OrbitRemit international money transfers in Australia. The fees, rates & how-tos

Sending money overseas can seem complex if you’ve never done it before. Unlike transferring domestically, there can be differences in fees, transfer times and recipient detail that can catch you off guard. On top of this, there are a whole range of international money transfer providers to choose from.

This article will deep dive into OrbitRemit, one such provider in Australia and get to know who they are and the gritty details on their fees, transfer times and processes to send money abroad.

💰 Wise provides you the mid-market exchange rate and low transparent transfer fees shown upfront.

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Wise money transfers

What is OrbitRemit Australia

OrbitRemit is a international money transfer company that started in 2008 in New Zealand.¹ Since then, it has expanded and is regulated to allow transfers to be made from Australia.² OrbitRemit operates under the regulation of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and holds the Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) 470646.

OrbitRemit is also registered with the Financial Intelligence Unit within the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (AUSTRAC) under the registration number of 100439420.¹

How do OrbitRemit transfers work

OrbitRemit uses their own transfer network. This means that when you send a transfer, it will first go to their local account in the country destination and be sent to the receiver's local account from there.³

OrbitRemit international money transfers fees.

When sending money abroad, transfer fees are common. Let’s see how OrbitRemit compares with an alternative provider Wise.

OrbitRemit fees⁴	Wise fees⁵
Fee ranges between currencies from $0 to $4 AUD fixed fee For amounts over $10,000 then no fee applied	Fixed fee varies by currency plus a variable fee based on amount being sent and payment method used.

As seen on 11 March 2024

To see how OrbitRemit compares to another International Money Transfer provider, we’ll do an example transfer for $1000 AUD to GBP using a bank transfer as the payment method.

OrbitRemit Transfer⁶	Wise Transfer⁵
No fixed fee is applied for AUD to GBP transfer and an exchange rate of 0.51100 is applied. The recipient will be sent 511 GBP to their account	A fee of $5.32 is charged upfront and an exchange rate of 0.5145 is used. The recipient will receive 511.79 GBP

As seen on 11 March 2024

As you can see, there isn’t much difference between the two providers based on a transfer from AUD to GBP.

Please see Terms of Use for your region or visit Wise Fees & Pricing for the most up-to-date pricing and fee information.

OrbitRemit international money transfers exchange rate

From the above transfer example, we can see that although OrbitRemit does not charge an upfront fee in its transfer, it is incorporated in the exchange rate used.⁶ This means that OrbitRemit makes a margin in their exchange rate, while Wise charges the fee up-front and uses the mid-market rate instead of taking a hidden fee.

OrbitRemit supported currencies

OrbitRemit supports transfers in 25 currencies from Australia including⁷:

Country	Currency
Bangladesh	BDT
Canadia	CAD
China	CNY
Denmark	DKK
Europe	Euro
Fiji	FJD
Hong Kong	HKD
India	INR
Indonesia	IDR
Malaysia	MYR
Nepal	NPR
New Zealand	NZD
Norway	NOK
Philippines	PHP
Poland	PLN
Samoa	WST
Singapore	SGD
South Korea	KWR
South Africa	ZAR
Sri Lanka	LKR
Sweden	SEK
Thailand	THB
United Kingdom	GBP
United States	USD
Vietnam	VND

Each currency comes with differing fees, limits to send and transfer times.

How to send money internationally with OrbitRemit

When you want to send money internationally with OrbitRemit, you’ll need to register for an account to set up and finalise a transfer. Here are the steps to send a transfer abroad⁸:

1. Sign up to OrbitRemit
2. Use their transfer calculator
3. Complete your profile by adding your details
4. Add a recipient to send your money
5. Verify your account
6. Review your transfer
7. Choose how to fund your transfer
8. Confirm your transfer
9. Monitor the progress of the transfer

You can send an international transfer either using the OrbitRemit website portal or through their mobile app.

Can you cancel a transfer and get a refund with OrbitRemit?

Transfers cannot be cancelled if they have been completed on OrbitRemits. If the status of your transfer is still in either the “‘Awaiting Payment’ or 'Awaiting Update', you can still cancel or request a refund.⁹

What details are needed to send money with OrbitRemit

Before you can send a transfer from Australia, you’ll need to provide OrbitRemit with a few of your own details. This is to set up your account, verify your identity and confirm your transfer.

Set up your profile

Some details you’ll need to provide OrbitRemit to set up your profile includes¹⁰:

• Name
• Email address¹¹
• Address in Australia

There is a cash pick up option for a select number of countries.

