Sending money abroad: fees and exchange rates
Updated 3 October 2026
When you move abroad, part of your money changes currency: your salary may stay in your home country, you pay rent over there, you support your family. Every conversion has a cost, rarely shown clearly. Here is how to spot it and cut it.
What you really pay
- Transfer fees: fixed or a percentage, they are usually clearly shown.
- The exchange-rate margin: the rate offered is worse than the reference rate, the market rate with no margin. It is often the biggest cost and the least visible.
- The receiving bank’s fees: sometimes taken out of the amount that arrives, without you seeing them when you send.
A worked example
You send €3,000. At the reference rate of 30 September 2026, here is what arrives, then what arrives if the transfer costs you 1.5% in total (fees and margin), the assumption the calculator uses.
| Currency | Reference rate | Amount received at the reference rate | Amount received with a 1.5% cost | What you lose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GBP | 0.8546 | £2,564 | £2,525 | €45 |
| USD | 1.1355 | $3,407 | $3,355 | €45 |
| CAD | 1.6105 | $4,832 | $4,759 | €45 |
| AED | 4.1701 | AED 12,510 | AED 12,323 | €45 |
| MAD | 11.00 | MAD 32,994 | MAD 32,499 | €45 |
| TRY | 55.66 | ₺166,979 | ₺164,474 | €45 |
A 1.5% loss on a €3,000 monthly salary is €45 a month, or €540 a year. Services differ a lot: always compare the final amount received.
How to pay less
- Compare the final amount that reaches the recipient, not just the fees shown.
- Compare the rate offered with the reference rate (for example the European Central Bank’s): the gap is the margin.
- Abroad, pay by card in the local currency and refuse the conversion offered by the terminal or website (“dynamic currency conversion”): it is often less favourable.
- If fees are fixed, group your transfers rather than sending many small ones.
- Check that the provider is authorised: in France, the official register is the ACPR’s REGAFI.
- Beware of offers that look too good and of transfer requests from people you do not know.
In the calculator
When you keep your salary from your home country, the result already includes exchange costs of 1.5% a month on the income you convert. You see what that means for your case.
Transparency
Vie Ailleurs does not sell any money transfer service. This page contains no commercial link. If a partner link is ever added, it will be labelled as such.