
Wells Fargo International Wires: Everything You Need To Know

Guide

A writer at Monito, Byron possesses a keen interest in the intersection of personal finance and technology. A former journalist, he strives to bring complex information to life in a way that can be widely understood and appreciated.
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Read moreA true giant of US banking, Wells Fargo is considered one of America's "Big Four" banks, offering a large range of financial services to over 70 million clients across the globe from more than eight thousand physical branches and 13 thousand ATMs in total.
One of the many services on offer at Wells Fargo includes bank wires, which can be sent domestically and internationally. However, international bank wires, in particular, come at a steep price at Wells Fargo, with the bank offering poor exchange rates over and above an untransparent transfer fee that's levied at a variable amount.
As a result, the fees for smaller international bank wires at Wells Fargo can frequently swallow as much as 20% or more of the total value of your transfer, making the service pricey even when compared to other banks out there.
What Will Wells Fargo Charge You?
If you're banking with an ordinary Consumer Account at Wells Fargo, you will pay an undisclosed fixed fee every time that you send money abroad. According to the bank, this fee will be disclosed at the moment you pay for your transfer, with the starting fee being US$30.00 per transfer.
If you'd like to find out how to make a bank wire transfer, take a look at our step-by-step guide here.
Wells Fargo's Exchange Rates: Beware The Hidden Fees
The total amount you'll be paying in fees when making an international wire with Wells Fargo doesn't end with the above-mentioned transfer fees, however.
In addition, you'll also be paying what's known as an exchange rate margin on every international money transfer that you send into a foreign currency. In essence, this means that Wells Fargo will take a hidden cut of the money you transfer by charging you an exchange rate that's inferior to the one used by banks to trade between one another, known as the mid-market exchange rate.
At Wells Fargo, these exchange rate margins vary from currency to currency, typically fluctuating between 4% and 10% above the mid-market rate and adding to the final amount you pay in fees.
These exchange rate margins are seldom disclosed in a fully transparent manner by banks. In the case of Wells Fargo, for example, while the bank is indeed significantly more forthcoming about this fee than are many banks in the US and abroad, the fact that you'll be paying an exchange rate margin is not made quite as transparent as the fact that you'll be paying a transfer fee.
To this end, Wells Fargo discloses the following information in its Terms and Conditions:
"Wells Fargo makes money when it converts one currency to another currency for you. The exchange rate provided to you is set by Wells Fargo in its sole discretion, and it includes a markup over Wells Fargo’s cost of sourcing the relevant currency or currencies."
The bank adds further that:
"The exchange rate Wells Fargo provides to you may be different from exchange rates you see online, in publications, at other banks or other foreign exchange providers. Also, different customers may receive different exchange rates for transactions that are the same or similar."
The Costs Combined
When taken together, Well Fargo's transfer fee and exchange rate margin can constitute a hefty slice of the total value of your transfer — a slice you'll notice most if you plan on wiring less than US$750 internationally.
For instance, if you were hypothetically to send US$500 to a family member living in Mexico, you would pay US$31.64 (or 6.73% of the value of your transfer) in exchange rate margin fees if you chose to make the transfer with Wells Fargo, as well as a further minimum of US$30.00 in transfer fees. The total fee amount (US$61.64) would therefore come to more than 12% of your transfer amount and leave your recipient with 8,934 Mexican pesos at the time of writing.
Compare this to making the same transfer with Remitly, a Seattle-based global money transfer service that was the best deal on Monito's real-time comparison engine at the time of writing. If you were transferring for the first time with Remitly, you'd pay no flat fees and get a better exchange rate than the mid-market rate by the equivalent of US$11.73. Compared to Wells Fargo, this would get your family member a total of 10,410 Mexican pesos. That's over 16% more than they'd have gotten with the bank!
