Best Business Money Transfers
Guide
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Read moreWhether you're accepting transactions or paying suppliers, freelancers, or employees overseas, there's a fair chance that making international payments is a crucial part of your business — just as it is with so many companies both large and small in the internet era.
However, many traditional solutions such as banks do a poor job of keeping up with the needs of modern businesses when it comes to spend management, payroll and accounting, FX risk management, and more. Fortunately, as we'll see, using Monito's comparison engine, you can take back control and escape hidden fees by finding the best business money transfer in real time.
In this guide, we explore four solutions that offer the best business money transfers for different types of company sizes. Then, we discuss a few tips for businesses to find the best way to make international payments.
Compare now to find the best business money transfer:
The 4 Best Business Money Transfers
Wise: Best for Entrepreneurs
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. Next to its much-loved personal money transfer service, Wise also offers Wise Business, which integrates the company's famous money transfer app and online account with a suite of business-focused solutions such as invoicing, reconciliation, and more.
Primary costs:
- Account opening: $0 (US, Singapore, Japan, Australia, New Zealand), £45 (UK), €50 (EU), CHF 55 (Switzerland)
- Sending international payments: 0.4% - 1%
- Receiving international payments: Approx. $4.10
- ATM withdrawals*: 2%
Available: European Union/European Economic Area, United Kingdom, United States, Singapore, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.
Unique solutions:
- Bank account details in 10 currencies: AUD, CAD, EUR, GBP, HUF, NZD, RON, SGD, TRY, and USD
- Built-in bookkeeping workflow (integrated with Xero and QuickBooks)
- Easy invoicing with templates
- Batch payments (up to 1,000 recipients at once)
Max transfer limit: $1 million
Best for: Self-employed professionals, sole proprietors, entrepreneurs, and start-ups, because of its low barrier to entry and low costs to operate and manage international payments. We recommend Wise especially for sending smaller bank transfers up to $10,000 to international bank accounts, as the platform is particularly well-priced for these transfers.
More info: See our full Wise Business review or visit their website.
* Over USD 100 per month, otherwise free.
Revolut: Best for Growing Businesses
A major player in digital banking, Revolut is an online bank and fintech that serves over 12 million personal customers globally. Its business solution, Revolut Business, brings all of the affordability and ease of use that characterises its personal offering into the business world by combining excellent FX rates and a user-friendly interface with accounting and payroll solutions, FX risk management, rewards, a multi-currency account, spend management, and many more.
Primary costs:
- Account opening: $0
- Sending international payments: $5 (or currency equivalent) + FX margin (usually 0.4% to 1%)
- Receiving international payments: 1% + $0.20
Available: European Union/European Economic Area, United Kingdom, United States, Singapore, Japan, and Australia.
Unique solutions:
- Bank account details in 2 currencies: USD and GBP
- Integrated with Xero, Slack, and QuickBooks)
- Team collaboration and permissions
- Business API integrations (on paid plans)
- Supports multiple methods to receive payments
- Forward contracts
Max transfer limit: $1 billion
Best for: Established or growing businesses with a steady and consistent cash flow will benefit most from Revolut Business' broad array of solutions and features available on its paid plans, e.g. team management and forward contracts. Its free business plan (and Freelancer plans) are a good option for smaller businesses, although they're more limited than Wise Business' corresponding offering.
More info: See our full Revolut Business review or visit their website.
XE: Best for SMEs
The oldest money transfer platform on the internet, XE Money Transfer is widely-known in the world of currency exchange. In our analysis of the costs, it's often the best business money transfer service of all. As a business owner, XE gives you a lot, from advanced FX risk management to industry-low fees and exchange rates (especially for larger transfer amounts) and a vast number of sending and receiving currencies.
Primary costs:
- Account opening: $0
- Sending international payments: 0.5% - 1.4% (usually around 0.9%)
Available: Globally
Unique solutions:
- Supports transfers to and from 130+ currencies in 220+ countries
- Spot transfers, forward contracts, option contracts, and more
- ERP integrations (Dynamics 365, Sage Intacct, etc.)
- Custom solutions available
Max transfer limit: $500,000
Best for: Larger and more established businesses looking for a reliable way to mitigate FX risk while paying overseas suppliers and employees.
More info: See our full XE review or visit their website.
