Money Transfers: The Best Ways to Send Money Internationally

An international money transfer is the simple act of sending money between people and financial accounts in different countries, often in a different currency. The traditional way to send money internationally has been through your bank or a dedicated money transfer company.

Globalization means that we need to send money to friends and family or to pay for products and services abroad frequently. Migrant workers also need ways to send money, called remittances, to family members back home.

In recent years several new services appeared, offering an easy way to send money overseas online or over a mobile app at a fraction of the cost that banks charge for your international money transfers. 

There is a slew of new money transferring services that have disrupted banks’ hold on international money transfers. To help you pick the one that’s best for your needs we reviewed the most popular money transfer services. Here are six of the best money transfer platforms that we have found:

An in-depth look at the best ways to send money overseas

Let’s take a more detailed look at each of these platforms and what makes them worth checking out.

1. Airwallex: Best money transfer portal for businesses

Airwallex is a top-ranked platform for international payments. Its customers range from small startups to large companies seeking lower foreign exchange fees and more efficient global transactions.

The platform’s service is used by thousands of businesses around the world to invoice clients and pay international suppliers, even bypassing traditional banks altogether.

One of Airwallex’s biggest advantages is its transparent FX pricing. You can get competitive rates at 0.5%-1% above the interbank rate, often beating traditional banks on cost. Airwallex also supports 45+ currencies sent to over 130 countries.

New customers can also benefit from Airwallex’s 11% cashback promotion after spending their first $1,000 using their international card. Via the platform’s “batch payments” feature, you can save time when sending multiple payments to international recipients in one go. To further simplify financial management processes, Airwallex also connects to the Xero accounting software platform.

Users can access Airwallex through its cloud-based dashboard or mobile app. Many customers have praised Airwallex for its user-friendly interface and multi-currency wallet.

Airwallex features and fees

Fees	0.5%-1% above interbank rate, depending on the currency. No monthly subscription for core features, though advanced products may have additional costs.
Customer service	Online help center.
International transfers	60+ currencies and 200+ destination countries.
Maximum online transaction limits	Limits vary based on business size and verification level.

2. Remitly: Best money transfer for low fees

The Seattle company, founded in 2011, is the largest independent digital money transmitter in the US. On its first-quarter earnings call, it said it had 8 million quarterly active customers, up from 6.2 in the same period last year. Remitly was founded as Beamit Mobile, a search engine for remittance services, but then moved into money transfers and changed its name to Remitly in 2012.

Its fees are relatively low and transparent, though they vary widely by country and where you send your money to. If you sent $1,000 to Mexico via Remitly, the recipient would get 19,600 pesos, not counting the $1.99 sender fee, that would be returned via a discount according to a special promotional rate.

One unique option is users can transfer funds immediately for a fee that varies by country. There’s usually no extra fee to use the economy option, when the funds that are transferred take between 3 to 5 business days to reach the recipient.

Most customers who use Remitly do so from their phones, though the service can be accessed on a web browser. Remitly gets high marks for ease of use and for its customer service.

The money transfer provider is also scored high because recipients can get their funds at more than 3,000 banks and more than 350,000 pickup locations, and they can even get cash through mobile phone transfer or by home delivery.

Remitly features and fees

Fees	The fee for all transactions varies by country, often it’s as low as $1.99, paid by the recipient.
Customer service	Phone in 15 languages or live chat in your choice of English, French, or Spanish.
International transfers	More than 100 currencies to more than 170 countries.
Maximum online transaction limits	$25,000 from the U.S.

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3. Wise: Best Money Transfer Service for Customer Service

Wise, founded as TransferWise in 2011, is based in London. The company said it processed more than £145.2 billion in international money transfers in fiscal 2025 with more than 15.6 million customers served. It handles more than 40 currencies and can send payment to more than 160 countries.

Fees for sending transfers vary and start at 0.33%, but the company helps make up for that by not marking up currency exchange rates. Wise also has a surprisingly deep education and news section for a money transfer site. 

If you sent $1,000 from the US to Mexico via Wise, your recipient would receive 18,719.62 pesos, a loss of 101 pesos compared to the conversion rate.

