A transfer quote is three numbers wearing one smile: the fee on the screen, the rate in the small print, and the amount that arrives. People compare the fee because it is the only number with a currency sign next to a zero. The rate is often where the provider is paid.
Start from what arrives
Ask each provider, for the same send amount and the same day, how much the recipient’s account will be credited with, and in which currency. If one quote is ‘the recipient pays the charges’, it is not the same product as one that guarantees an amount. Write the guarantee down. A phone estimate is not that.
Read the rate against a reference
A mid-market rate is a reference between buy and sell prices, not a rate anyone has to give you. Your rate may include a spread or a markup. Add any visible fee. The FX cost comparison accepts figures from a quote you already hold and shows how those two pieces change the result. It does not fetch a live rate and it does not recommend a firm.
Rates move during the day. A comparison made on Monday is not a price on Thursday. If you need a sum on a fixed date, ask whether the rate can be fixed and what you owe if the payment does not go ahead.
Charges that appear later
Correspondent or intermediary banks can deduct a fee from an international payment. Some providers will tell you this is possible. Some routes are more exposed than others. Ask who can take a fee after the quote, and whether the amount received is protected.
A large transfer will also be asked to explain itself. A cheap route you cannot use because the firm will not accept the source of funds is not cheap. Build that question into the comparison before you are against a completion deadline.
Compare the amount that arrives, on the day you send
The honest comparison is the amount your recipient receives for the amount you pay, once the rate and every fee you can see have been applied. A provider can look cheap on a transfer fee and expensive on the rate, or the reverse. Ask each provider for the rate, any fee they charge you, and whether they or a correspondent may deduct a further fee from the amount that arrives. If they cannot tell you the last of those, treat the landed amount as uncertain and say so in your notes.
Time is part of the cost when a deposit or a completion has a date. Ask when the provider expects the money to arrive, and what the recipient must do if it does not. A promise of speed is not a guarantee, and this guide states no delivery time. If the payment is large, ask what documents they will want before you start the clock. A delay for source-of-funds questions is still a delay, even when the rate was attractive.
Keep the quote next to the result
Save the quote and the confirmation: currencies, amounts, rate, fees, and the reference. If you use a bank for one payment and a specialist firm for another, those records are how you learn which was actually cheaper for the kind of payment you make, rather than which advert you remember. Repeat the comparison when the amount or the corridor changes. A good result on a small payment does not automatically describe a large one.
The provider is not the only institution in the chain. Your bank, the recipient’s bank and any intermediary can ask questions or take a charge. Leave time, and leave a way to prove where the money came from. The WiT Access notes on comparing transfer costs are a way to line up the questions. They are not a ranking of firms, and they do not publish a rate.
A practical checklist
- Same amount, same currency pair, same day.
- Amount the recipient is told they will get.
- Visible fee plus the gap to a mid-market reference.
- Whether intermediary fees can still come off.
- How long it takes, and what the cutoff is.
- Whether a large sum needs documents you already have.
Questions to ask
- How much arrives, net?
- Is that amount guaranteed?
- What is your rate, and what reference are you using?
- Who else can charge?
- What happens if I cancel after you fix a rate?
- What will you ask about the source of this money?
Common mistakes
- Ranking providers by the fee alone.
- Comparing a quote in the morning with a memory from last month.
- Ignoring the currency the recipient actually needs.
- Leaving source-of-funds questions until the day of sending.
- Using a rate from a news site as if it were your rate.
WiT Access provides general information and comparison resources. Nothing on this website constitutes financial, tax, legal or investment advice. Always consider obtaining advice from an appropriately qualified professional.
