Best Way to Send Money Internationally

There is no single best way to send money internationally. The right service depends on what matters most to you: the lowest cost, the fastest delivery, or the most secure transfer. The answer also changes depending on whether you’re making a one-off payment or moving money regularly.

I move money across borders constantly. In recent months I’ve transferred savings from Australia to Spain, paid suppliers in 15 countries across 6 currencies, sent money to family overseas, and withdrawn cash abroad for travel. Almost all of it was cheaper and faster than it would have been five years ago, and some of it was free.

The Fastest Way to Transfer Money Abroad

When speed matters most, several services can make funds available the same day, and sometimes within minutes. Two things affect how fast your money arrives: the destination country, since not all of them support same-day delivery, and how you pay.

Paying with cash in person is usually the quickest, as the money is available to your recipient straight away. Debit card and credit card payments also clear faster. Payments pulled from a checking or savings account tend to take longer because your account details have to be verified first.

The fastest services for sending money abroad:

XE runs an easy-to-use app with quick transfers to more than 190 countries.

Wise transfers are close to instant in most cases. Some can be held briefly for anti-money laundering checks, though that is the exception rather than the rule.

MoneyGram is one of the largest remittance services in the world. Its FastSend feature lets you send money by text message, and it often offers same-day delivery whatever payment method you use.

Western Union reaches many countries that other services don’t, with a large agent network that makes it strong for in-person and cash-pickup transfers. Fees and limits vary by country.

You usually pay for speed. The fastest options tend to carry higher fees or a wider exchange-rate markup than slower ones.

The Cheapest Way to Send Money Internationally

If you make transfers regularly, an established service with low fees will save you the most over time.

Be careful, though: providers charge in different ways. A low upfront fee can be wiped out by a poor exchange rate, and vice versa. A great headline price often hides its cost in the rate. The fix is to look at the final payout amount, the figure your recipient actually receives, and compare services on that alone.

The most transparent providers show you that payout figure before you commit, so you can see exactly what arrives in the recipient’s account.

Our top three for low-cost transfers:

Wise charges the mid-market exchange rate with no markup, plus a low upfront fee, usually under 1%. That’s strong value on most transfers, even small ones.

XE is a dedicated foreign-exchange specialist, focused entirely on low-cost transfers between more than 190 countries. It makes its money through a small markup on the exchange rate rather than large upfront fees.

OFX charges no transfer fee, and its rates can be competitive on larger amounts (over $25,000), where some competitors raise their fees. The tradeoff is speed: OFX is not the fastest, so if you need same-day delivery, look elsewhere.

The Safest Way to Transfer Money Overseas

Most established money transfer services are secure and reliable. If safety is your main concern, look for a provider that is regulated, has a long track record, and keeps customer funds separate from its own.

Wise meets all three. It’s regulated in every market where it operates, including by the FCA in the UK and FinCEN in the US, and it safeguards customer money in separate accounts rather than mixing it with company funds. Worth knowing: Wise is not a bank, so deposits aren’t covered by schemes like FDIC or FSCS in the way a bank account would be. Safeguarding protects your money in a different way, by keeping it ring-fenced and available.

OFX and XE are also solid choices on security. Both are long-established, publicly listed, regulated companies, which adds a layer of oversight and financial reporting that smaller services don’t have.

Our Top Picks for Sending Money Internationally

With so many options, choosing can feel overwhelming. Location, timing, and how you pay all affect which service comes out ahead for a given transfer. But all else being equal, these are the three we reach for most.

1. Wise (formerly TransferWise)

Wise consistently earns top marks for transparency, low cost, a clear interface, and strong customer reviews. You can pay by linked bank account, debit or credit card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay, and set your own daily limits. Its multi-currency account is also worth a look. Bank-account payments can take a little longer, since the account has to be verified first, but card payments clear quickly.

I ran a transfer from Spain to Australia in February 2024. The cost was minimal: 49.54 AUD on a 10,662.46 AUD transfer, and the money landed in my Australian account four minutes after I logged in to set it up. The timestamped screenshots are below.

2. XE

XE is a dedicated foreign-exchange specialist, and that focus shows. It handles transfers to and from more than 190 countries, with a straightforward app and consistently positive user reviews. If you want a reliable option that does one thing well, XE is a strong pick.

3. Xoom

Xoom (a PayPal service) is fast, even when paying from a bank account, and reaches over 160 countries. You can send from $10 up to $50,000 per day and pay by linked bank account, debit or credit card, or your PayPal balance, though card fees can run high. Larger transfers require a verified advanced account.

Seven Ways to Transfer Money Overseas

There are seven common methods for moving money across borders. Here’s when each tends to make sense.

