ANZ International Transfers
If you’re banking with ANZ, you might be questioning if they’re the right option for your international money transfer needs.
Sending money overseas can often feel unnecessarily confusing, with key details either buried in the fine print or left unclear.
This guide simplifies the process by providing clear, direct answers to the most common questions.
We’ll break down ANZ’s exchange rates and fees, online transfer limits, and how long it typically takes for ANZ to process overseas transfers.
By the end, you’ll have a good understanding of how ANZ compares to other banks and money transfer providers, and whether they’re the right option for sending your money abroad.
How much does ANZ Bank charge for international transfers?
Regardless of which bank or alternative provider you choose to send money overseas, there are two types of cost you need to look out for:
- Transfer fees
- Exchange rate markup
Let’s break down these costs and see what ANZ charges for each.
ANZ Bank transfer fees
Most banks charge a standard fee for each international transfer, with the total amount depending on several factors. While ANZ’s fee structure isn’t particularly straightforward, they do clearly advertise these fees on their website.
We’ve included a summary of these costs below:
| Transactions less than $10,000 (AUD equivalent) | ||||||
| Sent in a foreign currency from an AUD account | Sent in AUD from an AUD account | Sent from a foreign currency account | ||||
| to select countries | to all other countries | to select countries | to all other countries | to select countries | to all other countries | |
| ANZ Phone Banking | $7 | $9 | $7 | $32 | $7 | $32 |
| ANZ Internet Banking | $0 | $9 | $7 | $18 | – | – |
‘Select countries’ includes payments to: Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Kiribati, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor Leste, Tonga and Vanuatu
They charge differently for transactions above $10,000 AUD:
| Transactions more than $10,000 (AUD equivalent) | ||||||
| Sent in a foreign currency from an AUD account | Sent in AUD from an AUD account | Sent from a foreign currency account | ||||
| to select countries | to all other countries | to select countries | to all other countries | to select countries | to all other countries | |
| ANZ Phone Banking | $0 | $0 | $7 | $32 | $7 | $32 |
| ANZ Internet Banking | $0 | $0 | $7 | $18 | – | – |
In most cases, as long as a currency conversion is involved, ANZ doesn’t charge transfer fees. This is good, they’re unnecessary fees that customers shouldn’t have to pay.
But, transfer fees are just a small part of the equation. Some banks, like ANZ, lure you in with ‘zero fee international transfers’.
It’s important to understand that ‘zero fee’ doesn’t mean the service is free. That’s where the exchange rate markup comes in.
ANZ Bank exchange rates
By far the biggest cost associated with sending money overseas is in the markup included in the exchange rate you’re offered.
Banks buy currency at the ‘interbank exchange rate’. They then sell you the currency at a rate which is worse than this.
This difference is known as an ‘FX markup’ or ‘margin’.
Put simply, the higher the margin, the more the bank makes in profit, and banks are infamous for charging notably high markups.
It’s why so many cheaper bank alternatives can exist today.
ANZ has a currency converter that clearly states their offered rate, any associated fees, and an estimated beneficiary total in the receiving currency.
What they don’t advertise of course, is the FX margin. Which, by our calculations, is just over 3.75%.
But what does that mean in dollars and cents?
Well, for a $50,000 AUD to GBP transfer, that margin would cost you AU$1,875. A huge cost that dwarfs any of the transfer fees we outlined.
This markup is fairly normal for a large Australian bank. Generally speaking, all of Australia’s ‘big five’ banks charge a margin somewhere in the region of 2.5% to 5%.
We can confidently say that banks, including ANZ, are among the most expensive methods available for international money transfers.
How do ANZ Bank international transfer costs compare to other providers?
The harsh reality for ANZ, and most major Australian banks, is that they simply can’t compete with alternative money transfer providers on cost (or service, for that matter), but for now, let’s focus on the costs.
Customers of leading currency dealers like OFX and TorFX, report margin savings of 2% to 3% compared to the exchange rates offered by banks.
You can use these FX markups as an approximate guide:
| Money Transfer Provider | Guideline Margin |
| ANZ | 3.75% |
| OFX | 0.35% – 2% |
| TorFX | 0.15% – 2% |
Or, you can use our free calculator to compare the international money transfer rates offered by Australia’s market-leading payment providers to 50+ countries.
