Here Are the Cheapest Ways To Send Money Internationally (Updated For July 2024)

It's the sad reality that, when sending money abroad in 2024, you will likely lose a significant amount to banks and other hungry corporations charging exorbitant and obscure fees. At Monito, we know this feeling all too well. That's why we've spent years comparing and reviewing transfer services globally. Using Monito's real-time comparison engine, you can dodge hidden fees and take back control by finding the cheapest way to transfer money internationally.

In this guide, we explore the seven services that offer the cheapest way to send money internationally for different types of transfers according to millions of search results on Monito. Then, we discuss some crucial tips to find the best way to transfer money internationally. If you want to skip ahead to find the best deal, then compare the cheapest providers with Monito's live comparison tool below 👇

7 Cheapest Ways For International Money Transfers

What’s The Cheapest Way to Send Money Overseas?

Here's our summary. The cheapest money transfer service will vary by:

1. the countries you're sending money between,
2. the amount you're sending,
3. the payment method you're using
4. the receiving method your recipient is using.

Quite complex, right? That's exactly why our comparison engine takes all these variables into account. Monito removes all the guesswork to help you maximize the value of your international money transfers in real time.

We know that the world of global payments, currency providers, banks, and other services can be confusing. So we're here to give you an honest overview of your options. Without further ado, let's go through our data-backed list of the seven cheapest money transfer services in 2024:

Wise: Best for Bank Transfers

London-based fintech Wise is a world-class option for sending money internationally and frequently ranks as the cheapest way to transfer money internationally on Monito. According to the Monito Score, Wise is also ranked as the best money transfer service of all, and its mobile app is ranked the best money transfer app.

Although Wise doesn't send money for cash pickup, its transfers to bank accounts are some of the cheapest you'll find out there! In short, you can't go wrong by picking Wise the next time you send money to a bank account internationally!

Remitly: Best for Cash Pick-Up

Remitly is a US-based digital remittance service that's frequently the fastest and cheapest way to send money internationally on Monito. The platform offers various pay-in and pay-out options (including card payments, bank transfers, and cash services) and supports currency transfers to over 85 countries worldwide.

WorldRemit: Best for Mobile Money

WorldRemit is a UK-based online remittance provider that offers the best way to transfer money internationally to diverse regions globally, including Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America — often offering the cheapest way to send money internationally to these countries.

Western Union: Best For Payment Methods

Founded in 1851, Western Union is one of the world's largest and most well-known international money transfer companies. Western Union offers access to cash payouts at their 550,000 agent locations in 200 countries and territories. It has also built up its digital money transfer network (usually cheaper than its brick-and-mortar services). Western Union often offers low fees as long as you send bank transfers or debit card payments using the online service. Your recipient will usually benefit from more favourable exchange rates when receiving bank transfers, but we still suggest cash pick-ups because they offer reliability, convenience, and easy access.

Revolut: Best for Banking Features

In addition to money transfers, as mentioned above, Revolut is an online bank and fintech that boasts 12 million users globally. It's mobile app offers a multi-currency account in over 29 currencies, features to help you save money, budget tracking software, and more. Paid plans include travel insurance, travel perks, and higher fee-free allowances for foreign exchange, money transfers, and international ATM withdrawals.

XE: Best for Coverage

The world's oldest online money transfer company, XE Money Transfer is widely-known in the world of currency exchange and often offers the best way to transfer money internationally in terms of the number of foreign currencies and countries it covers.

OFX: Best for Large Transfers

A specialist in large money transfers, OFX is a foreign exchange broker rather than a money transfer platform, meaning that its services are more personalized toward the needs of individual customers.

How To Find the Cheapest Way To Send Money Internationally

Here at Monito, we’re dedicated to helping you search for the fastest, cheapest and best way to send money or transfer currency internationally. It's worth stressing that there's no single international money transfer provider that's the best for every person in every instance. Overall, depending on individual needs and preferences, many platforms could provide you with what you're looking for cheaply, quickly, and safely.