Over the past year, the company has said it plans to look for more ways to cut costs to consumers to make it more competitive, CFO Kingsley Kemish said. The company also plans to integrate its service with payment service SWIFT to improve its availability.

While Wise isn’t the least expensive service, it’s definitely fast, with 62% of end-to-end payments arriving within 20 seconds. It has more than 85 global partners with pay platforms, including Google Pay and Monzo.

Wise features and fees

Fees	Varies by transaction amount, currency, and delivery method; fees for sending transfers start at 0.33%.
Customer service	Phone in 15 languages or live chat in your choice of English, French, or Spanish.
International transfers	More than 40 currencies to more than 160 countries
Maximum online transaction limits	$50,000 daily, or up to $250,000 over a six-month period

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4. XE: Solid money transfer service for security

Based on the standards of Internet currency exchange rate providers, XE has been around for a long time, being established in 1993 in Ontario, then known as Xenon Laboratories. At the time, the company focused on computer consulting and internet services. Beginning in 2000, it turned its focus to currency and foreign exchange tools.

Today, it’s part of Euronet Worldwide (along with HiFx and Ria), which is the third-largest money transfer business in the world. That gives it a higher level of security and stability and it generally gets high trust marks from consumers.

XE allows you to make money transfers internationally 24/7 through its website or mobile app. It allows the transfer of more than 100 currencies to more than 200 countries. It doesn’t charge fees if you do a direct transfer but makes its money from the spread on the currency rate.

If you were to send $1,000 to Mexico via XE, the recipient would get only 18,160 pesos, a loss of 660 pesos, after the spread is taken into account.

Also, XE is only fee-free if you send money through a direct wire transfer, and the transfer will take up to three days. XE charges a send fee of $5 for a transfer paid for by debit card and a $30 send fee if you pay with a credit card. Generally, if you send money via XE, the recipient will still get more of what you sent than if you do the money transfer by a traditional bank. 

XE features and fees

Fees	Fees are built into the spread for wire or bank transfers. There is a $5 send fee for a transfer via a debit card and a $30 send fee for a transfer sent with a credit card.
International transfers	More than 100 currencies to more than 200 countries.
Customer service	Web chat, plus phone service in the US
Maximum online transfer limits	$500,000 in the US, CAD $600,000 in Canada, £375,000 in the UK and €375,000 in Europe

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5. Xoom: Best money transfer service for speed

Xoom was founded in 2001 and its headquarters is in San Francisco. In 2015, it was bought by PayPal. Xoom is a service that allows users to send money, pay bills, and reload phones to friends and family in more than 160 countries. Xoom offers a variety of options, including: cash for pickup or delivery, direct deposit to a bank account or debit card, and mobile wallets. It recently added the ability for US users to send money via PayPal stablecoins with no no crypto sale fee.

To use Xoom, you have to register for an account and download its mobile app. Money transfers can be funded by debit or credit cards, a bank account or PayPal balance. You can also track the progress of your transfer within the app and can get email updates on when the transfer goes through.

Xoom is trusted, but its services are a bit pricey. For example, if you were to send $1,000 to Mexico using Xoom, the recipient would get 18,927 pesos, which is better than the exchange rate.

The catch is, while there are no fees if paying by PayPal, if you pay by credit card, the fee for a cash pickup is $50.79 and with a debit card, it is $7.89. Xoom is relatively flexible, as recipients of transfers can receive their payment in cash and users can pay bills through the app.

Xoom features and fees

Fees	There is a $50.79 fee for a cash pickup transfer via a credit card from the U.S. to Mexico, though that drops to $7.89 if done via debit card. Those fees are waived, though, if done through PayPal. The same holds true if you use PYUSD, which is PayPal’s stablecoin. Fees vary by country.
Customer service	Phone or email.
International transfers	More than 27 currencies to more than 140 countries.
Maximum online transaction limits	Xoom has three account levels, with daily limits of $2,999, $10,000, and $50,000, respectively.

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6. MoneyGram: Best money transfer company for ease of use

MoneyGram, headquartered in Dallas, Texas, is the second-largest money transfer company in the world behind Western Union. It was founded in 1940, making it one of the oldest companies in money transfers. The company said it processes more than $200 billion every year in transfers.