• Bank-to-bank. You instruct your bank to transfer funds to the recipient’s bank account.
• International transfer service. You pay the service in your home currency, and it deposits the agreed amount into the recipient’s local account.
• Digital banking services. Neobanks like N26 and Revolut offer low-cost currency exchange and, in some cases, fee-free international withdrawals.
• International wire transfers. These send money to an account, a mobile wallet, or an office for cash collection.
• Multi-currency debit cards. Load a Visa or Mastercard with your home currency, then withdraw foreign currency from an ATM abroad.
• International platforms. Buying from a foreign Amazon seller or hiring through Upwork builds the currency exchange into the transaction.
• Cryptocurrency transfers. Convert crypto into local currency across borders and banking systems.

Using Cryptocurrency to Transfer Money Internationally

Over the past several years, cryptocurrencies have become a popular way to send money across borders. They can be faster and cheaper than traditional services because the whole process runs online, cutting out much of the overhead that banks and remittance companies carry.

There are no upper or lower limits on how much you can send, which is part of the appeal: crypto is designed to operate beyond borders and banking hours. The catch is that the money has to be exchanged twice, once when you buy the crypto and again when your recipient converts it back into their local currency. Some platforms, like Coinbase, don’t charge fees for transfers between users on the same platform.

Exchange rates work differently here too. Traditional services can lock in a rate; crypto can’t. In practice, though, neither sender nor receiver usually holds the currency for long during a transfer, so you’re unlikely to see a dramatic swing in the rate between sending and receiving.

The main drawback is the learning curve. If you’ve never used crypto, expect to do some research before your first transfer. Compare the current crypto exchange rates against a traditional service first, so you know whether you’re actually saving money.

The risks are real: crypto values can move sharply, the market is largely unregulated, and a single user error, like sending to the wrong wallet address, can cost you the full amount with no way to recover it. Understand how to manage these before you rely on crypto for a transfer.

Neobanks and Digital Banks

The definition of a bank is shifting. A “bank” with no branches can now offer the full package, and if you’re moving abroad it’s worth looking at these before you open an account at a local bank in your new country. They suit anyone who travels or earns across borders: freelancers, remote workers, and digital nomads in particular.

Here are two established, highly rated options.

N26 (licensed in Germany)

N26 gives you a current account, a business account, an overdraft option, and investment products, along with a Debit Mastercard (and a Maestro card in some countries). You get a European BIC and IBAN, and the account holds a full German banking licence with deposit protection up to 100,000 EUR under the EU guarantee scheme.

N26 operates across the EU and several other European countries, including Germany, Austria, Ireland, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Portugal. It closed all US accounts in January 2022 and is no longer available there, and the UK is excluded following Brexit.

International transfers are handled through the Wise network and are often fee-free, and the card offers free or low-cost foreign-currency withdrawals depending on your plan. Premium accounts add perks like international travel insurance.

Revolut (a licensed bank in the EU and UK)

Revolut offers a similar service to N26 and operates in more countries, including Australia, New Zealand, the US, and the UK. It has held an EU banking licence through Lithuania since 2018 and became a fully licensed UK bank in 2026.

The card opens up a wider range of services: you can buy gold, hold a handful of major cryptocurrencies, and exchange currency quickly. Revolut lets you transfer money in more than 30 currencies at the interbank rate, with free exchange up to a monthly fair-usage limit and a small fee above it. Rates can differ on weekends and for some currencies, so check before a large transfer.

Choosing the Right Service for You

The best service depends on how much you’re sending, how fast you need it, and where it’s going. Here’s how the four we rate most stack up, including the drawbacks worth knowing before you commit.

Wise

Best for: most everyday transfers, and anyone who wants to hold money in multiple currencies. Wise gives you a multi-currency account holding balances in over 50 currencies, the mid-market exchange rate, and low upfront fees. Sign-up is free with no minimum balance, and the app is genuinely easy to use.

Worth knowing: there’s a maximum transfer limit (high, but it can matter for large business transfers), and Wise occasionally freezes accounts or cancels transactions for security and compliance reasons, which can catch users off guard. Because it routes through local exchanges to keep costs down, a transfer can also occasionally take longer than expected.

XE

Best for: reliable bank-to-bank transfers across a wide range of countries. XE is a dedicated foreign-exchange specialist covering more than 190 countries, with decades of experience and a transparent calculator that shows the rate and fees before you send.

Worth knowing: XE does foreign exchange and nothing else, so there are no broader financial services, and it generally doesn’t offer cash pickup. Its cost sits mainly in the exchange-rate markup rather than upfront fees, so compare the final payout amount.

