International Money Transfer
One of the best value ways to transfer money to your bank abroad is by using one of the foreign exchange online companies.
Why use them?
- They often have NO FEES for foreign exchange transfers (make sure you transfer the minimum amount for no fees).
- Some banks charge up to $35 in transfer fees and give worse foreign exchange rates.
- Their exchange rates are far better than the banks after comparing foreign exchange rates and bank fees.
- Sending money overseas can be expensive if you are using the major banks.
For example on a recent foreign exchange transfer of 10000 Australian Dollars to Euros including fees would result in:
7358 Euros with OZ Forex
7002 Euros with Commonwealth Bank
That’s a difference of over 5% or over 350 Euros!
How does it work?
It works by signing up online free for their service.
Logging in, seeing what exchange rate they offer. If the rate suits, you click to exchange. If not you can set up an alert to email you when it reaches the rate you want.
They call you to confirm the transfer.
You enter your foreign bank details online so they know which bank account to send the money (Make sure you get this right!).
They give you the bank details for their account in Australia. Once they have received the money for the trade they deposit the money in your foreign account within the next few days.
Make sure the foreign exchange company is regulated by ASIC. Both OzForex and ClearFx are services we have used and are both regulated by ASIC.
So which foreign exchange company can I use?
Options for transferring over $10000 Australian Dollars
Has the one of the best rates available for foreign exchange in Australia. Much better than the banks with much lower charges too. Compare the rates from what you can get from your bank. They often beat the OZForex rates as well as they match buyers and sellers of currency together in a Marketplace to help find you the best rates.
The MoneySavingAussie team have used Currency Fair and found their rates are excellent, if not some of the best on the market. You can even suggest a exchange rate range that you want and wait for it to be matched to someone prepared to exchange at that rate.
Check out their rates above.
TransferWise uses a similar concept to Currency Fair. They bring people transferring money from different countries together. The bonus with TransferWise is that in select currencies you can use your Debit Card to transfer the money rather than having to pay into an account.
Check out their rates via the link.
We have personally used OZ Forex on a number of transactions & found their service excellent. (A subsidary of Macquarie Bank)
Last year they made $8 billon worth of foreign transactions and have 1 million website visitors each month!
NO FEES on transactions over $10000 Australian Dollars.
MoneySavingAussie have partnered with OzForex so you can transfer money faster and for a lot less.
There is NO FEE if you transfer over 10,000 Australian Dollars. (Between 2000-10000 the fee is AUD15.00)
Their exchange rates are much better than banks and many other providers.
By using OzForex you will enjoy;
- No receiving bank fees in most countries
- Extremely competitive foreign exchange rates across 18 currencies
- Online access 24/7
- Access to a dedicated Dealer by phone 24-hours a day, 5 days a week
- Complete exchange rate transparency
- No transaction fees for amounts over AUD10,000
- Risk management tools through Limit Orders and Forward Exchange Contracts
- Exchange rate alerts via email
- Access to our highly regarded daily and weekly “Market Commentary”
Register online
Registering is FREE and you can view live dealing rates immediately.
Often they have special offers including a free foreign transaction under $10000 to start you off or free transfers.
Best transferring between $2000-10000 Australian Dollars
Again some of the best exchange rates in Australia and only charge approx. $5 for an exchange!
ClearFx is owned by OzForex
NO FEES on ClearFx transactions over $2000 Australian Dollars.
We have also used this service and found them very efficient.
They tend to offer a exchange rate not as good as OZForex as their no fee minimum transfer is only $2000 (compared to OZForex $10000).
They are still better than the banks rates though.
So this is a great option if you want to transfer smaller amounts
Offers no fees on foreign currency over $2000!
They also guarantee to have the best foreign exchange rate (however this may be difficult as exchange rates change by the second). We haven’t tried to do this as we have found their rates very competitive.
Have very similar facilities as OZForex as listed above.
You can find some of the cheapest deals here
Choice article about transfers can be found here