Cheapest way to send money overseas from Australia

The cheapest ways to send money abroad

There is no single cheapest option for everyone, because too many factors affect the price.

I always suggest running a live search to get the best deal today.

However, the companies below are consistently cheap within their use case.

Sending money home to Asia

9.2

Wise

Fees

0.1% - 2.6%

Exchange Rate Markup

0%

Exchange Rate

Minutes - 24 hours

Visit

"Over 15 million customers use Wise, mostly for their excellent mobile app, transparent fee structure & use of mid-market rates. Now increasingly used for larger transfers."

Travelling and spending abroad

8.8

Revolut

Fees

0.3% - 1%

Exchange Rate Markup

0.1% - 0.6%

Exchange Rate

Minutes - 5 days

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"Revolut has 70+ million customers globally. You can hold up to 25+ currencies in the app and send money quickly in 25+ currencies to 140+ countries."

US Disclaimer: Revolut is not a bank. Banking services are provided by Lead Bank, Member FDIC. Fees may apply. See revolut.com/en-US/ for details.

Sending money home to the Pacific

7.1

Orbit Remit Read Review

Fees

None

Exchange Rate Markup

0.7% - 2%

Exchange Rate

Minutes - 3 days

Visit

Large one-off transfers

8.5

OFX

Fees

None

Exchange Rate Markup

0.4% - 1.5%

Exchange Rate

Minutes - 24 hours

Visit

"OFX have been helping individuals and businesses send money for over 25 years. Transfer in 50+ currencies to 170+ countries, with 24/7 phone access to currency experts."

Frequent large payments abroad

8.6

Key Currency

Fees

None

Exchange Rate Markup

0.2% - 2%

Exchange Rate

Minutes - 3 days

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"Key Currency offers a personal service with a dedicated account manager. There are no transfer limits or fees which is perfect for larger send amounts."

Urgent transfers and cash pickup

7.1

MoneyGram

Fees

1% - 3%

Exchange Rate Markup

2 - 4%

Exchange Rate

Minutes - 24 hours

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"Moneygram is a well established service with over 80 years in the sector. They support over 200 countries worldwide and have over 440,000 retail locations."

Cheapest B2B transfers in Australia

Cheapest B2B transfers

9.2

Wise

Transfer Fees

From 0.33%

Exchange Rate Markup

0%

Transfer Speed

1 - 3 days

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"Wise Business is used by 300,000+ businesses each year. Easy integrations with Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent and more are available."

Wise

Wise is cheapest way to send money home to Asia.

Based on our analysis, Wise is the cheapest option for most Asia related corridors.

You get the mid-market rate, the one you see on Google, with a small fee from 0.63% on top:

Wise is generally the cheapest option, but Instarem often runs promos making it a bit cheaper on specific amounts, especially to India.

This is why we suggest running a live search, to see who's the cheapest today.

Wise only pays out to bank accounts, there are no UPI or mobile wallet options (Instarem is better in this regard).

Wise isn't a bank, so your balance isn't FCS-protected.

It's AUSTRAC-registered and ASIC-licensed (AFSL 513764), with money held in segregated accounts.

Revolut

Revolut is cheapest option for travelling and spending abroad.

If you're spending overseas, the cost usually isn't a transfer fee, it's the exchange rate on your card and the ATM conversion fees.

The big four bank cards add a foreign transaction fee of around 3% every time you pay in another currency. On a A$3,000 trip that's about 90 AUD gone before you've bought anything.

With Revolut however, you get local accounts where you can hold balances. For example, EUR balance for Europe, CAD for Canada, GBP for the UK, etc… And you get 30+ of these currency accounts.

You can either spend directly from your AUD balance (and it will be converted at Revoluts rates and fees) or pre-convert beforehand when the rate is good.

In terms of fees, on a standard plan you can convert up to 1,000 AUD/month at the interbank exchange rate, and a small fee on some currencies.

Beyond that, you get charged 1% on top, and on the weekends you get charged an additional 1%.

But once you convert AUD to your needed currency, there are no more charges afterwards.

Here are a few examples:

Since July 2026 Revolut has been a licensed bank in Australia. So your AUD balance (not foreign) is now FCS-protected up to A$250,000, the same protection you get at a big four bank.