To get a clearer sense of exactly what costs you might expect to pay when making an international bank wire with Wells Fargo, take a look at the fee breakdown below, as of 14/12/2020 at 12:00 +01:00 GMT. Bear in mind that we applied the minimum fixed fee of US$30.00 to all of the following transfer examples:
The Costs Visualized
Amount Transferred | Exchange Rate Margin Fee | Fees & Commissions | Total Cost | Total Cost (%) | Amount Received (MXN) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
US$250 | US$14.81 | US$30.00 | US$44.81 | 17.92% | $4,182 |
US$1,000 | US$65.30 | US$30.00 | US$95.30 | 9.53% | $18,438 |
US$5,000 | US$334.57 | US$30.00 | US$364.57 | 7.29% | $94,471 |
Amount Transferred | Exchange Rate Margin Fee | Fees & Commissions | Total Cost | Total Cost (%) | Amount Received (CAD) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
US$250 | US$11.87 | US$30.00 | US$41.87 | 16.75% | C$267.19 |
US$1,000 | US$52.35 | US$30.00 | US$82.35 | 8.24% | C$1,178 |
US$5,000 | US$268.25 | US$30.00 | US$298.25 | 5.96% | C$6,036 |
Amount Transferred | Exchange Rate Margin Fee | Fees & Commissions | Total Cost | Total Cost (%) | Amount Received (PHP) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
US$250 | US$19.50 | US$30.00 | US$49.50 | 19.80% | ₱9,645 |
US$1,000 | US$85.99 | US$30.00 | US$115.99 | 11.60% | ₱42,525 |
US$5,000 | US$440.58 | US$30.00 | US$470.58 | 9.41% | ₱217,887 |
Amount Transferred | Exchange Rate Margin Fee | Fees & Commissions | Total Cost | Total Cost (%) | Amount Received (EUR) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
US$250 | US$11.45 | US$30.00 | US$41.45 | 16.58% | €174 |
US$1,000 | US$50.49 | US$30.00 | US$80.49 | 8.05% | €768 |
US$5,000 | US$258.70 | US$30.00 | US$288.70 | 5.77% | €3,936 |
Amount Transferred | Exchange Rate Margin Fee | Fees & Commissions | Total Cost | Total Cost (%) | Amount Received (BRL) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
US$250 | US$19.22 | US$30.00 | US$49.22 | 19.69% | R$1,088 |
US$1,000 | US$84.73 | US$30.00 | US$114.73 | 11.47% | R$4,798 |
US$5,000 | US$434.12 | US$30.00 | US$464.12 | 9.28% | R$24,582 |
Amount Transferred | Exchange Rate Margin Fee | Fees & Commissions | Total Cost | Total Cost (%) | Amount Received (GBP) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
US$250 | US$9.33 | US$30.00 | US$39.33 | 15.73% | £154 |
US$1,000 | US$41.14 | US$30.00 | US$71.14 | 7.11% | £680 |
US$5,000 | US$210.81 | US$30.00 | US$240.81 | 4.82% | £3,484 |
Wells Fargo International Wires: Other Fees to Anticipate
In addition to the undisclosed transfer fee and exchange rate margin that you can expect to pay when sending an international wire with Wells Fargo, there may be other fees yet before your money finally arrives in your beneficiary's bank account.
For example, depending on your individual circumstances, the most likely of these fees will be either of the following, levied by third-party banks:
- An amendment fee of an undisclosed amount if you enter your beneficiary's details incorrectly or insufficiently;
- A correspondent bank fee (usually hovering anywhere between US$10 and US$100) if your bank wire cannot be made directly to your beneficiary's bank account while going through the SWIFT network and Wells Fargo needs to rely on a third-party bank to finish the job.
💡 INSIDER TIP
Avoid "OUR" Payments. In the case that you're asked to choose between "SHA", "BEN" and "OUR", we'd recommend that you avoid choosing "OUR" payments wherever possible. These instructions can open the door to your beneficiary's bank or the intermediary bank levying further fees from you long after the transfer has been sent.
Is Wells Fargo Right For You?