OFX: Best for Enterprises
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 and businesses. This gives your business an almost unparalleled degree of support and customization when it comes to international payments, with OFX giving you a dedicated currency specialist and advanced FX solutions.
Primary costs:
- Account opening: $0
- Sending international payments: 0.4% - 1%
Available: Globally
Unique solutions:
- Unparalleled FX risk management solutions
- Dedicated account manager
- Xero integration
Max transfer limit: $2 billion
Best for: Large and established companies with complex FX needs, e.g. those intending to make very large international payments (e.g. upwards of $50 to $100 thousand or currency equivalent) on a regular basis, etc.
More info: See our full OFX review or visit their website.
What's the Best Business Money Transfer?
To get a better idea of how Wise, Revolut, OFX, and XE compare side-to-side, take a look at the table below:
Provider | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Type | Online account & card | Online account & card | International transfer app | Foreign exchange broker |
Monthly Fee | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Outbound Transfer Cost | 0.4% - 1% | $5¹ | 0.5% - 1.4% | 0.4% - 1% |
Inbound Transfer Cost | Approx. $4.14 | 1% + $0.20² | 0 | 0 |
Currencies | 57 | 30 | 130 | 55 |
Bank Details | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Integrations |
|
|
|
|
FX Risk Management |
|
|
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|
Try Wise | Try Revolut | Try XE | Try OFX |
Finding the Best Business Money Transfer
Sadly, there's no international payments provider that's the best for every business in every instance. Overall, depending on your company's 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 to keep in mind to ensure that you save every extra dollar when making international payments for your business. These include:
- Avoid using a credit or debit card to fund your money transfer. If you do, then check out Paysend, one of the cheapest card-to-card payment providers on the market.
- Avoid using big banks and PayPal, which are practically never the cheapest way to send (or receive) money internationally.
- Choose a longer transfer speed if it reduces your fees.
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 below:
Find the best business transfer now:
FAQ About the Cheapest Way To Send Money Internationally
💵 What’s the best business money transfer service?
The best business money transfer service depends on the country you're sending money from and to, the amount, payment method and pick-up option. Here at Monito, we're dedicated to helping you search for the fastest, cheapest and best way to send money or transfer currency internationally. We know that the world of global payments, currency providers, banks, and other services can be confusing. Fear not! We're here to give you simple, straightforward, and honest answers to help you get the most value out of your international transfers.
🌎 What’s the cheapest way to send money overseas?
In almost every case, the cheapest way to transfer money internationally is to use a specialist money transfer service. They provide much more competitive rates, fees, and commissions than banks or PayPal, meaning your recipient will receive more money. But finding out which money transfer service is the cheapest for a given transfer is a complicated task and will differ greatly depending on your needs. Hopefully, you’ll learn below great tips on how to find the cheapest way to send money abroad. or you can directly use Monito's live comparison tool to find the cheapest money transfer service for your transfer.
🧾 How much can I save by finding a cheap provider?
According to the World Bank, some people are paying as much as 6% to 8% of the total value of an international money transfer in fees. That could be as much as £60 to £80 on a £1,000 transfer! Across the board, sending money through your bank is the most expensive option because bank fees are bonkers--according to the World Bank, the average cost to send money via traditional banks costs 10.5% per transfer. We carried out an independent review to see how much we could save people when making international money transfers. The findings were startling — using the cheapest money transfer service compared on Monito.com would only cost 1.2%, on average. That means a £1,000 transfer could cost as little as £11 in fees, a saving of over £50!
📱 Why should I use a specialized currency provider?
We recommend using a specialist currency provider to send money for several reasons:
- You will get a much better exchange rate than from your bank.
- You will generally pay fewer, lower fees.
- Transfers are normally completed very quickly and you will have a lot of options when it comes to funding your transfer and/or receiving money on the other side.
- Their only do international money transfers, in comparison to banks that do a million things. This means that they value you as a customer and will focus their energy on solving your problems.
- You will get personal customer service.
We have extensive reviews of all the popular money transfer services, and you can find the best deal for you right here.
💵 How can I pay for money transfers?
There are a few ways to fund your money transfer:
- Via a bank draft or bank transfer.
- By using a debit or credit card (paying by credit card often attracts an additional fee).
- Paying money to a brick-and-mortar agency face-to-face.
📥 How can others receive money from me?
