Australian businesses vote on how well banks do international transfers
A new survey has revealed the top banks for international transactions for small-to-medium businesses, with the Commonwealth Bank (CommBank) taking the biggest share of the market, and ANZ and Westpac ranking highest for customer satisfaction.
A survey of an independent panel of 210 Australian business owners and decision makers, commissioned by comparison platform Money Transfer Australia (moneytransfer.com.au), found that over a third (35%) of businesses do their international money transfers with CommBank, almost double the second most utilised bank, ANZ (18%).
Of the remaining big four banks, 13 per cent of businesses use Westpac and 10 per cent used NAB for international money transfers.
The full report can be found here: https://moneytransfer.com.au/
How satisfied are businesses with the big four banks?
An average 42 per cent of respondents say they are ‘very satisfied’ with their bank, with ANZ and Westpac leading the charge at 46 per cent and 45 per cent, respectively.
CommBank has the lowest level of dissatisfaction (at 6%), but more than half (54%) of business users say they are only ‘somewhat satisfied’, suggesting there is still room for service improvements.
Although all banks rated closely across all levels of satisfaction, NAB has the highest rate of dissatisfaction among respondents, at 23 per cent.
What are banks charging for international transfers?
Charges vary across the big four banks depending on exchange rates, marks-ups on those rates, whether transferring foreign currency or AUD, which country or region you are transferring to and whether you are making your transfer online, in a branch or by phone.
CommBank and NAB charge $30 per transfer in AUD and $0 for transfers in foreign currency.1 2 Westpac charges $20 for online international transfers in AUD and $0 for transfers in foreign currency. It charges $32 for any international transfers made in a branch.3 ANZ transfer fees vary the most depending on the country and amount of money being transferred. For most countries, there is a $9 charge for online transfers sent in foreign currency and $18 if sent in AUD.4 Exchange rates also differ between banks due to margins on rates.
Money Transfer Australia founder Alon Rajic says: “All four of Australia’s big banks are among the top 50 largest in the world by market value. CommBank sits as high as number thirteen.5 People will trust what is visible and stable, especially when it comes to their business and livelihood, but the findings do suggest some complacency among customers and room for banks to improve their money transfer service.
“Many businesses may not understand that some non-bank money transfer specialists, such as TORFX and OFX, have been in business for as long as 20-25 years. They are ASIC authorised, well-established and reputable, and they don’t charge extra fees or high mark-ups on exchange rates. Businesses would benefit from shopping around and getting to know what other options are out there for their international transactions.”
The full survey results, including breakdowns across business sizes, states and territories, can be found here: https://moneytransfer.com.au/