Top money transfer services compared

About Top money transfer services compared

Money transfer services sit between a wallet, a bank account and a remittance desk, and the differences show up in what a send costs, how fast the money lands, and how the account around it is licensed. This ranking covers 1,554 brands, and the trade-off at the centre of it is cost against credibility. Some services hold the exchange margin down and then take a rate on every send, while others publish a long currency list and charge a flat fee on international transfers. Readers here also weigh the licence behind the money, the payout routes available, and whether a person can be reached when a payment stalls. A median monthly fee of €0 means most of these services are free to hold, so the running cost is the exchange margin and the send fee rather than an account charge. The median margin here is 0.53% and the median currency count is 5, which is where the real cost and the real limits sit.

How we picked

Every brand is scored on weighted pillars rather than a single price. Trust carries the most weight at 40%, because the safety of the money and the licence behind it decide whether a service is worth using at all. Cost is weighted at 35% and covers the transfer fee, the exchange margin and the monthly account charge. Offer is weighted at 25% and takes in currency count, payout routes, delivery time and the support channels on each record. Figures come from published fee pages, pricing and plan pages, help centres, product listings and the regulator registers that hold licence records, alongside the site statistics shown on each card. Where a service publishes several rates, the copy keeps the qualifier attached, such as a private client rate or a Pro rate, so the figure is read in context. Partners are listed first, in the order the score gives them, and the rest follow the same scoring, so position reflects the score rather than a commercial arrangement. The wider set behind this ranking holds 1,554 brands, of which 542 carry a licence record.

Our top picks

1. 4. Skrill

   Skrill takes second in this ranking on breadth. A single wallet covers 47 currencies, the widest list among the services here, and payouts run to bank, card and wallet, so a recipient can be paid to a bank, a card or a wallet instead of waiting on one route. Support runs on help centre, email and phone, and the licence type on record is e money through Paysafe Payment Solutions Limited in the IE. Bank transfer money transfers carry no fee, a transfer to another Skrill wallet is charged a rate with a small minimum, and an international transfer costs up to the 4.99% exchange mark up. Delivery takes 24 - 72 hours, slower than the top pick. Starling, next in this ranking, goes a different way with an account and a card rather than a multi currency wallet.

   • Monthly fee: €0
   • Licence type: E money
   • Deposit protection: EU DGS up to EUR 100,000

   Pros

   • The monthly fee is €0, the same as Starling Personal Account Debit Card at £0, so the wallet costs nothing to keep open.
   • The stated audience covers expats, travelers and business, so expats, travellers and businesses are the groups the service is built around.
   • 47 currencies sit in one wallet, well above the site median of 5.
   • Payouts go to bank, card and wallet, so money can land in a bank account, on a card or in another wallet.
   • Support runs through help centre, email and phone, which includes phone help for transfers that stall.

   Cons

   • Currency conversion costs 3.99%, against 0% at AXI Card Tarjeta y Credito and 0.5% at XTB.
   • An exchange rate mark-up of 4.99% can be added to international transfers on top of the fee.
   • The currency conversion fee ranking puts it at 297 out of 312, so exchange is the weak spot.
   • Balances sit under an e-money licence (e money) rather than a bank licence, and international delivery runs 24 - 72 hours.

What to look for

The exchange margin, not the headline rate

The figure that moves real money is the margin added to the exchange rate. Across this ranking the median margin is 0.53%, the upper quartile is 2.55% and the highest recorded is 6.7%. A service quoted near the top of that range costs more on a large transfer even when its account is free.

A free account is the norm here

The median monthly fee in this ranking is €0 and the upper quartile is €0, so holding an account usually costs nothing. Read the transfer fee next: the median headline rate here is 3%, with a lower quartile of 1.36% and an upper quartile of 5.15%.

Where the money can land

Bank payouts appear on most services in this ranking at 83.2%, while cash pickup appears on 48.6% and wallet payouts on 49.3%. If a recipient is paid in cash or holds only a wallet, a bank only service will not work for them.

How many currencies matter

The median service in this ranking covers 5 currencies, the upper quartile reaches 15 and the widest reaches 350. Extra currencies only help if the transfer is actually in one of them, so a euro area payer can set a long list aside.

What sits behind the licence

In this ranking 40.7% of the services hold an e-money licence, 40.7% are payment institutions and 18.5% are banks. A licence type tells you which rules a firm is held to, which makes it a steadier filter than a headline rate.

Reaching a person

Help centres appear on 74.6% of the services here, phone on 81.4%, email on 72.8% and chat on 31.7%. For a transfer that has already stalled, a phone line is worth more than a chat window.

Frequently asked questions

Top money transfer services compared by country

• Australia
• Brazil
• Canada
• China
• France
• Germany
• India
• Ireland
• Italy
• Japan
• Philippines
• Singapore
• Spain
• United Kingdom
• United States

The data behind this ranking

All data and the CSV