Send money to Latvia from Canada
Latvia is in the eurozone, so money from Canada is converted into euro once and paid as euro into a Latvian account. Swedbank Latvia, SEB Latvia and Citadele Bank are supported, reached by IBAN. Both the rate and the fee appear before you commit to the transfer. Nobody in Latvia needs a Grey account.
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Who sends from Canada to Latvia
Latvia's presence in Canada is small, concentrated and old. The postwar arrivals settled largely in Ontario, around Toronto and Hamilton, and built the halls, schools and summer camps that held the community together for two generations. Their grandchildren are Canadians who may not speak much Latvian but who are named in a will, on a title deed or on a bank account in Riga.
So a great deal of this corridor is administrative rather than emotional. A flat in Riga that came down through a family and still has a building association levying charges every month. An agent collecting rent and deducting costs. A notary who needs paying before a transfer of title. An elderly relative in Jelgava or Liepaja whose care the Canadian side of the family helps cover. Alongside that there is a newer, thinner flow from Latvians working in Alberta and southern Ontario who send home for ordinary reasons.
Both look the same in the app. You enter a Latvian IBAN, see the euro figure that will land, and confirm.
Three steps to a euro payment in Latvia
Sign up
Open a free Grey account in about five minutes using a valid identity document. Everything happens on your phone, with no branch visit and no paperwork by post.
Fund
Balances are held in US dollars, provided by Lead Bank, in pounds or in euro, and are funded by money arriving from a client, an employer or a transfer you make.
Send
Enter the Latvian IBAN, read the euro amount that will arrive, and confirm. Transfers to Latvian accounts typically arrive within minutes of confirmation.
The cost of getting euro to Latvia
A useful habit on this corridor is to compare on the euro amount rather than the fee, because a lot of the payments here are recurring in an awkward way. Building charges, agent fees and utility bills on a Riga flat come round every month whether or not anybody is living in it, and a small difference in the rate repeats itself twelve times a year.
Grey shows the rate and the fee separately so you can see which of the two you are actually paying. There is no adjustment after the fact and no reconciliation to chase.
One conversion, fixed at confirmation
Latvia adopted the euro in 2014, so there is no second conversion waiting at the Latvian end. Your balance converts into euro once, and euro is what Swedbank, SEB or Citadele credits to the account.
The rate you read before confirming is the rate applied. It does not move while the payment is in flight, which is what makes it possible to tell a notary or a building manager the exact figure that will reach them.
Grey compared with a Canadian bank wire
An international wire from CIBC, BMO, RBC, Scotiabank or National Bank of Canada is a heavy instrument for the kind of amounts this corridor usually carries. The wire fee does not shrink with the payment, the exchange rate is applied by the bank rather than shown to you first, and an intermediary bank can reduce the euro that reaches Riga. On a monthly building charge that is a poor arrangement. Grey converts once into euro, shows the rate and the fee before you confirm, and credits the Latvian IBAN directly.
What arrives in Latvia
Euro, credited to the Latvian account as an ordinary transfer. Your recipient registers with nothing and collects nothing.
Latvian bank accounts
Swedbank Latvia, SEB Latvia and Citadele Bank are supported. The IBAN is the only routing detail, and euro is credited straight to that account.
Timing
From a funded balance, transfers to Latvian accounts typically arrive within minutes. Latvian banks signed up to SEPA Instant settle these credits faster still.
GreyTag
A relative in Latvia who uses Grey can be paid by GreyTag instead, free and instantly, without an IBAN passing between you.
How your Grey account gets funded
Money enters the balance in the balance currency. Three routes cover most people sending to Latvia.
A client pays you
Canadian contractors and consultants can have clients pay into their Grey account details directly, which keeps the balance topped up without a domestic step.
An employer pays you
Salary from a company outside Canada can arrive in the balance in the currency it is paid in, ready to convert when you need euro.
You move it in
A transfer from an account you already hold in another currency, made at your convenience rather than against a Latvian deadline.
For recurring property costs, most people keep a euro balance a little ahead of the bills, so a charge arriving from Riga can be settled the same day it appears.
What Canadians send to Latvia for
Running an inherited flat
Building association charges, heating, water and repairs on an apartment in Riga that a Canadian family owns but does not live in.
Estate and title work
Notary fees, land register costs, translations and a lawyer's invoice, all payable in euro before a property can change hands.
An elderly relative
Contributions towards care, medicine or heating for an aunt, uncle or cousin in Jelgava, Liepaja or a village in Kurzeme.
Family in Latvia today
Ordinary support from Latvians working in Alberta and Ontario to parents, partners or children who stayed, sent whenever it is needed.
Four reasons cover most of what moves along this corridor.
What makes this route workable
There is no charge to open a Grey account. It takes roughly five minutes and one valid identity document.
Property and estate matters in Latvia arrive in fragments: a charge here, an invoice there, a notary's appointment months later. An account that is already open and already funded turns each of those into a short job rather than a fresh errand.
FAQs
Which Latvian banks does Grey pay into?
Swedbank Latvia, SEB Latvia and Citadele Bank are supported. You enter the recipient's IBAN and euro is credited to that account.
Does Latvia receive euro or Latvian currency?
Euro. Latvia is in the eurozone, so your balance converts into euro once and euro is what the Latvian bank credits.
Can I pay a Riga building association charge from Canada?
Yes, provided you have the IBAN it collects into. Grey credits euro to that account and shows the amount before you confirm.
Can I pay a Latvian notary before a property transfer?
Yes. A notary's account takes a euro credit like any other, and the euro figure is fixed when you confirm.
How long does a transfer to a Latvian account take?
Sent from a funded balance, they typically arrive within minutes. SEPA Instant is used where the receiving Latvian bank supports it.
Is the money converted a second time when it reaches Latvia?
No. There is one conversion into euro, and euro is the currency the Latvian account receives. Nothing is converted locally.
Does my cousin in Liepaja need to sign up to Grey?
No. She receives an ordinary euro credit in her Latvian bank account and has nothing to install or register for.
Can I hold euro ready for Latvian property bills?
Yes. A funded euro balance can sit until a charge arrives from Riga, then go out without waiting for anything to clear.
Can I top up my Grey balance in Canadian dollars?
No. Grey does not carry Canadian dollars. Your balance is in US dollars, pounds or euro and converts when you send.
Is the euro rate to Latvia fixed before I send?
Yes. The rate on the confirmation screen is the one applied, and it does not change while the transfer is being settled.
Is Grey a bank if it credits euro to a Swedbank Latvia account?
No. Grey is a financial technology company. Licensed banking partners handle the banking, and Swedbank Latvia shows a normal euro credit.
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