• While banks usually offer foreign currency transfers, there are plenty of websites and apps which can provide the service at cheaper prices.
• We rounded out a list of 5 websites you can use to transfer money overseas, including World Remit and TransferWise.
• Their fees vary depending on where you’re sending money to and how you choose to send your funds.
• Visit Business Insider Australia’s homepage for more stories.

Thinking of transferring money overseas?

If you’re planning an overseas trip or you want to send some cash to a relative in another country, there are plenty of ways to go about it. According to analysis from TransferWise, Australians lose $2.14 billion each year from fees charged by banks. While banks can offer foreign currency transfers, you also have the option of choosing websites and apps that give you a better deal.

We’ve rounded out a list of 5 websites you can use to transfer funds overseas:

With UK-based World Remit, you can send money to 150 countries, and this can be received through a number of options including bank transfer, cash pickup, mobile money, the World Remit Wallet or airtime (think mobile phone credit).

There are 50 countries you can send money from using World Remit – Australia being one of them – and there are more than 90 currencies available.

World Remit claims it is 48% cheaper than sending money using a traditional bank. You can pay using methods like your credit or debit card, a bank transfer or Klarna. The company doesn’t accept Google Pay, however.

The first transfer is free, but after that the fees you’re charged vary depending on what country you’re sending money to.

Also headquartered in the UK is money transfer platform TransferWise, which has more than 6 million customers and counts billionaire Sir Richard Branson and PayPal founders Peter Thiel and Max Levchin among its investors.

TransferWise is available in more than 50 countries and claims it is 8 times cheaper than banks. It offers a ‘Guaranteed Rate’ where the exchange rate is guaranteed for 24 to 48 hours, depending on where you’re sending from. For Aussies, it’s 48 hours.

TransferWise also introduced a ‘borderless account’ where you can hold up to 50 currencies and convert between them. You also get a free Platinum debit MasterCard with this account which has no foreign transaction fees and free ATM withdrawals worldwide up to $350 for every 30 days.

If you want to transfer a lot of money, then you can try out World First. You can sign up for free but the minimum amount you can transfer is $2,000.

World First offers 180 currencies and does not charge for for international payments. However, the company only does bank-to-bank transfers.

Australian foreign exchange company OFX (formerly OzForex) offers more than 55 currencies and has one million customers around the world. It doesn’t charge set up or monthly account fees, instead charging a flat fee.

OFX has options for you to lock in the current foreign exchange rate when sending off your money. And when you send over $10,000, you don’t get charged any fee.

US-based Remitly is targeted at supporting immigrants and their families. You can send money from 16 countries including Australia, Canada and the US. But because company’s mission focuses on supporting immigrants, you can only send money to 40 countries.

On Remitly, you can send money the ‘express’ way via debit or credit card or the ‘economy’ way – paying through your bank account, which is cheaper. The transfer amount varies depending on how much you spend and the delivery speed you want.

When you sign up, you are assigned a sending limit tier, which limits how much you can send in a certain amount of time. There are three tiers. In the first tier, you’re limited to sending $2,999 within 24 hours, $10,000 in 30 days and $18,000 in 180 days. You can also request to increase your limit.

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