3 steps to make regular international money transfers a breeze

By Monika Gudova ·
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Whether you’re paying business expenses, handling a mortgage on an overseas investment property or sending money to family overseas, setting up regular International Money Transfers could be a great way to make your life just a little bit easier. Here are three steps to follow when you set up your payment, to make sure you’re getting it right:

1. Decide if regular payments work for you

First things first, work out if regular overseas money transfers fit your needs. You might choose to set up regular payments if:

  • You transfer the same amount each time
  • You want to lock in an exchange rate for future transfers
  • You want ease of mind knowing your payments are going to be consistent each time you transfer

Another option might be to combine your regular payments into one lump-sum. Some providers will waive fees on transfers over a certain amount, so if it’s an option for you to combine regular scheduled payments into one it could save you some money.

2. Compare different money transfer options

Once you’ve settled on setting up regular payments, it’s time to sort out how they’re going to happen. Two options you might come across are opening an account with an IMT specialist and making an international bank transfer. There are pros and cons to both of these common international money transfer options, so we’ve broken them down to help you decide which is right for you.

IMT specialists
Independent from the banks, IMT specialists like XE, World First and OFX solely focus on the service of sending money abroad. Here are some pros and cons of using one of these IMT specialists for your regular overseas transfers:

Pros:

  • Competitive exchange rates. IMT specialists often offer some of the greatest rates on the market. This is because they usually charge lower margins than the banks, meaning you can get more from your money.
  • Often fee-free. Some IMT specialists offer fee-free transactions on online and over-the-phone transfers.

Cons:

  • No face-to-face service. If you like to have branch access so you can make transfers in person, it’s good to keep in mind that most IMT specialists only offer their services online or over the phone.

International bank transfer
An option that many travellers feel comfortable with is making regular transfers through their Australian bank account, such as CommBank, ANZ, NAB or Westpac. It’s worth weighing up the pros and cons of this route, because convenience isn’t always the most money-savvy option.

Pros:

  • Trust and convenience. It’s easy and convenient to transfer with your current bank and you know you can trust them with your money.
  • In-branch customer service. If you prefer to talk to a person face-to-face, banks offer the option of conducting your international money transfer in-branch (though there are often fees attached to this.)

Cons:

  • Higher fees. Banks may charge higher fees than IMT specialists. Often times banks attach fees to online, over the phone and most of all, in-branch transfers.
  • Lower exchange rates. Banks tend to offer lower exchange rates than IMT specialists. You might not think the difference in exchange rates amounts to much, but it can affect your bottom line, especially when you’re making large or frequent transfers.

3. Pick the right provider for you

Once you’ve weighed up the pros and cons and decided whether an IMT specialist or a bank is best for you, it’s time to compare providers and find a competitive deal. We’ve made it easy for you with our handy IMT comparison tool, where you’ll find a breakdown of rates and fees from major FX providers to the big four banks.

To find out exactly what you’ll get for your buck, pop your transfer amount into our IMT exchange rate calculators and compare how much you could get from a range of providers.