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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
If someone overseas is sending you a large sum, the exchange rate matters far more than the fee.
On A$200,000, a 2% difference in the rate is A$4,000, while a fixed fee of A$20 next to that is nothing.
That is pretty much the difference between using one of the big four banks and someone like Wise.
The best ways to do that are a currency broker or a multi-currency account. But which one, really depends on the amounts and countries involved.
This is why I suggest running a live search using the form below to get the best deal today.
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At a glance
Here are the best ways to receive large amounts of money from overseas in Australia:
Key Currency: the lowest margin in our data for large sums, with a dedicated dealer
OFX: the trusted Australian name, ASX-listed, with dealers you can call
TorFX: best for locking in a rate ahead of a settlement or payout
Wise: best for holding the money in a foreign currency and converting yourself
Revolut: best if you want deposit protection once the money is in AUD
Best ways to receive large amounts in Australia
For large transfers, there are 3 main ways to receive money in Australia:
Method
Best for
Not great for
Offered by
Currency broker
Large one-offs, best rate, a person to guide you
Small transfers, holding foreign currency
OFX, TorFX, Key Currency, Regency FX
Multi-currency account
Holding a currency and converting yourself
An account manager to talk to on big sums
Wise, Revolut
Bank deposit (via a transfer company)
Money landing straight in your account
Holding foreign currency
Most providers
Currency broker
For a large amount, a currency broker is usually the best way to receive money in Australia.
A broker has the networks and buyers to move big amounts, and they get a cut on getting you set up, so you get real attention and a better rate than a bank will give you.
You also get a real person to deal with, not just an app, and you can lock in today's rate so a moving market doesn't eat into the money before it arrives.
Two brokers stand out for receiving into Australia:
OFX, which is Australian and ASX-listed
TorFX, which has run an Australian office since 2014
Both have account managers to manage transfers, handle big amounts as standard, and can guide you through a one-off, like a property sale or an inheritance landing from overseas.
A broker isn't a bank, so there's no FCS deposit protection here.
But your money isn't meant to sit with them, it is converted and paid straight out to your own bank account, and they're regulated in Australia by ASIC and AUSTRAC with client funds kept separate.
Expecting a large payment?
Tell your bank before it arrives.
Large or one-off transfers can trigger source-of-funds checks, and a heads-up keeps things moving.
It helps to have your paperwork ready too, like a sale contract or inheritance documents.
Good if...
You're receiving a large one-off, like a property sale or inheritance
You want a person to guide you, and to lock in a rate
You want the best rate on a big sum
Find an alternative if…
You're receiving a small amount where the rate barely matters
You'd rather hold the money in a foreign currency yourself
You need to collect cash
Multi-currency account
A multi-currency account lets you receive money in a foreign currency and hold it, instead of converting the moment it lands.
You get your own local account details in different currencies.
So someone in the UK pays you to a local UK account and sort code, and the pounds land with you to convert when you choose.
You'd typically get details like:
A UK sort code and account number for pounds
A US routing and account number for dollars
An IBAN for euros
Receiving is usually free, you only pay when you convert to Australian dollars, and that's often close to the mid-market rate with a small fee.
It’s a good option, since you can wait for a better rate, or split the conversion, rather than take whatever rate applies on the day it arrives.
The trade off is that you need to handle everything yourself. I think I would be paranoid handling half a million myself and would rather let a currency broker do it for me.
Also, some accounts cap how much you can hold or convert at once.
Good if...
You want to hold a currency and convert on your own timing
You get paid in foreign currency often
You don’t mind handling the transfer yourself
Find an alternative if…
You want an account manager to guide you
You want the money straight into your bank
You want protection on a foreign-currency balance
Bank deposit via money transfer app
Receiving into your everyday Australian bank account is the most common way, and for a large sum it's fine, as long as the sender uses the right method.
What matters is how the money reaches you.
Local rails
Transfer companies like Wise and OFX hold their own bank accounts inside Australia.
The sender pays them abroad, and they pay you from a local Australian account over PayID or a normal bank transfer.
This skips the international banking chain, so it's cheaper and faster.
International wire (SWIFT)
This is the traditional bank route.
The money hops through a chain of banks across the world, and each one can take a fee and add a delay.
If the sender uses their bank to move a large sum, this is usually how it travels.
If a foreign-currency wire lands at your Australian bank, the bank converts it to dollars at its own rate.
On A$200,000 that markup can be thousands.
This is the biggest reason to have the sender use a transfer company or broker instead.
There's no legal cap on what you can receive into an Australian account.
But a large or unexpected wire can be paused by your bank for source-of-funds checks, which is normal and clears once you answer.