Verify your account

The process to verify your identity involves biometric matching to your identity documents. This means you’ll need to provide either¹²:

• A non-expired passport
• Driver Licence

To make sure the biometric verification is successful, you’ll need a webcam if using the web portal or a working camera on your mobile device.

Confirm your transfer

To finalise your transfer once the above two steps are completed, you’ll need to make sure you have given OrbitRemit your recipients:

• Name
• Local account details
• Correct amount you want to send
• Your OrbitRemit Customer number¹³

From here, you can pay for your transfer and monitor the status until it reaches your recipients account.

Transfer limits with OrbitRemit

Each currency has a different limit of how much can be transferred and received. Generally, the limit is based on local laws and regulations around international money transfers.

Here's a breakdown of the limits for 10 major currencies from Australia to personal accounts abroad.¹⁴

Currency	Maximum limit
GBP	No maximum
USD	No maximum
EURO	No maximum
CAD	$100,000 CAD
NZD	No maximum
CNY	30,000 CNY
ZAR	No maximum
INR	15,000,000 INR daily limit
IDR	100,000,000 IDR per transfer
THB	49,999.99 THB per transfer

OrbitRemit money transfer payment methods — In and Out

With all the above in mind, it’s good to get a good understanding on how you can pay for your transfer and how your recipient can receive the funds. We use the alternative Wise to compare the different pay in and out methods available.

Pay methods	OrbitRemit¹⁵	Wise¹⁷
Pay in	Bank transfer PayID	PayID Bank transfer Debit Card Credit Card PoLI
Pay out	Bank transfer deposit Cash pick up (only)¹⁶ Nepal Philippines Bangladesh Vietnam	Bank transfer Wise account

Pros and cons of sending money with OrbitRemit

It's hard to see the pros and cons of each international money transfer provider without having to dig deep into their service offerings and comparing with other similar providers.

We’ve made it easy by briefly comparing the pros and cons of sending money with OrbitRemit versus Wise.

Sending money abroad	OrbitRemit	Wise¹⁷
Pros	Low fixed transfer fee 25 currencies available Cash pick up available in some countries High or no limits on transfers	Uses mid-market rate on conversions Upfront and transparent pricing Low fixed & variable fee Many payment methods to pay in
Cons	Margin in exchange rate Only two pay in methods	No cash pick up or pay in available

How long does an international bank transfer with OrbitRemit take?

Transfer times depend on how long it takes for your transfer to go into the local Australian OrbitRemit bank account which is around 12-24 hours. Then there is a subsequent processing time based on the country and currency of destination.

Here are some processing times for some popular transfer destinations from Australia.⁷

Country	Transfer times
New Zealand	1 working day
United Kingdom	1-3 working days
United States	1-3 working days
Canada	1-3 working days
Europe	1-3 working days
Hong Kong	1-3 working days
China	1 working day
South Africa	1-2 working days
India	1 working day
Thailand	1-2 workings days

As seen on 11 March 2024

These transfer times can be delayed if you don’t confirm your transfer before bank cut-off times. Weekends and public holidays in Australia or the recipient country can also delay the transfer.⁴

Contacting OrbitRemit Australia

If you need to contact OrbitRemit, you can:

• Call +61 2 8188 3735
• Email their support team
• Submit a request via your account

You can also access a range of help articles and common frequently asked questions (FAQs) through their website about a transfer or your account set up.

Transfer money the Wise way

Sending money with Wise is safe and easy. You can send money to over 160 countries, at the mid-market rate and with low fees shown upfront.

With the Wise Account, you can get your own local AUD account details (with other popular currency account details too). This makes it easy to be sent money from home, or convert and send your money back home as well.

You can also order your own Wise debit card to be linked to your account, so that you can spend your hard earned cash anywhere Visa is accepted.

Join over 16 million customers currently using Wise. It’ll only take a few minutes to register and see what’s inside.

Register your Wise account
in minutes

Please see Terms of Use for your region or visit Wise Fees & Pricing for the most up-to-date pricing and fee information.

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Sources:

1. OrbitRemit about & regulated
2. OrbitRemit transfers from
3. OrbitRemit how it works
4. OrbitRemit fees
5. Wise currency
6. OrbitRemit AUD transfers
7. OrbitRemit countries
8. OrbitRemit overview
9. OrbitRemit refunds
10. OrbitRemit profile
11. OrbitRemit sign up
12. OrbitRemit transfer from AUD
13. Orbit Remit customer number
14. OrbitRemit limits
15. OrbitRemit Transfer options
16. OrbitRemit cash pick up
17. Please see Terms of Use for your region or visit Wise Fees & Pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information.

Sources checked on: 11 March 2024