Currencies & Fees

When you’re trying to find the cheapest way to send money overseas, there are three prices you should be aware of:

1. The fee to send the money. Sending money overseas with your bank will often incur a hefty fee of up to $30 just to make the transaction. Using an online money transfer service is usually substantially cheaper.

2. The margin taken by the money wire provider. Shopping around for the best currency exchange rate can save you hundreds and even thousands on sizeable wire transfers. Banks often charge a margin of up to 5% above the daily interbank exchange rate. So when your bank tells you that you’ll get .89 EUR for every 1 USD, a simple Google search may reveal that the real daily exchange rate is closer to .85. That means that on a $10,000 wire transfer to Europe, you may be paying up to $400 by using your bank. Using OFX gives you access to much more competitive exchange rates, and it may be the cheapest way to send your money overseas.

3. The fee to receive the payment. Some banks may charge your recipient a fee to receive money from overseas. At OFX, we do our best to minimize these fees by sending your money using our global network of 115 local bank accounts. Often times, banks don’t charge such fees for local transfers, so whenever possible, OFX uses our local account to make your transfer. It works like this: you pay into our local account in your home country, and we pay out from our local account in your recipient’s country, so your recipient may not have to pay receiving fees. Unfortunately, these fees vary from bank to bank, and they also depend on what kind of account your recipient has, which is why we can’t guarantee that you won’t pay a receiving fee when you make a transfer with us. But at least you do know that we’re doing our best to deliver value for our customers.

When evaluating the cheapest way to send money overseas, there are additional factors to consider beyond fees and exchange rates:

1. Is the service convenient, clear and accessible? Depending on how often you need to transfer money overseas, customer service and automated transfers can be very important. You may want to choose a provider who lets you track your transfer, so you always know where your money is. With OFX, you can lock in an exchange rate for up to a year, so you can protect yourself from currency swings. You can also use our app to follow your money every step of the way, and you’ll always have 24/7 access to our customer service team. When the banks are closed, OFX is open, so you can book a transfer on your schedule--not your bank’s.

2. Be careful whom you send money to. According to the FDIC, “Using a bank or a money transfer company to "wire" funds electronically is an easy and convenient way to send cash to someone. And when consumers wire money to people they know, the transaction typically takes place without a problem. But wiring money to strangers - in the U.S. but especially in another country - is risky because often they could be scam artists.” At OFX, all our employees are trained to look out for unusual activity, and we may say ‘no’ to certain transfers that look very suspicious, but we always encourage our customers to think twice before sending money overseas if the recipient is someone you’ve never met in person. If you’d like to know more about our fraud prevention, you can read about common frauds or learn how OFX helps keep you secure.

Our customers say it best:

“First class service. I would advise anyone wanting to transfer funds abroad to use OFX. ”

--David Dyson, Trustpilot Review, 2.9.16 

Anyone who’s traveled internationally and used a credit card to buy something knows about those pesky foreign transaction fees that are applied to every purchase.

An international transaction fee is charged to you, the consumer, by your credit card company whenever you buy something in a foreign currency. And while most of these charges are applied to travelers, they can also be added to your credit card bill when you make a purchase online from a foreign vendor.

In other words, anytime a credit card is used to make a purchase and the transaction needs to be processed into the local currency of the seller, you’ll incur a foreign transaction fee. 

How much should you expect to pay in fees?

The average international transaction fee will be around 3% for purchases made in US dollars. 1% of that fee may go to the payment processor, whether it’s Visa or MasterCard, and the other 2% might go to the bank that issued your credit card, such as Chase or Bank of America.

You might be thinking that 3% doesn’t sound too bad, but these fees can quickly add up if you’re making a lot of small purchases or you’re making large purchases. For example, if you spend $100 and your fee is 3%, you’ll spend an extra $3, but if you spend $1,000, you’ll be paying an extra $30 in fees.

On top of that, most credit cards charge a 3-5% margin on the daily interbank or market exchange rate for the day. For many cards, this rate is at their sole discretion, and you may not know how big that margin is in advance.¹ When combined with the fees, you could be paying at least a 6% premium on your purchase by using your credit card. Ouch.

A few ways to avoid international transaction fees

There are some ways that you can avoid costly international transaction fees:

1. Check your credit cards’ terms and conditions. You might have a card that doesn’t charge these fees. Use that card whenever you’re planning on purchasing products from abroad, as well as when you travel.

2. If you don’t have a card that doesn’t charge a fee but you make a lot of international purchases, it would be wise to apply for credit cards that don’t charge these fees.   

3. Avoid high international transaction fees by using OFX to send money rather than using your credit card. Whether booking a hotel or purchasing a luxury item, ask your vendor if they accept payment direct to their bank account. If they do, you can use OFX to dramatically reduce your international transaction fees and exchange rate margins. Plus, you can make transfers 24/7--on your own schedule, not your bank’s.

International transaction fees can make shopping more expensive than it has to be, but if you know your way, you can outsmart your bank and save yourself a lot of money.

P.S. If you’d like to know more about OFX’s award-winning security and fraud prevention methods, check out our security page. 

Sources:

• https://www.bankofamerica.com/deposits/manage/how-to-pay-when-traveling-abroad.go

There are a host of reasons why you’d need to send money internationally. You might be paying for a destination wedding, purchasing an overseas property or adding a coveted item to your collection from a dealer overseas.

But how much will it cost to send  money internationally? Let’s break it down.  

1. Wire transfer fees can vary greatly depending on your provider. 

Whenever you send money internationally, your bank will typically charge a fixed wire transfer fee. You could pay up to $50 to transfer the money, but the fee will depend upon the bank that you’re using, as well as how much money you’re sending.  

Some banks will charge a different rate depending upon the currency in which your money is sent, so you might pay a higher fee if you send the money in US dollars rather than in your recipient’s local currency. If you want your money transfer expedited, you might incur yet another additional fee. Sheesh!

If you’re using a money wiring service, some fees depend on how you’re sending the money, whether it’s from a funded account, a credit card, or a debit card. This percentage can range from 0.5% to 3.9%. And that’s not the end of it.

2. Watch out for the margin on the exchange rate.

In addition to the wire transfer fee, a margin on the daily exchange rate is also tacked on to most foreign transfers. This rate is typically around 5% at most major banks, so if you’re sending $10,000, you may have to pay up to $500. Yikes. At OFX, we know you could buy a lot with $500, so we keep our rates substantially lower than other money transfer providers.

3. Your recipient may also be charged to receive foreign payments.

On top of all the other costs above, many banks charge their customers between $15 and $30 to receive international wires. At OFX, we use our global network of local bank accounts to transfer your money in an effort to reduce these fees. It works like this: you pay into our domestic account in your home country, and we pay out from our domestic account in your recipient’s country. Sometimes, this means your recipient may be charged less to receive the money from us.

So how much does it cost to send money internationally?

The answer is, it depends on the company you use. Rather than using a bank and paying excessive fees to send your money internationally, make the smart move to OFX. With OFX you are able to book a transfer 24/7. Plus, OFX delivers a much more competitive exchange rate, so you can keep more of your money. With options like OFX, there’s no need to rely on your bank anymore to send money, so now the only question is: what are you going to do with all that extra cash?

Sources:

• https://www.bankofamerica.com/foreign-exchange/wire-transfer.go

• https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/paypal-fees