Frequently asked questions

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CIBC is one of the largest financial institutions in Canada with a state-of-the-art electronic foreign exchange platform. CIBC was also named the strongest publicly traded bank in Canada – and the only North American bank in Bloomberg’s ranking 5 years in a row (Bloomberg Markets, 2015). For more information, please contact our Financial Professionals at [emailprotected].

Your Educational Institution has partnered with Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) to provide its users preferred foreign exchange rates. These preferred exchange rates are applied to your payments and allows you to make the payments in your Home Currency. Other benefits include:

Bank wire quotes are valid for 72 hours (excluding weekends and Canadian holidays) to give you peace of mind against any adverse currency price fluctuations.
The platform allows you to track your payment and notifies you when your payment is received.
The transaction flows through in a fully secure banking environment.
Faster processing times and automatic transfer to student accounts.
Preferred foreign exchange rates offered exclusively to the Educational Institution’s students and alumni.

You do NOT need a CIBC account or visit a CIBC branch to use this payment platform.

You can track your payment anywhere, anytime by visiting the payment platform. Please log into the portal, or you can input the unique Reference ID generated for each transaction in the ‘Track Your Payment’ functionality on the top menu of the platform. Alternatively, please send an email to [emailprotected] if you have any further questions or require more clarity.

Yes. We recommend making payments in your home currency due to the preferred foreign exchange rates CIBC offers, but you will have the option to make payments in USD, CAD (where applicable) or other major currencies.

Yes. When initiating a transaction on the platform, select the relationship of the payer as ‘Agent’ while on the ‘Payer Details’ page. Ensure the instruction sheet is delivered to the Agent to make the payment.

This is not necessary as CIBC informs the Educational Institution of all payments received. Your student account will be automatically credited.

You will receive an email notification from CIBC advising you that your funds have been received and processed to the Educational Institution. Please allow 2-3 business days for your student account to be updated accordingly.

Please contact CIBC immediately at[emailprotected]. Please ensure you have mentioned the following information in your communication:

Student Name
Student ID
Transaction Reference Number
Date of Transaction
Amount

Bank Wire

Making a payment using a traditional bank wire through the CIBC portal will allow you to take advantage of preferred exchange rates that CIBC provides to your Educational Institution, in most cases resulting in material cost savings. The portal also allows you to lock in your rate for 72 hours (excluding weekends and Canadian holidays), providing you with protection against currency fluctuation. Please note, this option requires you to complete your payment by taking the instruction sheet provided by CIBC to your local bank to wire the funds.

The Foreign Exchange market is dynamic and prices are changing continuously. To protect the payer from this volatility, CIBC is able to offer protection for a 72-hour period, not including weekends and Canadian holidays.

Any payment made after the 72-hour deadline will be subject to a new exchange rate. The quote expires after the 72-hour window. CIBC will process the transaction, but the amount sent to the Educational Institution will differ based on the market. For any questions regarding the transaction please feel free to contact CIBC at [emailprotected].

Please log onto the portal, and click on the “Transaction History” page to send the instruction sheet to the email address on file.

CIBC’s Foreign Exchange department trades around 30 different countries, however, there are some currencies that are not supported due to banking regulations, sanctions or other reasons. To help students and alumni, CIBC provides the option to make payments in USD, CAD (where applicable) or other major currencies.

Please contact CIBC immediately at [emailprotected] and provide the information. Please ensure you have mentioned the following information in your communication:

Student Name
Student ID
Transaction Reference Number
Date of Transaction
Amount

No, the local bank charges are not covered under the quote provided by CIBC. Please send the quoted amount in full and pay any additional fees directly to your local bank.

While the payment might have been sent within the 72-hour timeframe, the delay before CIBC receives the funds will differ based on region and intermediary banks. We recommend sending the payment as soon as the transaction is initiated on the CIBC portal to avoid such situations. If you sent the funds and received an expiration notification, please send an email to [emailprotected] with proof of funds sent within 72 hours. CIBC will evaluate the situation on a case-by-case basis. Please ensure you have mentioned the following information in your communication:

Student Name
Student ID
Transaction Reference Number
Date of Transaction
Amount

The processed wire could be lower than the amount you had sent for several reasons. The most common reason is due to intermediary bank fees. CIBC processes the full amount received to the Educational Institution. If the payment was sent past the 72-hour window, the payment will be converted at the new market rate. Therefore, the amount processed might be more or less than the amount initially sent based on currency fluctuation. Please contact us at [emailprotected] if you have further questions about your payment.