Recipients have several options for receiving money once you’ve sent it to them. They can:
- Have it deposited directly into a bank account.
- Collect cash from a local agent.
- You can top-up a mobile wallet or buy airtime.
- In some cases, have the money delivered to your recipient’s home.
💸 What fees do I pay when sending money internationally?
There are several fees you need to be aware of if you’re sending money overseas:
- Fixed transfer fees — some providers (especially banks) charge a fixed fee for sending money.
- Exchange rates — the most common type of fee is where the exchange rate you get from a provider isn’t as good as the baseline, mid-market rate. This is how most specialist currency providers work.
- Commission — some providers also charge a commission fee based on the total value of the international money transfer.
- Credit card fees — sometimes you will also need to pay additional fees if you are funding an international money transfer with a credit card.
- Receiving bank fees — in some cases, the receiving bank will charge a fee to accept the money into the account.
Here at Monito, we show you what your money transfer fees will be upfront. In some specific cases, we will inform you that your bank may charge additional fees for international transactions that are impossible to estimate for all cases.
💱 Can you tell me more about currency exchange fees?
Yes. Every time you transfer money from one country or currency to another, the difference between the mid-market exchange rate (also known as the interbank or baseline rate) and the rate a provider offers you is the currency exchange fee.
- For example, the mid-market rate to transfer dollars to euros is 0.9176.
- If you are sending 10,000 dollars, the recipient would get 9,176 euros at the mid-market rate.
- A currency provider gives you a rate of 0.9038 to transfer dollars to euros.
- The recipient would get 9,038 euros, a difference of 138 euros or 150 dollars (1.5%).
- That difference is the exchange rate fee.
The exchange rate fee is how most money transfer services make their money.
✅ Is it easy to use a specialized money transfer service?
Yes. Setting up an account takes just a few minutes and you can complete the process entirely online. Once that’s done, you can choose and fund your transfer very quickly. The process normally works as follows:
- Set up an account with the provider — they will need your name, address, contact details, bank details, and proof of identification.
- Decide the currencies that you want to exchange money between.
- Review the applied exchange rate and fees.
- Provide details of the sender and receiver of the funds.
- Send money to the currency provider via bank transfer, debit card, or credit card.
- The money transfer service converts the money and transfers it to the recipient.
🏦 Why shouldn’t I use my bank to send money overseas?
Although a bank may be a convenient option, their fees are among the highest, and exchange rates are among the poorest. For example, fees to send money can range between USD 20 to USD 50, and exchange rates are typically 2% to 3% worse than baseline, mid-market rates. You will end up paying much more in exchange rates and fees if you use a bank for currency transfers. In addition, banks a not transparent. In many cases, they won’t tell you the exchange rate that will be applied to exchange your money. Not convenient at all!
📲 Why shouldn’t I use PayPal to send money overseas?
Many people do use PayPal to transfer money internationally to family and friends. Unfortunately, of all the options we looked at, PayPal is by far the most expensive way to transfer money internationally. A combination of very poor exchange rates, add-on commissions, and other fees means you could spend as much as 7% to 10% of what you’re sending in their fees. It just doesn’t make sense.
⏱ How long does it take to send money overseas?
If you’re using a specialist currency provider, transfers normally take between one and three business days. They may occasionally take longer, but this is rare.
🔎 What does it mean to send money internationally?
Simply put, it means transferring money from one country and currency to another. For example, if you’re living and working in the US and want to send money to India, you’d use a money transfer service to convert money from US dollars to Indian rupees and transfer the money to India in cash or as a deposit to a bank account for example.
💷 Why might I want to send money overseas?
People have lots of reasons for transferring money internationally. You might have moved to another country and want to send money back home. You might be a business sourcing goods from another region. Perhaps you’re making investments or buying property overseas. The reasons for transferring money are almost as numerous as the people making transfers!
See Monito's In-Depth Guides For Sending Money Internationally
Why Trust Monito?
You’re probably all too familiar with the often outrageous cost of sending money abroad. After facing this frustration themselves back in 2013, co-founders François, Laurent, and Pascal launched a real-time comparison engine to compare the best money transfer services across the globe. Today, Monito’s award-winning comparisons, reviews, and guides are trusted by around 8 million people each year and our recommendations are backed by millions of pricing data points and dozens of expert tests — all allowing you to make the savviest decisions with confidence.
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