers.
Selling to the U.S.?
Tell us how much you sell to U.S. customers and we'll tell you whether a U.S. account alongside your Canadian one makes sense. START has been in payments for 20+ years and has set up more than 60,000 Authorize.Net accounts.
New to this topic? Start with our Canadian Merchant Accounts overview.