Good if...
The sender is using a money transfer company
You want the money straight into your account
You don't need to hold foreign currency
Find an alternative if…
You want to hold a foreign currency yourself
You want an account manager to guide you
The sender can only send a bank wire
What about cash pickup, wallets and cards?
These exist for receiving money, but none are built for large amounts.
Cash pickup and delivery (Western Union, MoneyGram, Ria) are for fast, small transfers, usually with low caps and cost a bit more.
A digital wallet like PayPal is for online payments, not big international sums, and converts at a poor rate.
Receiving to your debit card is quick but capped low and pricier for the sender.
You can in theory receive a large amount of money from overseas using a debit card, but most companies pay additional fees to Visa/Mastercard.
This would cost them a small fortune, so many remove cards as delivery options above a certain amount.
For a large sum, stick to a broker, a multi-currency account, or a bank deposit from a transfer company.
Best providers for receiving large amounts
Here are the providers I'd look at for a large transfer into Australia.
"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."
"TorFX's 5-star service handles most currency needs, especially relating to overseas property, emigration & retirement. Friendly phone support, no-obligation conversations & no max transfer limit."
"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."
"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."
"Regency's UK-based account management team has vast experience. Get support on all kinds of transfers, from overseas property transactions to business payments & more."
"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.
AU based
OFX
OFX is Australian, based in Sydney and ASX-listed, and built specifically to handle large transfers.
OFX gives you an account manager to call, and is regulated here by ASIC (AFSL 226484) and AUSTRAC.
There's no transfer fee on larger amounts, so the cost is in the rate, which on large sums is competitive at 0.5% on transfers over AED 18,365.
You can also lock a rate with a forward contract if your money is arriving later, like a property settlement.
In my opinion it’s one of the better options in the AU simply because of the location. There’s no time-zones mismatch, their offices are located in the AU, and their expertise is closer to the AU market.
TorFX has run an Australian office since 2014, with ASIC cover (AFSL 246838) and an account manager model much like OFX.
Where it stands out is planning ahead.
If your large sum is arriving in a few months, you can fix today's rate with a forward contract, so a falling market doesn't cost you before the money lands.
Handy for a settlement date or a scheduled inheritance payout.
There are no fees on large transfers, with the main cost worked into the exchange rate (0.25% on transfers over AED 367,250).
Wise isn't a broker, there's no account manager and no rate lock.
But instead, you get to control the entire process at low cost. There is no markup on the interbank rate, but the fee is variable and depends on how much you are sending (with volume discounts added).
With Wise you get local accounts. These accounts give you local account details like BSB and account number for AU, sort code and account number for the UK, and similar for US, EU, etc.
Sender will send you the transfer to these details, bypassing all global rails like SWIFT (making it faster and cheaper).
You can hold the money in that currency and convert it whenever you need to.
This is where it’s better than currency brokers above. You get to handle the entire process.
Well, this is the benefit and the drawback… you need to control the entire transfer and if something goes wrong there’s not much you can do in terms of support.
In my opinion, it is good for medium-large transfers, something around 10k-20k AUD. For anything above, I would stick with a broker.
Revolut became a licensed bank in Australia on 21 July 2026.
This means the AUD you hold are now FCS-protected up to A$250,000.
However, international balances are not covered by the FCS protection.
The rollout is gradual (existing accounts are being moved over to the proper bank accounts), but new users will get proper banking accounts from day one.
This is big, since Revolut comes with a multi-currency account, and local account details.
Meaning you can receive any of the supported currencies like a local and then convert it to AUD whenever the rate is suitable for you.
You can also receive AUD directly if you want as well.
The biggest downside is the cost. On a standard plan you have a 1,000 AUD free conversion limit, after which it adds 1% on top, as well as you get charged extra 1% on the weekends, and there is a small conversion fee depending on the amount.
So the Revolut standard plan is not suitable for large conversions.
But there is a way around it (that’s how I did it in the past):
You’ll want to receive money in the local currency, not AUD
Whenever you need your money (can be now or in the future) you’ll want to upgrade to the Metal plan (for 28.99 AUD)
Metal plan has no limits on conversions and there’s no weekend charge
Do the conversion to AUD
Downgrade your account (or leave it since it comes with a lot of perks)
Once you have the AUD in your account, you can keep it in Revolut, withdraw it to your main bank, or put it into a savings account.
And yes I know it sounds like more steps compared to Wise, but this way you’d save a few hundred AUD on fees.
For example, receiving 100k AUD from the UK with Wise would cost you ~£134 in fees, with Revolut it would cost you 28.99 AUD. And your final AUD balance will be FCS protected.