However, besides finding the cheapest transfer provider, there are a few rules of thumb to keep in mind to ensure that you save every extra dollar when sending money internationally for everyday use. These include:

• Open bank accounts that don’t charge additional fees for international money transfers. Take a look at our list of the best banks for international travel to find out more.
• Avoid using a credit or debit card to fund your money transfer. If you do, then Revolut is the best option.
• Make sure you choose a safe and fully-licensed money transfer service. All services on Monito adhere to the highest security standards and are among the safest ways to send money internationally.
• Avoid using big banks and PayPal, which are practically never the cheapest way to send (or receive) money internationally.
• Where possible, send money to a bank account or a mobile wallet rather than to a cash pick-up location.
• If you're looking for the cheapest way to exchange money with cash, avoid doing so at bureaux de change or airports.
• Where possible, send one large transfer instead of multiple smaller ones. Larger transfers almost always incur lower percentage fees than smaller transfers. Learn more about making large international money transfers here and about how much you can send internationally here.
• Choose a longer transfer speed if it reduces your fees.
• Are you sending abroad from India? Then there are a few extra things to think about. See this guide to learn how to avoid hidden fees while sending from India to a foreign bank account.

It's important to remember that it's impossible to send money internationally for free and that every currency exchange comes with a cost. However, not all money transfer services are created equal, and some charge you considerably lower fees than others. Monito has reviewed and compared hundreds of money transfer services to simplify your research. Compare them in real-time using our award-winning comparison engine, or download our app below:

Looking for the Cheapest Way To Get Cash Abroad?

Check out our guide to find the cheapest way to get cash abroad while you travel. In short, here are our top recommendations.

1. Buying foreign banknotes in your home country, airport, or destination is generally very expensive as you'll be charged an exchange rate mark-up between 2.15% and a whopping 16.6%.
2. Don't withdraw money abroad with your traditional bank card to avoid sneaky hidden exchange rate mark-ups.
3. Be aware of a dynamic currency conversion by always paying in the local currency overseas and never in your home currency.
4. Compare the best travel money cards to find a prepaid debit card that'll help you avoid high fees and travel with peace of mind.

Cheapest Region-Specific Transfers

Certain countries have transfer requirements or special cases affecting incoming international payments. In other cases, there's one provider that's always cheaper than the rest.

In the section below, we looked at the data from millions of comparisons on Monito from the first half of 2024 to see which providers are best from various countries to others.

Cheapest Way to Send Money to Europe

• From the USA: Western Union
• From Ukraine: Wise
• From Turkey: Wise
• From Morroco: Skrill
• From Colombia: Global66
• From Switzerland: Wise

Cheapest Way to Send Money to Africa

• From the USA: Remitly
• From the EU: Remitly
• From the UK: Remitly
• From South Africa: WorldRemit
• From Canada: Remitly
• From the UAE: Remitly

Cheapest Way to Send Money to Latin America

• From the USA: Remitly
• From Mexico: Global66
• From the UK: Remitly
• From the EU: Remitly
• From Canada: Remitly

Cheapest Way to Send Money to Asia

• From the USA: Western Union
• From Malaysia: Instarem
• From the EU: Western Union
• From the UAE: Remitly
• From the UK: Western Union
• From Canada: Remitly
• From Turkey: Wise

Cheapest Way to Send Money to North America

• From Mexico: Global66
• From Colombia: Global66
• From India: Instarem
• From the UK: Western Union
• From Canada: Remitly

Not Sure Which Provider Is Best? No Problem!