As we’ve just outlined, 2-3% can easily equate to thousands of dollars, meaning there are huge savings to be had by choosing specialist money transfer companies.
This is, of course, just a general guideline for potential savings, as it’s difficult to be specific when so many factors influence the rate a provider offers.
For instance, if a private customer makes a one-off transaction converting AUD to an exotic currency, the cheapest provider may offer a total cost of around 1%.
On the other hand, if you need to transfer much larger sums into a common currency, it’s possible to secure an FX markup as low as 0.2%. That’s more than 10 times cheaper than the average markup of a major bank like ANZ!
How long does an ANZ Bank international transfer take?
All ANZ international transfers are processed overnight on bank business days.
Beyond this, ANZ does not provide any further specifics about processing times. However, ANZ doesn’t provide much detail beyond this. They simply state that the time it takes for the payee’s account to receive the funds will depend on the systems and policies of the recipient’s bank.
While many banks or money transfer providers include similar disclaimers, they usually offer at least some guideline time frames. It’s also fairly common for international payments to have specific deadlines, especially when sending money to a business or merchant.
It’s not particularly reassuring that ANZ Bank is so vague in this area, as they don’t even provide details on cut-off times for their overnight processing.
What is the maximum amount I can transfer internationally using ANZ Bank?
The maximum transfer limit with ANZ varies depending on whether you’re transferring by phone or internet banking.
For ANZ Phone Banking, there’s no transaction limit. However, it’s important to note that you cannot use a credit card for international money transfers made over the phone.
For internet banking, a personal user’s daily payment limit also applies to all international payments, though this limit may vary depending on the customer’s circumstances.
By default, a daily limit of $25,000 applies to personal banking customers. This can be increased up to $50,000 for those using ANZ shield, a security app that verifies your ANZ Internet Banking activity.
Standard business customers using internet banking have a maximum daily limit of $150,000 for international transfers, regardless of whether their daily limit for domestic transactions is higher (which can be set up to $1,000,000).
See our guide on international business money transfers to find payment providers with no prohibitive limits.
Can you make international transfers from the ANZ Bank app?
As it stands, you can’t use the ANZ app to make an overseas transfer.
This is somewhat contradictory to screenshots we’ve seen of the app, that include a selectable ‘International Money Transfer’ button when setting up a new payee.
Not-so-good to leave you feeling confident in ANZ’s international capabilities.
That said, ANZ has clearly invested heavily in its mobile app, available on both Google Play and the App Store. With over 4 million users, the ANZ Bank app has received fairly high ratings across both platforms, and it wouldn’t be surprising if they added an international payments feature to their mobile app in the near future.
Is ANZ Bank a good option for international money transfers?
Like many of the major banks, ANZ may seem like a good option for transferring your money overseas at a first glance.
They provide a wide range of video resources and support dedicated to international transfers on their website, and their public currency converter gives the impression of being transparent about exchange rates and fees.
However, when you stop to assess the true cost and practicalities of their services, it soon becomes apparent that ANZ is not a good option for international money transfers.
The biggest factor in this conclusion is cost.
ANZ’s exchange rates include a very high markup to the interbank rate. This results in customers spending thousands more than if they were to choose a leading alternate provider.
Aside from cost, ANZ also has some restrictive transfer limits, which will quickly become problematic for those with a need to transfer larger amounts.
By choosing a bank like ANZ, you also miss out on working closely with a dedicated account manager. Leading currency brokers assign you an FX expert to act as your dedicated point of contact, helping guide you through the process of a large international transfer.
That’s why you’re better off using a reputable, highly-rated currency broker like TorFX or Send Payments if you’re sending over AU$20k.
Their guidance on timing your trade and leveraging other FX tools where appropriate can lead to even greater savings.
Even for smaller amounts, you can’t use the ANZ app. If you’re looking to send under AU$20k, it’s better to skip the banks and opt for a leading money transfer app like ‘Wise’ to access much better rates.
If the recipient doesn’t have a bank account, you can’t use ANZ to send your money. You need to use a remittance company like Western Union instead.