Personal Finance Money transfer

Does Scotiabank offer online wire transfers? Here’s a closer look

Piyush Singh

13.08.24

Read time 4 minutes

You can send a Scotiabank® wire transfer online, but only if you have a business account.¹ If you’re a personal banking customer, you’ll need to visit a branch or use Scotia International Money Transfer.²

In this guide, we’ll look at how to send money abroad with Scotiabank, along with Wise, your global money-saving alternative!

We'll be looking into:
How to send money abroad with Scotiabank How much do international transfers cost with Scotiabank? Wise is an online money-saving alternative for international transfers How long does a wire transfer with Scotiabank take? How to make international transfers with Scotiabank How to make wire transfers at Scotiabank How to transfer money with Scotiabank via Western Union How to transfer money with Scotia International Money Transfer More questions about your Scotiabank transfer?

We'll be looking into:

How to send money abroad with Scotiabank
How much do international transfers cost with Scotiabank?
Wise is an online money-saving alternative for international transfers
How long does a wire transfer with Scotiabank take?
How to make international transfers with Scotiabank

How to make wire transfers at Scotiabank
How to transfer money with Scotiabank via Western Union
How to transfer money with Scotia International Money Transfer

More questions about your Scotiabank transfer?

How to send money abroad with Scotiabank

There are 3 ways to send money abroad with Scotiabank:

Scotiabank wire transfer online: for businesses only
Wire transfer at a Scotiabank branch: for business and personal account users
Scotia International Money Transfer

You can use Scotia International Money Transfer to send funds to a bank account or choose cash pickup with Western Union®. It’s easy to send your transfer, and you can set it up via online banking or the Scotiabank app.³

Let’s take a closer look at the different services and their availability.

Service	Availability
Online wire transfers	Only business account holders
Wire transfers at a Scotiabank branch	Personal and business account holders
Scotia International Money Transfer	Personal account holders

How much do international transfers cost with Scotiabank?

If you’re sending your transfer in a currency other than CAD, you need to think about currency conversion charges. Scotiabank makes a profit from the difference between the price the provider buys and sells foreign currencies for – and this can add a substantial markup to your transaction.⁴

Your money is converted using the Scotiabank exchange rate at the time of your transaction.⁴

You’ll also pay a non-refundable service fee for using an International Money Transfer, and the intermediary or recipient bank may charge a foreign conversion fee.⁵

Let’s take a closer look at the fees and costs of sending your money abroad.

	Wire transfers	Scotia International Money Transfer (with Western Union)	Scotia International Money Transfer (online)
Outgoing transfers	You’ll need to visit your local branch to find out how much your wire will cost⁴	5 CAD per transfer + 1% of the transaction amount³	1.99 CAD per transfer³
Incoming transfers	15 CAD/USD per transfer charged in the currency of your account⁶	Not available	Not available
Currency conversion and intermediary fees	Currency conversion + intermediary fees apply⁴	Western Union foreign exchange rates apply³	Currency conversion + intermediary fees apply⁴

Wire transfers are typically better suited to large transactions, but they can be more expensive to send.

You can only send up to 10,000 CAD with Scotia International Money Transfer³, and you’ll need to send a minimum of 100 CAD to your recipient.⁷ You can send up to 999.99 CAD online through Western Union.³

Wise is an online money-saving alternative for international transfers

Open a Wise account to manage your money in over 40 currencies or send money to over 160 countries across the globe.

You can send your money by wire transfer or pay by bank transfer, with secure 2-factor authentication and no currency conversion charges.

Here’s how Wise saves you money on international transactions:

Wise uses the standard mid-market exchange rate. This is the rate you might see on Google, with no added markups
Minimal transfer fees starting at 0.33% ^*
Access account details in over 10 currencies, including CAD, USD, JPY, GBP and more

At Wise, you’ll only pay for what you spend. Sounds fair, right?

Transfer large or small amounts with no stress. Wise helps 10 million customers move £30bn every quarter, including speedy^# and secure worldwide transactions.

^#Transaction speed claimed depends on funds availability, approval by Wise’s proprietary verification system and systems availability of our partners’ banking system, and may not be available for all transactions

How long does a wire transfer with Scotiabank take?

International wire transfers typically take up to 5 business days.¹

Scotia International Money Transfers may also take up to 5 business days, or you can make a Western Union transfer in 2 to 4 hours.³

How to make international transfers with Scotiabank

It’s easy to make a global transfer with Scotiabank. Let’s take a look at how to send a wire transfer or International Money Transfer.

How to make wire transfers at Scotiabank

If you’re a personal account holder, you’ll need to go into your local branch to send your wire transfer, and your teller can help you make the payment.

You’ll need a few key pieces of information, including:

the currency of your payment
your beneficiary’s name and address
your beneficiary’s bank name and location²

If you’re sending your wire to another banking institution, you’ll also need:

your beneficiary bank’s full name and address
your beneficiary’s account number (IBAN code)
your beneficiary bank’s Swift Code
your beneficiary bank’s ABA code (for wires to the US)⁸

If you want to receive a wire transfer from Scotiabank, you’ll need to give the sender:

your name, address, and branch address
your account number
your bank name: Bank of Nova Scotia
Swift Code/BIC: NOSCCATT⁹

How to transfer money with Scotiabank via Western Union

You can use Western Union to send a global transfer with Scotiabank. We’ve put together a step-by-step guide to sending your transfer via online banking.

Step 1. Log into online banking and go to your “Accounts” page, then select “Transfers”

Step 2. Select “Send Money Internationally” and then “Cash pick-up”

Step 3. Review the terms and conditions and follow the on-screen prompts to complete your transfer

Let’s take a look at how to make a Scotia Western Union Transfer using the mobile app.

Step 1. Log into the Scotiabank app and select “Move money”, then select “Cash pickup”

Step 2. Choose your recipient and which account you want to use for your payment

Step 3. Select the payment currency and amount, then follow the on-screen instructions to complete your transfer³

How to transfer money with Scotia International Money Transfer

It’s easy to make a digital Scotia International Money Transfer. Send your transfer via online banking using our simple steps.

Step 1. Log into online banking and select “Transfers”, then “Send Money Internationally”

Step 2. Select “Bank deposit” and accept the terms and conditions

Step 3. Follow the on-screen prompts to enter your recipient’s information and send your transfer

Let’s take a look at how to send money abroad with the Scotiabank mobile app.

Step 1. Log into the Scotiabank app and select “Move Money”

Step 2. Select “Send Money Internationally”, then “Bank deposit”

Step 3. Once you’ve accepted the terms and conditions, you’ll receive on-screen instructions about how to complete your global transfer¹⁰

You can send money to 20 countries with Scotia International Money Transfer.³ However, Wise covers over 160 countries, including the US, the UK, France and Australia.

Whether you’re paying friends in Japan or family in Argentina, Wise has got you covered