This is what sets it apart from other multi-currency accounts like Wises card.

OrbitRemit

OrbitRemit is cheapest way to send money home to Pacific.

Places like Fiji, Tonga and Samoa cost more to send to, whoever you use.

The payout networks there are limited, so fees are naturally higher across all providers (including banks).

Money transfer companies are still better than a bank branch though.

Based on our analysis, OrbitRemit will get you the most here.

OrbitRemit pays out to mobile wallets like M-PAiSA in Fiji, so your recipient doesn't need a bank account, and it does cash pickup and bank deposit across the region.

For cash in hand specifically, MoneyGram and Western Union have wider agent networks across the Pacific.

OrbitRemit is AUSTRAC-registered and holds an ASIC AFSL, with funds held in segregated accounts rather than FCS-protected.

7.1

Orbit Remit Read Review

Fees

None

Exchange Rate Markup

0.7% - 2%

Transfer Speed

Minutes - 3 days

Visit

OFX

OFX is the cheapest option for one-off large transfers.

For a big one-off transfer, like a house deposit abroad, an inheritance, or moving your savings overseas, the exchange rate markup is what affects the cost the most, not the fees.

On a A$250,000 transfer, a 0.5% difference in the rate is A$1,250.

This is why currency brokers are usually better for large transfers. They will negotiate the best deal for you, since it's in their interests for you to use them.

With OFX you can expect to get the following:

There are no upper limits when you deal through an account manager, so a single large transfer isn't a problem the way it can be on a money transfer app.

The account managers will help you with timing your transfer, answering any questions, finding you the best rate, and taking care of the process.

You can also lock today's rate with a forward contract for up to 12 months. So if there's a gap between agreeing a price and paying, a move in the dollar can't cost you.

If you're unsure, start with a A$1-2 test transfer to get the feel before you commit.

However, if you want to receive large amounts of money from overseas in Australia, you can either use Wise's multi-currency account, or ask your sender to use the broker and get it paid into your bank account directly.

OFX is ASIC-licensed (AFSL 226484) and AUSTRAC-registered, with client money held in segregated accounts rather than FCS-protected.

Key Currency

Key Currency is the cheapest way to send frequent large payments home.

Some transfers aren't one big lump sum, they're the same amount every month for years, for example a pension paid overseas, a mortgage back home, or funding a child studying abroad.

This is where the fee and the rate matter the most, because you pay them every single time.

A bank charging a flat fee plus a 2-4% margin on each payment can quietly cost you over A$1,000 a year.

And because the rate moves daily, the amount you receive each month changes, which makes budgeting harder than it needs to be.

A broker like Key Currency can hold a steady rate across regular payments, so your money arrives as a predictable amount each month rather than one that swings with the market.

Here are a few examples:

There's no transfer fee and no minimum, so smaller monthly amounts still work, and you deal with the same person each time (you get an account manager like you do with OFX).

You could do this yourself on Wise or Revolut, but you'd be repeating it manually every month.

To be clear, this helps with the currency side, moving your money over cheaply and predictably. It's not pension or tax advice, which is a job for a licensed adviser.

MoneyGram

MoneyGram is the cheapest option for urgent transfers and cash pickup.

Most cash transfers will arrive within minutes.

And the best company is the one that has most cash agents, most payout options, and is cheap.

This is where MoneyGram fits. Its strength is reach and speed, with cash pickup across a large agent network in 200+ countries, plus home delivery in many countries.

Based on our analysis, MoneyGram usually costs a bit less than Western Union for the same cash pickup, especially with their first transfer promos.

Here’s how MoneyGram compares to Western Union:

Cash pickup is never the cheapest way to send money, you're paying for speed and cash access.

If your recipient has a bank account and it isn't urgent, one of the app options above will cost less.

MoneyGram is AUSTRAC-registered and ASIC-licensed, with customer funds safeguarded.

Wise Business

Wise Business is the cheapest B2B company.

If your business pays overseas suppliers, contractors or staff, the cost stacks up fast across a lot of payments.

Wise Business gives you the mid-market rate with a fee from 0.63%, no monthly fee, and no hidden markup.

You can hold and receive 40+ currencies, open local account details to get paid like a local, and run batch payments to many recipients at once.

