How Long Does An International Transfer Take From Australia?

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The main ways of transferring money internationally are via a major bank or through a money transfer specialist.

When you transfer money from your account to another account overseas, it is called a money transfer, a telegraphic transfer (TT), or a wire or SWIFT transfer. While they may be more secure, bank transfers are often the most expensive and can also take the longest to get to the destination account, sometimes taking up to five days.

But banks aren’t the only option. An increasing number of international money transfer (IMT) specialist services are entering the market, including well-known established names like Moneygram and Western Union, and new digital online entrants such as Wise, Revolut, and online foreign exchange currency traders such as OFX and XE.

The newer entrants to the market are competing on fees and speed so they will generally offer faster services. For example, online foreign exchange currency trader OFX facilitates bank to bank transfers but, because it operates 24/7, unlike traditional banks, most of its transfers to major international markets take one to two days.

A traditional bank to bank transfer facilitated by a major bank takes around three to five days.

“Our global network of banks allows us to transfer money overseas securely and quickly, so if you’re sending from Australia to the U.S. for example, we can often offer same-day delivery,” OFX says on its website.

Very fast transfers are also possible if you arrange for the recipient to pick up the funds in person at a designated agent branch of a money transfer service like Western Union.

The traditional bank-to-bank International Money Transfer will generally take up to one to five days, taking into account that banks are only open during business hours and not on weekends.

Commonwealth Bank, for example, says payments will take between one to three business days as does Westpac, while NAB says the payment will usually be received within 24 hours by the payee’s bank subject to some terms and conditions.

But fintech Revolut says: “Depending on where you’re sending to, an international money transfer with us will arrive within one day, as a same day transfer, or even an instant money transfer.”

If the recipient is a Revolut user on the Revolut App, peer-to-peer transactions can arrive in seconds while bank transfers usually arrive within one business day.

Wise says it is working on instant transfers, and its currency calculator will also provide an estimate for when the recipient will receive the funds. A transfer of 100,000 Japanese yen from Australia should arrive in two hours, while a transfer of 6000 Thai baht should arrive in under an hour. It estimates a transfer of $US600 will arrive the following day.

You can also make international money transfers to some countries via PayPal if the recipient also has a PayPal account. PayPal says an international transfer between Australia and the US, for example, “is almost instant (within minutes)”, although keep in mind that PayPal’s rates are not as competitive as rival fin-techs.

If you prefer to make a transfer in person and want the receiver to also pick it up in person, a Western Union international money transfer can be arranged through many Australia Post outlets.

The Australia Post and Western Union websites say that in-person cash transfers can be ready to pick up in minutes at an agent location (subject to some terms and conditions). Fin techs, such as Remitly, Ria and Revolut, also offer cash pick-ups.