MONEY, BANKS, and CREDIT > MONEY TRANSFERS: PART 1 > PART 2
Sending money to or from
Austria, Germany, Switzerland
In Part One we discussed the basic differences between banking and payment systems in the US and Europe. Now we’ll show you some of the options for transferring money between the US and the German-speaking countries or almost any country in the world.
Options for Sending Money to or from Germany
You have several options for transferring funds to or from Germany – or other European countries. These options vary mostly in the fees charged to you (and/or the recipient). In general, banks charge the highest fees for an international money transfers. But thanks to the Internet, there are other, lower-cost choices.
| etoro eToro.de — Online foreign exchange trading in Germany  |
Here are a few of the options for making international payments (also see links at the bottom of this page):
- Bank wire transfer (IBAN/SWIFT) - Used for bank-to-bank transfers; usually a $35-40 fee charged to the sender and a $15-20 fee to the recipient. More practical for large sums.
- Credit card - The easiest and usually cheapest way to make international payments; a problem in German-speaking countries because few merchants offer credit-card payment.
- PayPal - Popular because it’s widely used internationally and charges reasonable fees; both parties need to have a PayPal account.
- Oanda FXGlobalTransfer - An online service
- MoneyGram.com - An online service
- Western Union - One of the oldest services for international payments or cash transfers.
- World First - For recurring or one-time fund transfers
- Xoom Money Transfer - An online service
Exchange Rates
No matter which option you choose for transferring money internationally, you will pay an additional cost for changing one currency into another (e.g., dollars to euros or vice versa). Even a credit card transaction includes this exchange fee, although it may not always be obvious on your statement. No matter who does the transfer, they will take a cut of the exchange one way or another. It is wise to compare the exchange rate in addition to the transfer fee.
- See our Currency Converter for the current exchange
rates for various currencies.
Comparing Fees
Most of the online services for transferring funds overseas make it easy to see what your fees will be. Sendmoneyhome.org allows you to easily compare rates among various services. (See link below.)
The choice you make will depend on how much money you want to transfer, how fast you need to send the money, and all the other factors we have mentioned above. The point is to be a wise shopper – even when it come to sending money overseas!
BACK > Part 1: Money and Geld
MORE > The Euro (facts and figures)
MORE > Money, banks, and credit
MORE > Expats in German-Speaking Europe
Related Links
NOTE: We are not responsible for the content of external websites we link to. We do not endorse any of the services or firms listed below. They are for information only.
- MoneyGram.com - Also helps for comparing money transfer options
- Oanda FXGlobalTransfer - Compare costs
- Sendmoneyhome.org - Help for comparing money transfer options
- TransferMate.com - Global payment services (min. transfer: US$1,000.00)
- Tranzfers.com - A global service of Oz Forex in Australia
- Western Union - The longtime service for sending money internationally
- World First - For recurring or one-time payments
- Xoom Money Transfer - Send money to anyone almost anywhere
BACK > Part 1: Money and Geld
MORE > The Euro (facts and figures)
