St. George Bank international transfer: Fees, rates and transfer time

Sending money overseas can be a complicated process. Every bank has its own requirements and fees, so not knowing the process can end up costing you money you didn’t plan on paying. Knowing the requirements will make bank transfers a lot less complicated - and can save you money.

Read on to learn everything you need to know about making an international money transfer — sometimes called a telegraphic transfer (TT) — to or from Australia’s St. George Bank.

💰 Wise provides you the real exchange rate and low transparent transfer fees shown upfront.

Learn more about
Wise money transfers

St. George Bank international transfer fees vs Wise

To understand better the fees charged for an international transfer by this St. George, let's demo a transfer of 1000 AUD sent to a friend's UK account in GBP. We'll see how it stacks up against Wise.

Regular Fees	St. George Bank International Transfer¹	Wise
Outgoing international transfer	A$10 per transfer in foreign currency via internet banking A$20 via internet banking + overseas bank charges A$32 via staff-assisted + overseas bank charges	5.14 AUD (See pricing here)
Additional fees may apply	See Additional Fees section below	No SWIFT or intermediary bank fees, as the recipient is paid from Wise's account in the UK.

As you can see from the table above, Wise turns out to be the cheaper option even when you don't consider the exchange rates used by St. George and any additional SWIFT fees intermediary banks may charge.

How do you make an international bank transfer with St. George Bank?

St. George Bank offers a few ways to transfer money internationally¹:

• Online via Internet banking
• In person at a bank branch

St. George Bank doesn’t offer international money transfers by phone banking.

Online via Internet banking

• Gather the relevant information for the recipient bank (more on that below)
• Apply for access by completing the Internet Banking - Request to Authorise/Cancel Overseas Telegraphic Transfer Access form. You can submit the signed form via mail or fax, and within 2 working days, you should have access to the “Overseas Transfers” function on your internet banking.
• Go to the “Transfers, Payments & BPAY” menu and select “Overseas Transfers.” Follow the on-screen directions.²

At a St. George Bank branch

At a St George Bank branch, a teller or cashier will help you complete your transaction. Know ahead of time that this is what they refer to as staff-assisted. And it’s nearly always more expensive.

Regardless, though, it may give you more peace of mind to go in person first. Just make sure you have all the information required - see below for more details - and let the teller/cashier know what you need.

What do I need in order to make an international money transfer?

To make an international transfer with St. George Bank, you’ll need:

• BIC/SWIFT code of the recipient.
• IBAN or account number of the recipient
• Recipient’s full name and account name if it’s different
• Recipient’s home address
• Recipient bank’s address

St. George Bank international transfer exchange rates

Remember that 1000 AUD we're sending to a friend's UK GBP account in the fees demo above? Let's see how the exchange rate influences how much our friend actually received in their account (additional intermediary/recipient bank fees excluded).³

Exchange rate*	St. George Bank International Transfer³	Wise
Exchange rate	0.5137	0.53783
Recipient gets	513.70 GBP	537.83 GBP
Type of rate	St. George Bank's own rate	Mid Market rate

*Rates as seen on respective calculators on 25 February 2022

You can see that just on the conversion rate, Wise nets the recipient a whopping 24.13 GBP more for the money you sent compared to an International transfer done via St. George bank.

This is how the real exchange rate Wise uses helps you make the most for your transfer, and eliminates this hidden fee used by most banks.

St. George Bank international transfer limits

St. George bank states that the limit for cumulative daily transfers to international accounts is A$50,000.² Keep this in mind as you may have to do multiple transfers spread out on multiple days if you need to send more than this.

Wise on the other hand has a per transfer limit of 1.5 million AUD. This should come in handy for those large amount transfers you may need to make.

Additional service transfer fees

With international transfers, often your bank isn’t able to send it directly from one country to another. In those cases, 1 or more intermediary banks are involved. And each of these banks normally take a chunk out of the money you’re sending. These fees can cost anywhere from A$20-$50 per intermediary bank.¹

St George Bank International Transfers¹	Additional Fees
Sending/recipient bank and/or intermediary bank(s)	St. George notes “there may be further costs incurred by the intermediary bank and/or overseas bank in the handling of the request. This fee will be debited from the amount sent. You may wish to investigate whether the intermediary bank and/or overseas bank charges a fee for the receipt of any transfer to an international account. If so, you may add this amount to the amount requested for the international transfer”
Cancellation and return of funds	A$25 via internet banking + overseas bank charges A$32 via staff-assisted + overseas bank charges
Trace on a telegraphic transfer	A$25 via internet banking + overseas bank charges A$27 via staff-assisted + overseas bank charges
Amendment to payment details	A$21 via staff-assisted + overseas bank charges A$15 call centre staff-assisted + overseas bank charges

What details to give the sender to receive an international bank transfer into your St. George bank account?

To receive money from overseas into your St. George Bank bank account, you’ll need to give the sender²:

• St. George Bank’s BIC/Swift code SGBLAU2S
• St. George Bank’s BSB code
• Your routing number, if you’re receiving money from a US bank, which is: 021 000 021
• Your account number
• Your account name
• Your branch address
• You may need to agree with the sender about who will pay the fees associated with the transfer

You can log into internet banking to find this information, or visit a branch or call 13 33 30.

Here are the fees to receive money from abroad into your account at this bank

Here is a breakdown of the fees you'll pay if you receive money sent from abroad into your account.¹

St George Bank	Fees
Incoming international transfer	A$12 if credited to an account at St. George + overseas bank charges A$38 inward telegraphic transfers credited to other institution accounts + overseas bank charges

Frequently Asked Questions about St. George Bank international transfers

How long does an international bank transfer with St. George Bank take to arrive at the destination account??

St. George notes payments are typically processed within 1-3 business days but may take longer.³

What are the different payment methods?

The money you’re sending will be withdrawn from your St. George Bank account, and the fees will also be debited from the amount sent.

Is there any way to make a faster transfer for an extra fee?

St. George Bank doesn’t currently offer a faster transfer for an extra fee.

Does the amount of time it takes vary by destination?

St. George Bank doesn’t guarantee transfer times for any destination. Processing times will vary.

Contact / Help - More questions around your transfer?

You can reach out to them via phone on⁴:

• 13 33 30 within Australia from 8am – 8pm AEST Monday - Saturday (excluding public holidays)
• +61 2 9155 7800 (from overseas)

St. George Bank’s customer support offers multiple options for contact, but they’ll vary based on the service you need help with, so check their site for details.

A cheap and transparent alternative: Wise

One alternative to international bank transfers is Wise. Wise allows you to send money at the exact mid-market rate - the same rate you find on Google - with minimal, fair transfer fees spelled out upfront. For most of the transfers in currencies supported by Wise, your money never actually crosses borders, so there’s no international or intermediary bank fees unlike normal SWIFT transfers overseas.

Wise also offers its Multi-currency account, which allow account holders to send, receive and manage money in multiple global currencies at once.

Also, if you get paid in one country and live in another, Multi-currency account may help. You can get local bank details in the US, the UK, the EU, and Australia, so you can get paid like a local and avoid those international fees.

Give Wise a try and see for yourself how easy it can be to send money internationally.

Open your Wise account in minutes 🚀

---

Sources:

1. St. George Fees and terms Page 47 (fees), 49 (staff assisted)
2. St. George money transfer FAQs
3. St. George exchange rate calculator
4. St. George Bank Contact Us page

Sources checked on 25 February 2022