All in all, Wells Fargo is a pricey option for sending money abroad from the US. And while the bank does have a reliable reputation and an impressive scope of service, as a result, we recommend that you avoid making international wires with Wells Fargo for your money transfers, especially funds are destined for countries such as Pakistan, the Philippines, and Brazil
That being said, if you already trust Wells Fargo to get the job done and you don't mind paying extra in fees; then it might make sense for you to stick with the bank.
However, in almost all other circumstances, we recommend you explore your alternatives by comparing the competitive market of specialist services out there. Run a search on Monito's real-time comparison engine to see which services will offer you the best rates. If you'd like to see more about how money transfer specialists differ from banks for sending abroad, then take a look at our guide here.
To demonstrate just how much you could be saving by making the switch, take a look at how Wells Fargo compares to a few of these services on a US$500 transfer to Mexico (as of 04/02/2020 at 16:30 +01:00 GMT):
Provider | Time | Recipient Receives (in Mexican pesos) | Payment Option | Cost Overview | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wells Fargo | 1-2 days | $8,934 | Bank wire | Upon paying | See More |
Remitly | In minutes | $10,465 | Bank transfer, credit/debit card | In advance | Transfer |
InstaReM | ~2 days | $10,154 | Bank transfer | In advance | Transfer |
TransferWise | ~2 days | $10,096 | Direct bank payment, bank transfer, credit/debit card | In advance | Transfer |
WorldRemit | Same day | $10,066 | Direct bank payment, credit/debit card | In advance | Transfer |
Skrill | Same day | $10,007 | Credit/debit card | In advance | Transfer |
You May Still Be Wondering...
What are international wire cut-off times at Wells Fargo? ⏲
The cut-off time for sending international wires at Wells Fargo is 2:00 pm Pacific Time (5:00 pm Eastern Time.) If you send your international wire transfer after this time, Wells Fargo will send your money the next business day. After your money has been sent on its way, international wires with Wells Fargo typically take between one and two business days to arrive. Still, for certain countries at the extremes, they can take as long as five business days to arrive.
Are international wire transfers safe? 🔐
Yes, they are very safe. International wires are facilitated by banks, institutions that are fully authorized and regulated to deal with foreign exchange services. What's more, international wires run via the SWIFT network, a widely-adopted international framework designed to safely and efficiently move money across the globe.
What is Wells Fargo's routing number for receiving international wires? 🔢
An ABA number, also known as a bank routing number, is only used for domestic bank wires within the US. If you're planning on receiving an international wire from abroad in a foreign currency, you'll need to provide Wells Fargo's SWIFT code, WFBIUS6WFFX. On the other hand, if your international wire is set to arrive in US dollars or if you don't know the currency, then use WFBIUS6S as the SWIFT code instead.
Does Wells Fargo have an international wire limit? 🛑
Yes. The minimum you'll be able to wire abroad with Wells Fargo is US$25. The maximum varies from transfer to transfer and will be shown in the type field where you enter your amount. If you'd like to raise the limit, you'll need to contact the bank directly.
Are international wire transfers instant or same-day? 🚀
No. International wire transfers can sometimes be relatively fast, but unfortunately not instant or even same-day. On average, depending on a number of factors, international bank wires take between one and five working days to arrive in a beneficiary's bank account. To find out more about how to make fast money transfers abroad, take a look at our in-depth guide here.
What is Wells Fargo's SWIFT code for international wires? 💻
For international wires coming in from abroad in a foreign currency, the applicable SWIFT code is WFBIUS6WFFX. For international wires coming in from abroad in US dollars or in an unknown currency, then you should use WFBIUS6S as the SWIFT code instead.
Are international wire transfers taxable? 🧾
If you're an ordinary consumer sending money abroad or if you're sending remittances from the US to your home country, you generally won't be subject to any tax on your international transfers. Taxation generally is only applicable to businesses seeking to import goods from overseas.
Why Trust Monito?
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