OFX

Best for: larger transfers, where its rates become competitive. OFX charges no transfer fee, has no maximum limit, and is a well-established, publicly listed, regulated company, which adds a layer of oversight.

Worth knowing: OFX requires a phone call to verify your account at sign-up, which is slower than the ID-upload process most competitors use. There’s a minimum transfer of A$250, you can only fund transfers from a bank account, and delivery typically takes three to five business days, so it’s not the choice when you need money to arrive today.

Western Union

Best for: reaching countries other services don’t, and for cash pickup through its large agent network. Western Union operates in over 200 countries with multiple ways to send, and round-the-clock support.

Worth knowing: it’s generally more expensive than online-first services, and cash pickups in particular come with weaker exchange rates. The available channels vary by country, and the fees and exchange-rate margins aren’t always transparent, so check the final cost carefully.

Service	Best for	Watch out for
Wise	Most everyday transfers; holding multiple currencies	Account can be frozen for compliance checks; has a maximum limit
XE	Reliable bank-to-bank transfers to many countries	FX only, no other services; cost sits in the rate markup
OFX	Larger transfers, where its rates get competitive	A$250 minimum; phone verification; 3 to 5 business days
Western Union	Reaching countries others don’t; cash pickup	More expensive; weak cash-pickup rates; fees not always clear

How Real People Manage Money Across Borders

These examples are based on people we know and how they handle their finances across countries.

Phil, a UK retiree in Spain

Phil sold the family home and retired to Spain with his wife, investing the proceeds in income-producing UK assets.

• UK banking and investment income: UK high-street bank and UK broker
• Day-to-day banking in Spain: Spanish high-street bank
• Moving money from the UK to Spain: Wise, as needed
• Sending money to friends and family in the UK and US: has used Wise, PayPal, and Western Union

Bruce, an Australian property investor in Spain

Bruce lives in Spain with his wife and two children on a non-lucrative visa, supported by income from Australian property.

• Australian banking, rental income, and mortgages: Australian high-street bank
• Day-to-day banking and travel spending in Spain: N26 Metal account
• Moving money from Australia to Spain: monthly transfer via Wise

Donna, an American digital nomad

Donna spends six to eight weeks in a country at a time, favoring digital-nomad hubs in Europe and Asia. She’s a freelance writer who works through Upwork.

• Day-to-day banking and travel spending: Revolut Premium account
• Income: paid directly from Upwork into her Revolut account
• Has used MoneyGram to send emergency cash to Honduras

Jacqueline, a South African crypto trader in Portugal

Jacqueline trades crypto full-time. She holds a Portugal Golden Visa obtained through an Algarve apartment purchase in 2019. Note that Portugal closed the property-investment route to the Golden Visa in October 2023, so buying property is no longer a way to qualify for new applicants.

• Day-to-day banking: N26 Metal account
• Payments and travel spending: Binance debit card
• Moving money between Portugal and South Africa: direct crypto transfers with family and friends

Jürgen, a remote worker in Mauritius

Jürgen lives in Mauritius on a Premium Travel Visa and works full-time, remotely, for a German company that pays him in Germany.

• Salary and day-to-day German banking: N26 Premium account
• Day-to-day banking in Mauritius: Mauritius high-street bank
• Moving money from Germany to Mauritius: N26 international transfer

Risks to Watch For

The services here are all safe and regulated, but it’s still worth knowing where things can go wrong.

Exchange rates. Most services lock in your rate when you get a quote. Where you can, it’s cheapest to send in the currency of the receiving account to avoid an extra conversion. Watch for services that advertise low transfer fees and then make it back on a wide exchange-rate margin.

Scammers. Never transfer money to someone you don’t know, and treat anything “free” or unexpected as a warning sign. Scammers favor money transfers because once the money leaves your account, it’s very hard to get back. Scams come by email, text, fake websites, and phone calls, and they’re getting more convincing. If you think you’ve been targeted, contact the police as soon as you can.

Transfer limits. Some services suit large transfers, others small ones. Check the limits before you commit, especially if you’ll be sending regularly, so you don’t discover a minimum or a cap at the last minute.

Delays. Even established companies have delays, and they’re not always the company’s fault. Ask upfront what the provider’s policy is if a transfer is held up.

How Exchange Rates and Hidden Fees Work

Exchange rates are the biggest hidden cost in international transfers. Most rates are quoted against stable currencies like the US dollar, euro, pound, or Swiss franc, and they’re based on the mid-market rate, the rate big banks use to trade with each other.