Direct Debit

Making a payment using Direct Debit through the CIBC portal will allow you to take advantage of preferred exchange rates that CIBC provides to your Educational Institution, in most cases resulting in material cost savings. In addition, the entire payment process is completed online, and the payer does not need to go to their local branch to complete the payment.

Direct Debit is available for students/alumni from the United States paying from a US bank account or students/alumni from Canada paying from a Canadian bank account studying internationally.

The average debit transaction will take 2 to 5 business days to be deposited into the Education Institution’s bank account. Once the funds have been sent to the Education Institution, please allow 2-3 business days for your student account to update accordingly.

You will need to provide the following:

Name of Bank/F.I
Bank Account Number
9 Digit A.B.A Routing Number
Bank/F.I Full Address
Type of account

Once a transaction has failed, you are able to initiate a new one through the CIBC portal. Most transactions fail as a result of incorrect banking information being inputted, so we recommend verifying your account information with your bank prior to submitting a transaction.

If there are insufficient funds in your account, the transaction will fail. You may be charged NSF charges by your local bank, which is not covered under the quote provided by CIBC. If you wish to initiate a new transaction, please do so through the CIBC portal and ensure that there are enough funds in your account.

Visa/MasterCard

Making a payment using Visa/Mastercard through the CIBC portal will allow you to take advantage of preferred exchange rates that CIBC provides to your Educational Institution, in most cases resulting in material cost savings. The Visa and MasterCard payment option allows students and alumni to pay fees in their home currency when CIBC is unable to accept bank wire transactions in that particular currency.

We accept both debit and credit cards issued by Visa and MasterCard.

On average, Visa and MasterCard transactions will be processed within 2 business days, but some may require up to 5 business days to be deposited into the Education Institution’s bank account. Once the funds have been sent to the Education Institution, please allow 2-3 business days for your student account to update accordingly. If the transaction time exceeds this, please contact us at [emailprotected].

We recommend you contact your local bank for further assistance. Alternatively, you may make multiple payments through the CIBC platform to send the total amount owed to the Educational Institution

Transactions often fail as a result of incorrect information being inputted. Please review your payment details and ensure the information is correct. Transactions also fail as a result of CIBC’s security protocols. When making a payment using Visa/Mastercard, CIBC has an additional security measure to authenticate the cardholder. When making a transaction, the payer will be required to input a one-time verification code sent to the phone number linked to the cardholder’s account. Please ensure you have the phone linked to the cardholder with you while making the payment. For further assistance, please contact us at [emailprotected].

The Visa/Mastercard payment option has additional fees charged by the processor. These fees are not charged by CIBC or your Educational Institution.

China Union Pay

Making a payment using China UnionPay through the CIBC portal gives Chinese students and alumni the opportunity to pay in their home currency (CNY) and utilize the preferred foreign exchange rates applied through CIBC’s portal.

On average, China UnionPay transactions will be processed within 3 business days, but some may require up to 5 business days to be deposited into the Education Institution’s bank account. Once the funds have been sent to the Education Institution, please allow 2-3 business days for your student account to update accordingly. If the transaction time exceeds this, please contact us at [emailprotected].

All UnionPay debit and credit cards issued in China can be used.

Please review your payment details and ensure the information is correct. If your information is valid and the payment continues to fail, please contact your local bank to verify your card limit, or contact us at [emailprotected].

We recommend you contact your Chinese bank for further assistance. Alternatively, you may make multiple payments through CIBC’s platform to send the total amount owed to the Educational Institution.

China UnionPay payment option has additional fees charged by the processor. These fees are not charged by CIBC or your Educational Institution.

WeChat/Alipay

Making a payment using WeChat/Alipay through the CIBC portal gives Chinese students and alumni the opportunity to pay using their preferred digital wallet and utilize the competitive foreign exchange rates applied through CIBC’s portal.

On average, WeChat/Alipay transactions will be processed within 3 business days, but some may require up to 5 business days to be deposited into the Education Institution’s bank account. Once the funds have been sent to the Education Institution, please allow 2-3 business days for your student account to update accordingly. If the transaction time exceeds this, please contact us at [emailprotected].

Please review your payment details and ensure the information is correct. If your information is valid and the payment continues to fail, please contact us at [emailprotected].

The WeChat/Alipay payment option has additional fees charged by the processor. These fees are not charged by CIBC or your Educational Institution.