FX platforms, priced honestly
Almost nobody loses money to the transfer fee. They lose it to the exchange rate, where a 3–5% margin hides inside a number that looks like a quote. Every provider below is priced the same way: fee plus margin over the mid-market rate, on the amount you actually send.
All-in cost
| Provider | Fee | FX margin | All-in on $1000 | Speed | Currencies | Regulation | Mid-market shown | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Airwallex Business-only multi-currency accounts with a published interbank-plus margin and local collection rails. | $0.00 | 0.50% | $5.000.50% | Same day | 60 | ASIC (AU), FCA (UK), MAS (SG), FinCEN MSB | Yes | Visit Airwallex |
Revolut Interbank rates inside plan limits on weekdays; a 1% weekend surcharge and post-limit fees are where the cost reappears. Weekend markup is the detail people miss. | $0.00 | 0.60% | $6.000.60% | Instant to Revolut, 1 day to bank | 36 | Bank of Lithuania (EU bank), FCA (UK) | Yes | Visit Revolut |
Instarem Aggressively priced Asia corridors with a published rate margin; weaker coverage in Africa and LATAM. | $2.50 | 0.50% | $7.500.75% | Same day | 55 | MAS (Singapore), FCA (UK), FinCEN MSB | Yes | Visit Instarem |
Currencies Direct Dealer model with a human on the phone; used for property purchases and pension transfers, not $500 sends. | $0.00 | 0.80% | $8.000.80% | 1–2 days | 40 | FCA (UK), authorised payment institution | No | Visit Currencies Direct |
Wise The reference point for transparent FX: quotes the mid-market rate and charges a visible fee on top, so the total cost is knowable before you send. | $4.20 | 0.45% | $8.700.87% | Minutes to 1 day | 40 | FCA (UK), FinCEN MSB (US), NBB (EU) | Yes | Visit Wise |
OFX No transfer fee and a negotiable margin that improves sharply on large amounts — built for six-figure business payments, not $200 remittances. | $0.00 | 0.90% | $9.000.90% | 1–2 days | 50 | ASIC (AU), FCA (UK), FinCEN MSB | No | Visit OFX |
XE Money Transfer Famous for the rate lookup, priced like a broker: no visible fee, margin inside the quote. | $0.00 | 1.10% | $11.001.10% | 1–2 days | 98 | FCA (UK), FinCEN MSB (Euronet group) | No | Visit XE Money Transfer |
Paysend Flat fee, card-to-card delivery. Simple to reason about, but the rate margin does the earning. | $2.00 | 1.50% | $17.001.70% | Minutes (card payout) | 60 | FCA (UK), FinCEN MSB | No | Visit Paysend |
Remitly Zero-fee promotions on the big corridors, with the cost moved into the rate. Strong cash-pickup network, which matters where recipients are unbanked. | $3.99 | 1.40% | $17.991.80% | Minutes (express) | 100 | FinCEN MSB, state MTLs, FCA (UK) | No | Visit Remitly |
Payoneer Built for marketplace payouts rather than transfers; the 2% conversion charge is the headline cost freelancers actually pay. | $0.00 | 2.00% | $20.002.00% | 1–3 days | 35 | FinCEN MSB, CBI (Ireland) | No | Visit Payoneer |
WorldRemit Wallet and airtime payouts across Africa and Southeast Asia; pricing is mid-pack and rate-led. | $2.99 | 1.80% | $20.992.10% | Minutes | 70 | FCA (UK), FinCEN MSB | No | Visit WorldRemit |
Xoom (PayPal) Convenient if you already hold a PayPal balance, and priced accordingly. The card-funded option adds a further percentage on top. | $4.99 | 2.20% | $26.992.70% | Minutes | 60 | FinCEN MSB (PayPal Inc.) | No | Visit Xoom (PayPal) |
MoneyGram Cash network comparable to Western Union, and the only legacy operator with a live stablecoin cash-out product (MoneyGram Access on Stellar). | $4.99 | 2.90% | $33.993.40% | Minutes (cash) | 120 | FinCEN MSB, state MTLs | No | Visit MoneyGram |
Western Union The widest physical payout network on earth, and the price of that network is in the rate. Where cash pickup in a village is the requirement, nothing else competes. | $5.99 | 3.20% | $37.993.80% | Minutes (cash) | 130 | FinCEN MSB, state MTLs, licensed in 200+ markets | No | Visit Western Union |
Typical high-street bank The benchmark everything else is measured against: a wire fee you can see, a spread you cannot, and correspondent deductions on the way through. | $25.00 | 3.80% | $63.006.30% | 2–5 days | 40 | Bank, deposit-insured | No | Visit Typical high-street bank |
Published schedules verified 2026-08-14. Base pricing shown here is the provider default — corridor pricing differs, sometimes sharply, so check the corridor page for the route you actually send.
Documented incidents
- Revolut — Weekend FX surcharge applies outside market hours (published)
- Western Union — 2017 US DOJ deferred prosecution agreement over fraud-related transfers ($586m)
Public regulatory actions and widely reported outages only. No entry means we found nothing public, not that nothing happened.
Sending money abroad, answered
+ − Is sending stablecoins cheaper than Wise?
Sometimes, and not for the reason people expect. The on-chain leg is nearly free, but you pay to get in and out of the banking system at both ends. Once both ramps are counted, a fintech like Wise usually wins on well-served corridors such as USD to India, while the stablecoin route wins where the local off-ramp is competitive, where the recipient wants dollars rather than local currency, or where you need the money to move on a Sunday.
+ − Why do banks charge 3–5% for FX without showing a fee?
Because the charge is inside the exchange rate. A bank quotes you a rate worse than the mid-market rate and keeps the difference; the visible wire fee is a separate, smaller item. That is why every table on this site shows margin against mid-market as its own column — it is the number that actually determines what arrives.
+ − What is the mid-market rate?
The midpoint between the buy and sell price of a currency pair in the wholesale market — the rate you see on Google or Reuters. Nobody retail gets it exactly, but the distance between it and your quoted rate is the honest measure of what a provider charges.
+ − Does FX close on weekends?
The interbank market does, from Friday evening to Sunday evening New York time. Providers either stop converting or add a weekend surcharge. Stablecoin FX pairs keep trading through it, which is the structural advantage of the on-chain route regardless of cost.
Informational only, not financial advice. Terms, fees and availability change frequently — always verify on the provider's own site before committing funds. Some outbound links may be partner links; they never affect ranking or scoring.