When you send money through a transfer service or bank, they usually start from the mid-market rate and add a markup. Many don’t show this markup, which is what makes it a hidden cost: you can pay more than the headline fee suggested. The way to see through it is to ignore the advertised fee and look at the final payout amount, what your recipient actually receives, and compare services on that figure alone.

Two other fees can appear on bank transfers in particular:

Correspondent fees. International bank transfers often pass through the SWIFT network. When the sending bank has no branch in the destination country, it routes the money through a correspondent bank, which can deduct its own fee along the way. This happens without your input and is hard to predict, which is one reason transparent online services often work out cheaper than a bank wire.

Recipient fees. Some receiving banks charge the recipient a fee to accept an incoming transfer. Worth checking with them before you send, so the amount that arrives isn’t a surprise.

What You Need for an International Bank Transfer

Sending money through a bank is one option, though often not the cheapest. If you’re arranging a bank wire, have your recipient’s banking details ready:

• The receiving bank’s full name and address
• The recipient’s full name and address (some banks won’t accept a PO box)
• The account number, or the IBAN (International Bank Account Number), which your recipient can get from their bank or online account
• The receiving bank’s SWIFT/BIC code, a unique identifier for that bank. It’s on bank statements, or available by asking the bank directly.
• A reason for the transfer. Banks often ask for a short explanation, like “work expenses,” as part of their anti-money-laundering checks.

Common Reasons for Sending Money Abroad

Cheaper travel, remote work, and a more connected world mean there are plenty of reasons you might need money in another country. Common ones include:

• Converting your own money to spend while living or traveling abroad
• Sending money to friends or family in another country
• Buying something priced in a foreign currency, from a book to a house
• Making mortgage payments on a property overseas
• Investing abroad in a business, property, or other assets
• Paying for services, such as overseas study fees or a destination wedding
• Paying a freelancer or a foreign company for work

The most common destinations for money sent from the US, by volume, are Mexico, China, India, Germany, France, South Korea, the United Kingdom, Japan, Italy, and Australia.

Glossary

Forex (FX). Short for foreign exchange.

Forex spread. The difference between the buy (ask) and sell (bid) price of a currency. The wider the spread, the more a transaction costs you.

IBAN. International Bank Account Number, a standardized code that identifies an individual bank account for international transfers.

Mid-market rate. The midpoint between the buy and sell rates for a currency, and the rate banks use when trading with each other. It’s the fairest reference rate, and the one to compare a service’s quote against.

Spot rate. The exchange rate quoted for immediate settlement.

SWIFT/BIC. Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication. A unique code identifying a specific bank, used to route international transfers.

Wire transfer. An electronic transfer of funds from one account to another.

FAQs

What’s the cheapest way to transfer money internationally?

It depends on the amount and destination, but three options consistently come out low-cost. Wise charges the mid-market rate with a small upfront fee. OFX charges no transfer fee and is competitive on larger amounts. And if your recipient is happy to receive crypto, a crypto transfer can carry only a small fee, though you take on the currency’s price risk.

Can I use PayPal to send money internationally?

Yes. PayPal supports transfers to around 200 countries, though it isn’t available everywhere, and fees vary by destination. Both you and the recipient need a PayPal account. It’s easy to use, but rarely the cheapest option once you account for its exchange-rate markup.

How long does an international transfer take?

Anywhere from a few minutes to several days. It depends on the service, how you pay, and the destination. Weekends and public holidays add time, since banks aren’t processing transfers then.

How do I avoid a wire transfer fee?

Some banks charge for both incoming and outgoing wires. To avoid it, use a low-cost online transfer service instead of a bank wire, or check whether your bank waives the fee on certain account types.

Is Wise a reputable company?

Yes. Wise (formerly TransferWise) launched in 2011 and now serves tens of millions of customers worldwide, processing well over £100 billion in cross-border transfers a year. It’s regulated in every market where it operates, including by the FCA in the UK and FinCEN in the US, and holds an “Excellent” rating on Trustpilot.

What’s the minimum amount I can transfer internationally?

It varies by service, from nothing to several thousand dollars. Check the minimum for the service you choose before you commit.

What do I need to send money internationally?

Typically: an account with a bank or transfer service, enough funds to cover the transfer and any fees, your own basic details (name, address, contact), the recipient’s bank details, and government-issued ID for verification. You may also be asked the purpose of the transfer.

The Bottom Line

The right way to send money abroad comes down to your specific transfer: the amount, the destination, and whether speed or cost matters more. For most people, comparing two or three services on the final payout amount, the figure the recipient actually receives, is the single best habit to get into. Run the same transfer through Wise and one alternative, and the cheaper option is usually obvious within a minute.