The challenge

Toonie Tours, a Canadian city tour company operating in nine cities, had a foreign exchange problem draining their margins. With 60% of customers coming from the United States, the company priced all tours in USD and received wire payments from online travel agencies like TripAdvisor, Airbnb Experiences, and GetYourGuide.

To get paid more frequently with lower commissions, they routed everything through PayPal—but PayPal forced USD-to-CAD conversions at punishing exchange rates on $40K+ monthly. Their traditional bank offered no practical solution for holding USD or converting at competitive rates. Every dollar they earned was losing value before it even hit their operating account.

The solution

Float’s Business Accounts and FX products gave Toonie Tours exactly what their bank couldn’t: a USD account that earns interest, paired with competitive foreign exchange when they actually need Canadian dollars. Now, USD revenue flows directly into Float, where it earns high interest while waiting to be deployed.

When CAD is needed for payroll, rent, or supplier payments, Nathan converts through Float FX—only when necessary, and at rates that don’t eat into margins. Combined with Float cards for their 70+ tour guides, Toonie Tours transformed a fragmented, fee-heavy financial stack into a unified system where every dollar works harder.

The details

When Nathan Murdoch and his brother launched Toonie Tours in Vancouver in 2018, they had no playbook for running a multi-currency business. They bootstrapped the company, listened to customers, and grew from a single free walking tour into a nine-city operation. But as USD revenue scaled, their financial infrastructure buckled under the weight of foreign exchange fees and fragmented cash management.

The FX trap that was costing them thousands

With 60% of customers coming from the United States, Toonie Tours made a strategic decision to price all tours in USD. Revenue flowed in from TripAdvisor, GetYourGuide, and Airbnb Experiences—but getting that money into usable Canadian dollars proved expensive.

The online travel agencies offered a choice: receive wire transfers directly to a bank once monthly (with higher commissions and $17.50 wire fees), or route through PayPal for twice-monthly payouts at lower commission. Toonie Tours chose PayPal for the cash flow—but there was a catch.

Their TD Bank account offered no practical alternative. While they technically had a USD account, navigating PayPal’s forced conversions and the bank’s clunky FX process meant margins eroded on every transaction. On $35,000 to $40,000 in monthly USD volume, the losses added up fast

Float Business Accounts and FX: The combination that changed everything

Float solved both problems at once. With a Float Business Account, Toonie Tours finally had a place to hold USD that actually worked for them—earning high interest on idle balances instead of sitting at zero in a traditional bank. And when Canadian dollars are needed, Float FX delivers competitive rates without the PayPal markup.

The workflow is elegant: USD arrives from OTAs, sits in Float earning interest, and converts to CAD only when bills come due. No more forced conversions. No more leaving money on the table.

“When I saw we could have it all go to Float and get high interest and save so much on the FX, it was a super no-brainer,” says Nathan Murdoch, Co-founder of Toonie Tours.

Scaling operations with Float Cards

With the financial foundation in place, Toonie Tours extended Float across their operations. City leads and tour guides in all nine cities now carry Float cards for bike rentals, beer tour supplies, and emergency purchases. Before Float, guides paid out of pocket and waited weeks for e-transfer reimbursements, a manual nightmare for a company with 70 contractors.

“We never even dreamt of giving our team charge cards because it would be such a hassle through TD. With Float, it’s just set up and then you mail the card physically and it’s super quick, super easy,” says Nathan. “It’s also simple to support our team with cards virtually, no need to visit banks and sign papers. That’s been a huge benefit to us.”

The QuickBooks integration sealed the efficiency gains. Transactions export pre-coded, and their bookkeeping team—who work with dozens of businesses—were immediately impressed by how automated everything had become.

The bottom line: Money that works harder

For Nathan, Float hasn’t just streamlined operations. It’s transformed how Toonie Tours thinks about their cash. Instead of money sitting idle or losing value to fees, every dollar now earns its keep.

The business is constantly earning because of our banking situation. We’re cutting fees where we can and we’re also earning while our money is just sitting there. It’s like the quote: have your money work for you.”

As Toonie Tours continues expanding across Canada, Float’s Business Accounts and FX products scale alongside them, proving that small businesses don’t have to accept the financial friction that traditional banks take for granted.