MoneyGram’s biggest advantage is its user-friendly service where funds can be sent 24/7, using cash at certain locations, as well as online by credit card, debit card or by bank accounts.

While MoneyGram is considered secure, it did have to pay out more than $115 million to users who were scammed connected with fraud schemes processed by MoneyGram.

MoneyGram will allow users to send funds in more than 135 currencies to more than 200 countries. The downside of MoneyGram is its fees are higher than what many other services charge. For example, it costs a flat $1.99 fee to transfer funds by a bank account, debit card or credit card, regardless of the amount sent.

On the other end, if the recipient wishes to be paid in cash, the fee rises to $5.99 if the money being sent is from a bank account, or $13.99 if being sent by debit card or credit card. 

The company also charges relatively high costs on its spreads on exchange rates. For example, if you sent $1,000 to Mexico via MoneyGram, the recipient would only get 18,571.20 pesos, a loss of 313 pesos.

Despite the costs, the big advantage for MoneyGram is it isn’t just an online business. It has more than 400,000 locations around the world, either operated by a business agent or directly by MoneyGram.

MoneyGram features and fees

Fees	The fees MoneyGram charges to send money overseas varies based on where you’re sending money, how much money you send, and how you’re paying for the transfer. The markup on exchange rates can also be as high as 5%, which is more than many banks.
Customer service	Phone or email
International transfers	More than 135 currencies to more than 200 countries
Maximum online transaction limits	For most countries, you can send up to $10,000.00 per online transfer, and up to $10,000.00 every 30 calendar days

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The growth in international money transfers

With increasing global migration, the amount of money sent internationally has skyrocketed. In some countries, such as Tonga, Haiti and Lebanon, remittances (inflows from a money transferred home from family members working abroad) account for more than a third of their gross domestic product.

The global remittance market size reached approximately $607.43 billion in 2023, according to a report by Expert Market Research. That market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4% between 2024 and 2032.

It’s not just remittances, though. In our globalized world, companies move products and offer services across borders more easily. This means that we need to send money to friends and family or to pay for products and services abroad frequently, creating plenty of business for the international payment processing and money transfer industry.

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How to send money internationally 

Most banks or money transfer companies follow similar procedures in helping you send money internationally. 

• Create an account and sign in: Once you choose a money transfer system, create an account using your ID, whether that be a passport or driver’s license. 
• Identify your recipient: Once you sign into your money transfer account’s app, enter the name and banking details of the recipient of your money transfer. In some cases, this might mean the recipient’s name, address, bank account number, and bank’s SWIFT BIC. Some services may also require the recipient’s account type as well. Make sure your recipient’s name will make his or her ID exactly. Choose the location where your recipient will pick up the money.
• Pay for your transfer: Choose how much money to send and in what currency you are sending. Then pay for your transfer with a direct transfer from your bank or with a credit and debit card. Depending on which money transfer service you are using, your payment source will make a difference on the fees. Usually paying for a transfer using your bank account is the least expensive option.
• Track your transfer: Most apps enable you to track your money transfer’s status, along with expected delivery time and date.

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How to choose the best way to transfer money overseas 

While the way you transfer money overseas will probably come down to costs, figuring out the best way or service to use isn’t always simple. A few things to look for:

Understand the fees: Compare companies transfer fees and exchange rates. They vary wildly depending on how you send the money and where you send the money to. Most reputable apps will allow you to see exactly how much money your recipient will receive after the fees and exchange rates are taken into account. After you have looked around, pick the service that meets your needs best.

Continue to shop around: Companies change fees and exchange rates so frequently that you’ll need to do comparison shopping each time you decide to do an international money transfer.

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Our methodology, explained

We looked for five of the best money transfer companies in terms of costs, taking into account both fees and the rates they provide for converting currencies. For consistency, we looked at how much each service would deliver to a recipient if someone from the UK sent the recipient £1,000. However, the money transfer service’s fees vary widely depending on how much is sent, how it’s sent and where it’s sent. For that reason, you’ll need to follow up with your own research.

Other factors we considered were security, ease of use and which services had the most options, both for sending and receiving money.

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International Money Transfer FAQs