In my opinion it's one of the best use cases of their higher plans compared to other options, where it can actually result in more money compared to other options.
When receiving money, you don’t actually pay anything. Instead, it’s either the sender that will pay or the fees will be taken off the final receive amount (this is the most common way).
There are two things that will affect how much you receive:
The exchange rate markup, a percentage on top of the mid-market rate
The fee, a fixed or variable charge from the company for the service
This only applies when a currency is converted. If someone sends you Australian dollars, or you hold a foreign currency without converting, there's no markup to pay (and usually no fees).
How the money arrives
Who controls the conversion
Cost
Foreign wire into an AU bank
The bank, automatically on arrival
Highest markup and fees
Bank or card deposit from a money transfer company
The transfer company
Small markup and small fee
Currency broker
You, locked in with an account manager
A markup on large sums, usually no fees
Multi-currency account
You, when you choose to convert
Small markup and small fee
Sending money to yourself?
If you're moving your own money to Australia, say you're migrating or bringing savings across, it's simpler because you control both ends.
For convenience, a multi-currency account like Wise or Revolut would be the easiest option here.
Since you can time when you send and how you want to receive.
And if it's already in Australian dollars, a normal bank transfer is all you need.
How to receive a large transfer
Most of the work is on the sender, so there isn’t much you need to do.
From your end, you can make the process a bit simpler:
Agree the provider and method with the sender
Give them the right details for that method
Tell your bank a large payment is coming
Have your paperwork ready, like a sale contract or inheritance documents
Check it's landed and matches what you expected
You don't need an account with the sender's provider to receive money.
If they use Wise and pay you by bank deposit, the money lands in your normal bank account with no Wise account needed.
You only need your own account set up if you're receiving into a multi-currency account.
How long does it take to receive a large amount
Large transfers will almost always be done via bank transfer, which can take anywhere from a few minutes to five working days.
Method
Typical time to arrive
Local rails (PayID, bank transfer)
Instant - 5 working days
Multi-currency, paid in foreign currency
Minutes - 5 days
International wire (SWIFT)
1 - 5 working days
Most large transfers will trigger some sort of checks on the sender or your end. This has nothing to do with the rails or the provider.
Most of the time it will be theirs or your bank. Usually it is things like AML checks and identity verification.
Once you or the sender confirm the details, the transfer will clear.
How much can you receive, and what gets checked
There's no legal cap on how much you can receive into an Australian account.
Every international transfer into Australia is reported to AUSTRAC, the financial regulator.
This is automatic and happens on all sizes, not just large ones.
Your bank or provider may also ask where the money came from and why, and can hold it until you answer.
What about bringing cash in?
This comes with its own set of rules and regulations.
If you carry A$10,000 or more in physical cash into Australia, you must declare it at the border.
This is only for cash carried in person, not money transferred electronically.
Tax on large amounts received in Australia
Inheritance, gifts, and estate duty
Australia has no inheritance tax, no estate duty and no gift tax.
So a real gift or an inheritance from overseas generally isn't taxed simply for receiving it, and there's usually nothing to declare just for the transfer landing.
Income
If the money is payment for work, freelance fees, rent from an overseas property, or investment returns, it likely goes on your tax return.
Capital gains
A gift or inheritance isn't taxed on arrival.
But if you later sell an asset you were given, like a property or shares, capital gains tax can apply at that point.
Foreign income
If you're a resident Australian tax residents are generally taxed on worldwide income.
So ongoing foreign earnings, as opposed to one-off gifts, can be taxable.
Even where there's no tax, keep proof of what the money was, especially for a large gift or inheritance.
The ATO can ask, and a clear paper trail settles it quickly.
General information only, not tax advice.
Whether you owe tax depends on your own circumstances.
For anything significant, check with the ATO or a registered tax agent.
Regardless of how you choose to receive money in Australia, we always suggest running a quick search to get the best deal today.
Use the small arrows toggle in the form below to switch to the “receiving side” and enter how much you want to receive from abroad.
This will tell you who is the cheapest, fastest, and easiest to get it done right now.
Get the best deal on transfers to Australia
Use the little arrows icon to switch to "receiving" end, and add enter how much you want to receive and where from.
Our methodology & why trust us
For a page about large amounts, we weighted the exchange rate margin, limits, support, and account managers experience and knowledge.
Every provider we recommend can be used from Australia on a basis we can state honestly.
That means an ASIC licence (AFSL) and AUSTRAC registration, or for the currency brokers, a regulated basis we're upfront about.
We don't recommend a provider we wouldn't use ourselves.
Commercial deals never change our ratings or what we write.
Since FX rates are volatile, we update this page weekly.
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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