Does ING Australia Allow International Transfers? No. Here's How To Find Alternatives

Headquartered in the Netherlands, ING (formerly ING DIRECT) is one of Australia's most popular banks, offering thousands of clients from around the nation access to world-class retail and business banking services.

However, while ING offers various services ranging from personal loans to mortgages and insurance, the bank does not support outgoing international SWIFT payments. This means that if you'd like to send money from your ING account to a country overseas, you'll need to use a third-party service to get the job done.

In this short guide, you'll find out why international money transfers aren't supported at ING and what the best alternatives are for Australians which offer far better exchange rates than you'd find at the bank.

What Happened to ING Overseas Transfers?

Up until mid-2019, ING's Australian arm offered overseas transfer services through its online banking service. These were made in partnership with OFX, one of the world's leading forex brokers, allowing ING customers to send money overseas at fairly good exchange rates and low fees.

All of this changed in July 2019, when the bank announced in a FAQ that Australian customers are "unable to move funds internationally" directly from their accounts, and that they therefore "will need to access a third party service" in order to do so. Unfortunately, ING did not provide any further explanation for why they made this call in the first place.

The bank announced at the same time that international transfers to ING accounts in Australia would continue to be available as normal.

International Money Transfers From Australian Banks

While this may sound like bad news for you if you're an ING customer looking to send money abroad ⁠— it, fortunately, is not!

In reality, you'll still be able to make international money transfers at the same (or at even better) exchange rates that you would've with ING, the only difference being that you'll no longer have the convenience of having overseas transfers supported by ING's app.

For context, Australian banks typically charge high exchange rate margin fees on international money transfers, usually constituting between 3% and 6% of the value of the transfer. In addition, they also charge their own set of fixed fees. On the other hand, specialist services charge much lower fees and exchange rates, meaning using a third-party alternative in place of ING DIRECT would save you compared to using the bank.

Find out more about how banks differ from international money transfer specialists in our guide here.

Cheapest ING Australia Alternatives

As we discussed above, you'll still be able to make an ordinary direct entry to any one of the many competitive overseas transfer services available to Australians, the cheapest of which are the following:

1. XE Money Transfer

The world's oldest online money transfer service and a world leader in low-cost international money transfers (including bank transfers and cash pickups), Canadian-based XE Money Transfer offers the cheapest money transfers abroad from Australia in 2023 on average.

• Fees: A$3.99 fixed fee + 0.4%-1.6% FX margin.
• Transfer Time: 1 to 3 business days.
• More Info: See our XE review or visit their website.

2. Wise

London-based fintech Wise is a world-class option for sending money internationally and a great option for Australians. Its pricing is clear and transparent, and its fees are considerably lower than via the bank.

• Fees: A$0.53-A$8 fixed fee + 0.48%-0.95% variable fee.
• Transfer Time: Up to 2 business days.
• More Info: See our Wise review or visit their website.

3. Instarem

Instarem is a money transfer service with an excellent mobile app. Available on iOS and Android devices, its easy-to-use interface is uncluttered with a lot of white space and 'breathing room', making transfers from Australia quick and easy!

• Fees: A$4-A$10 fixed fee + 0.25%-0.5% FX margin.
• Transfer Time: 1 to 5 business days.
• More Info: See our Instarem review or visit their website.