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MoneyTransfers aims to help users find the best money transfer provider for their needs. To support our free service, we may earn a commission from some of the providers listed in our search results. The commission may also impact the ordering of the providers shown. Our reviews are independent from this and are based on our research and testing of dozens of remittance providers on the market.
Table of contents
The cheapest way to send money overseas from Australia comes down to two things, where you're sending and how much.
There's no single cheapest provider for everyone.
The company that's unbeatable sending A$500 to the Philippines isn't the one you want for a A$300,000 house deposit.
This is why we suggest running a live search using the form below.
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At a glance
Here are the cheapest options in Australia for the most common transfers:
Wise for everyday transfers to Asia, like India, the Philippines and Vietnam
OrbitRemit for the Pacific, like Fiji, Tonga and Samoa
Revolut for travelling and spending abroad
OFX for large one-off transfers, like a house deposit or an inheritance
Key Currency for regular payments, like a pension or mortgage abroad
MoneyGram for urgent cash pickup
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.
"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."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"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."
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.
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.
"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.
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.
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.
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 an 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.
OFX is ASIC-licensed (AFSL 226484) and AUSTRAC-registered, with client money held in segregated accounts rather than FCS-protected.
"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."
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:
AUD
Corridor
They get (after fees)
Fee
FX Rate
No results, please ensure you have currencies selected
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.
"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."
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:
AUD
Corridor
They get (after fees)
Fee
FX Rate
No results, please ensure you have currencies selected
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.
"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."
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.
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.
Paying in
Bank transfer is almost always the cheapest, and with PayID it's instant.
Cards are handy but can carry a fee, and credit cards are best avoided since your bank may treat the transfer as a cash advance.
Paying in
Typical cost
Speed
Best for
Bank transfer (PayID / Osko)
Free
Instant, 24/7
Almost everyone
Bank transfer (BSB)
Free
Same to next day
Standard funding
Debit card
Free to small fee
Instant
Convenience
Credit card
~2-3% plus cash advance
Instant
Best avoided
Paying out
Bank deposits are usually cheapest.
Mobile wallets are cheap and fast where they're common, like GCash in the Philippines or M-PAiSA in Fiji.
Cash pickup and home delivery cost the most, so use them only when the recipient needs cash.
Paying out
Typical cost
Speed
Best for
Bank deposit
Cheapest
Minutes to 2 days
Recipients with a bank account
Mobile wallet
Low
Minutes to hours
Philippines, Fiji, Africa routes
Cash pickup
High
Minutes
Recipients with no bank account
Home delivery
Highest
1 to 2 days
Recipients who can't reach an agent
Find the cheapest deal on AUD transfers
Our live comparison shows the cheapest way to pay in and out for your specific transfer.
Other ways to pay less
Watch for new-customer offers
Many providers run a fee-free first transfer or a better rate to win you over.
This is great for one-off transfers, but can be more expensive beyond that.
Hold currency in a multi-currency account
If you send or spend the same currency often, convert once when the rate looks good and hold it, rather than converting fresh every time.
Many apps like Wise and Revolut can automate this process for you.
Send peer-to-peer on the same app
If you and the recipient both use Wise, or both use Revolut, you can send between each other instantly and for free.
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.
Find the cheapest deal on AUD transfers
Our live search will find you the cheapest way to send AUD abroad right now.
Our methodology & why trust us
Every company on this page is regulated and safe to use.
Each one is registered with AUSTRAC and licensed by ASIC, or operates here as a licensed bank. You can check any of them yourself on the AUSTRAC and ASIC registers.
To choose the providers, we combined two things:
Live pricing from our comparison engine
Real test transfers and hands-on testing of each app and service
We then scored each provider on fees and rates, transfer speed, safety, product offering, limits, ease of use, and customer feedback.
From there, we matched the cheapest option to each type of transfer.
The best pick for a A$500 transfer to the Philippines isn't the one you want for a A$300,000 house deposit, so one generic ranking wouldn't help you.
This page is updated weekly with the latest rates and fees.
Artiom is a marketing graduate from the University of Portsmouth and has been working across personal finance and remittance industries for several years. He optimises the organic experience on MoneyTransfers.com with the content team, manages and creates unique marketing tactics, and generally supports the overall growth of the website.
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