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Banks are still hiding fees

In some countries, rules set out that banks need to be transparent about the fees they charge for international payments. But some rules are more vague than others and some regulators are not holding their banks accountable. That’s why - unfortunately - most banks are still hiding fees in exchange rate mark-ups.

Is your bank transparent?

We looked at a number of banks across different countries. View the table below and download the reports.
Table showing transparent banking information of European banks

Europe

North and South America

How to spot hidden fees

Hidden exchange rate markup

Some banks present their exchange rate as the exchange rate. But they are in fact adding a markup, they just don't tell you about it.
Image showing example of where bank hide their fees

Misleading upfront fees

Some banks say a transaction is free or there is just a low upfront fee. This tricks people into thinking that's the whole story, when most of the fees are hidden in an inflated exchange rate.
Image showing example of where bank hide their fees

Methodology

Information on this website has been collected from each of the featured banks, by following their money transfer flows.

This is a one-off snapshot from the bank's payment journey at a specific point in time. These payments flows are subject to change. The exchange rate markups may fluctuate.