If you're sending money to a country that you're unsure is covered by one of the bigger providers we discussed in this article, no problem! Just run a search on Monito's real-time comparison engine below and check the live results for yourself:

Traditional Banks vs. Online Services

Banks and money transfer services can do the same thing in the end: send money to overseas bank accounts in a different currency. However, the two tend to use very different methods to get the job done:

For banks, international money transfers are known as wire transfers. These transfers occur over SWIFT, an international network connecting banks across most countries and territories. While secure, SWIFT transfers can be costly because of the multiple steps and third-party banks involved in moving funds on their way. SWIFT transfers sometimes also risk incurring the much-dreaded correspondent bank fee, which can be as high as 100 US dollars or more per transfer!

On the other hand, money transfer specialists use a smart network of accounts with local banks across the globe to dodge the SWIFT network and its high fees altogether. Instead, these services transfer money by depositing it into bank accounts using funds sent the other way around.

Money transfer services are cheaper, faster, more transparent, and as secure as the big banks for international payments. Take a look at our guide to banks versus transfer specialists to learn more.

3 Key Definitions: International Money Transfer Rates

Fixed service fees for international money transfers can be as low as $3 (with online services) and up to as high as $100 per transfer (with traditional banks). In addition to these standard fees, service providers often profit from exchange rate markups. Keep these three definitions top of mind when shopping for the cheapest money transfers:

1. Mid-Market ('Real') Exchange Rate: This is the real-time market rate major banking institutions use to value two foreign currencies at a given time. It is also known as the live exchange rate or the interbank exchange rate, which fluctuates constantly.
2. Service Exchange Rate: This is the exchange rate you will often see displayed on service provider websites. This is the exchange rate that a money transfer service will apply to your money. This rate will usually be weaker than the actual mid-market exchange rate.
3. Exchange Rate Margin: Also commonly known as an exchange rate markup, this is the difference between the mid-market rate and the service provider's rate. All foreign exchange bureaus, banks, and some online money transfer companies use weaker exchange rates to pocket the margin, leaving your recipient with a smaller amount of their currency.

3 Tips When Making International Payments and Money Transfers

Keep these three tips in mind before you choose an international money transfer service to send your money abroad:

1. Understand how exchange rates work: Compare your provider's rate to the mid-market rate, which you can easily find on sites like Google or XE.com. If you recognize markups of around 5% to 15%, you can avoid losing money to big exchange rate margins. For example, let's say that the mid-market rate is 1 USD = 1.1 EUR. If you use a service at 1 USD = 0.9 EUR to send money from the US to Europe, your recipient will get less Euros in their bank account.
2. Avoid credit cards: Although you can quickly just charge your credit card, don't do it for international transfers. It can be a costly mistake. Plus, your credit issuer will treat your money transfer as a cash advance and often apply extra fees and higher interest rates on your debt.
3. Compare money transfer services: Research and compare international money transfer services using Monito's real-time comparison engine to find the best fees and rates for your country and amount.

Data-Driven Reviews You Can Trust

For nearly a decade, our team has tirelessly tested over 200 services, programs, and apps offered by international money transfer companies around the world. With 99 providers in our real-time comparison engine (that's over 75 more than other leading sites), we've made sure to leave no stone unturned in our pursuit of finding the best and cheapest service for your specific needs.

Our experts are hands-on, testing the user experience from the initial signup to the money-sending process. We investigate their schedules and terms and conditions to calculate their fees and exchange rates. Additionally, we conduct extensive company research, considering their revenues, legal track record, customer size, and customer feedback.

Using our proprietary technology, we continuously track the fees offered by these providers and monitor their exchange rate fluctuations over time. This allows us to find you the best provider for a specific country, time, and a particular amount of money. The recommendations you read from Monito are data-driven but also validated through rigorous peer review by our experts. Each quote, piece of data, and our overall assessment is thoroughly checked for accuracy to give you the most accurate and up-to-date money transfer comparisons possible.

FAQ About the Cheapest Way To Send Money Internationally

* Based on the total number of comparisons where the provider was available on Monito.com, 1 Jan 2024 - 24 July 2024, excluding when the provider was cheapest due to promotional pricing.

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