Just like with personal transfers, this is best for ongoing payments. For a one-off large business transfer, a broker like OFX is still better.

Wise Business is ASIC-licensed and AUSTRAC-registered, with funds held in segregated accounts rather than FCS-protected.

What changes the cost

Every international transfer comes down to the same few things:

• The rate and the fee

• Where you're sending

• How much you're sending

• How the money goes in and comes out

Rates and fees

There are two ways a provider charges you.

The exchange rate markup

The exchange rate markup is the gap between the real rate (the one on Google) and the rate you're actually given.

If the real rate is 1 = 100 but you get 1 = 98, that's a 2% markup.

Some providers show it, many don't, which is why it's called the hidden fee.

Transfer fees

The transfer fee is the upfront charge you always see, like A$4 to send.

Some charge it, some don't, and some skip the fee but increase the markup instead.

A "no fee" transfer isn't always the cheapest, since the exchange rate markup can carry much bigger cost.

Destination

Where you send is the biggest factor.

Popular routes from Australia like India, China and the Philippines are the cheapest, because so many providers compete for them.

Try somewhere less common, like the Pacific islands or parts of Africa, and it costs more, since fewer companies offer it.

Here are the cheapest ways to send money from Australia by destination:

Last updated at 09/09/2026

AUD INR

Mid Market Rate $1 = ₹68.3705

Transfer Amount $1,000

1

Wise

2

Revolut

3

OFX

4

MoneyGram

They get

Exchange rate

FX markup

Cheapest payment method

Transfer fee

₹68,034.61

68.3978

-0.04%

Bank Transfer

$5.31

Visit

₹68,012.11

68.1143

0.38%

Bank Transfer

$1.50

Visit

₹67,926.06

67.9261

0.65%

Bank Transfer

$0.00

Visit

₹67,833.40

67.8334

0.79%

Debit Card

$1.99

Visit

AUD PHP

Mid Market Rate $1 = ₱45.1622

Transfer Amount $1,000

1

Wise

2

Revolut

3

OFX

4

MoneyGram

They get

Exchange rate

FX markup

Cheapest payment method

Transfer fee

₱44,899.48

45.1655

-0.01%

Bank Transfer

$5.89

Visit

₱44,876.31

44.9437

0.48%

Bank Transfer

$1.50

Visit

₱44,868.62

44.8686

0.65%

Bank Transfer

$0.00

Visit

₱44,577.60

44.5776

1.30%

Debit Card

$1.49

Visit

AUD JPY

Mid Market Rate $1 = ¥110.7042

Transfer Amount $1,000

1

Revolut

2

Wise

3

OFX

4

MoneyGram

They get

Exchange rate

FX markup

Cheapest payment method

Transfer fee

¥110,165.00

110.3921

0.28%

Bank Transfer

$2.05

Visit

¥109,997.00

110.6990

0.00%

Bank Transfer

$6.34

Visit

¥109,984.65

109.9847

0.65%

Bank Transfer

$0.00

Visit

¥107,627.30

107.6273

2.82%

Debit Card

$3.99

Visit

AUD NPR

Mid Market Rate $1 = Rs 109.2442

Transfer Amount $4,000

1

Revolut

2

MoneyGram

3

Wise

4

OFX

They get

Exchange rate

FX markup

Cheapest payment method

Transfer fee

Rs 436,457.05

109.5525

-0.28%

Bank Transfer

$16.00

Visit

Rs 436,090.40

109.0226

0.20%

Debit Card

$1.49

Visit

Rs 433,900.00

110.2170

-0.89%

Bank Transfer

$63.22

Visit

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-

-

-

Visit

Amount

The amount changes how the fees scale.

On small transfers, a fixed fee bites hardest.

A 4 AUD fee on a A$50 transfer is 8% gone before any markup.

On large transfers the fees are less noticeable, but the rate markup is everything.

A 1% markup on A$50 is 50 cents. On A$50,000 it's A$500.

Paying in and paying out

How you fund the transfer, and how your recipient gets it, both affect the cost.

If you need your AUD delivered urgently, I've written a full guide on instant money transfers from Australia.

Other ways to pay less

Above all, compare before every send.

Every transfer is different, so a quick search takes under 30 seconds and almost always saves you something.

Use the form below to get the best money transfer deals today.