Receiving an international transfer with AIB: What are the costs and how to do it?

In our increasingly connected world there are a multitude of reasons you might be receiving an international transfer. Whatever the reason, you’ll want to make sure you can receive your money hassle free, with as few fees as possible.

If you’re a customer of AIB in Ireland then this article is here to help you. We’re going to take a look at what they charge for you to receive an international transfer, what the limits are and what the processing is like.

We’ll also introduce you to the Wise Account as a viable option to receive international transfers for free, as a personal client.

Receive money in +9 currencies
with the Wise Account 💶

Receiving international transfers with AIB: What are the costs?

There are two ways AIB classifies incoming international transfers:

• InPay Euro are euro payments that originated from a SEPA country
• InPay Global payments come from countries outside of SEPA or currencies other than the euro.

The cost for receiving an international transfer with AIB varies depending on whether it’s an InPay Euro or InPay Global transaction and how much was sent.

AIB charges for incoming payments¹
InPay Euro	InPay Global
€0 for all payments	€0 for payments less than or equivalent to €127 €6.35 for payments more than €127

🔎 Keep in mind: The sender's bank may charge them for the outbound transaction. There could also be fees associated with how the funds are sent, for example if the SWIFT system is used. This can result in you receiving less money than anticipated.

AIB exchange rate when receiving money

With AIB, any transaction to your account in a currency other than what your account is denominated in will result in an automatic currency conversion before the funds are deposited.

For example, if someone in the United Kingdom sends GBP to your AIB current account in Ireland, the money will be converted from GBP to EUR before AIB deposits them.

AIB has set rates that apply for incoming international foreign currency payments going to a euro account. These rates apply to amounts up to the equivalent of €70,000.² Over this, you’ll need to contact your branch.

The rates are usually updated once each business date and you can check them on the AIB website.

To give you an idea of how the AIB exchange rate stacks up, here’s how it compares to Wise.

Currency	AIB Exchange Rate (1 EUR)²	Wise Exchange Rate (1 EUR)
Pound sterling	0.8697 GBP	0.85837 GBP
US dollar	1.1030 USD	1.08740 USD
Australian dollar	1.6764 AUD	1.65246 AUD
Canadian dollar	1.4878 CAD	1.46663 CAD
Danish krone	7.5610 DKK	7.45705 DKK

As seen on 19 January 2024 in AIB and Wise website.

As you can see there’s a bit of a difference in what Wise and AIB give you, with Wise having the more favourable rate across each of these currencies. This is better for you because it means you get a greater amount of EUR for the foreign currency that’s exchanged.

This is possible because Wise uses the mid-market exchange rate with no hidden fees or margins.⁴ This rate is determined by finding the midpoint between the buy and sell prices on the currency market, which is a fair way to do it.

Receive money for free in +9 currencies with the Wise Account

Wise is on a mission to make international money transfers instant, convenient, transparent and eventually free.

With a personal Wise Account you can get local account details for +9 currencies, making it easier to send and receive money like a local.

Here’s some of the fees for having a Wise account, including costs for receiving money.

Wise Service	Fee
Opening an personal account	Free
Receiving AUD, CAD, EUR, GBP, HUF, NZD, RON, SGD, TRY, USD (non-wire) in a personal account	Free
Receiving USD wire payments	4.14 USD
Receiving CAD SWIFT payments	10.00 CAD

One of the great benefits of the Wise Account are the local account details you can get. Like we said earlier, AIB automatically converts foreign currency to whatever denomination your account is in, which is usually Euro.¹

But with Wise, you can receive and hold currencies like GBP and USD using the local account details, without the need to change it to Euros. This puts the choice of how and when your funds are converted back in your hands.

Speaking of money conversion, with Wise you'll be able to do this in over 40 currencies and send money to over 160 countries. There’s also the option to get a Wise card for your daily spending needs, which is connected with your account.

Open your Wise Account today 🚀

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FAQ: Receiving international transfers with AIB Ireland

Here’s a few things you may want to know about receiving international transfers with AIB in Ireland.

What AIB account details should you share to receive an international transfer?

For you to receive an international payment the sender usually needs to know this information.¹

• Your name
• IBAN and BICor bank account number
• Bank NSC

How long does it take to receive money from abroad with AIB?

AIB Ireland doesn't specify on their website how long it can take to receive money from abroad.

It would depend in part on when and how the money is sent, and how long the sending bank takes to process it, but most people accept that 1-5 business days is the normal range.

What are the cut off times for receiving an international payment with AIB Ireland

Each day there’s a cut off time for the receival of incoming international payments.³ Any transfer received after that time will be processed the next day.

The cut off time varies depending on the currency, but to give you an idea here’s what applies to some of the major currencies:

Currency	AIB Cut-off Time (GMT)³
Pound sterling	16:00
Euro	15:45
US dollar	16:00
Australian dollar	15:00
Canadian dollar	14:30
Danish krone	15:30

What is the limit for receiving international transfers with AIB?

The general limit for receiving an international transfer with AIB is equivalent to €70,000.² Above this you’ll need to seek the assistance of an AIB branch.

If you’re an Irish customer of Wise you can generally receive any amount someone wants to send you. The only limit is for USD but it’s such a high amount it’s unlikely to impact most people.

Open your Wise Account
for free 🚀

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Sources used:

1. AIB - International Payments
2. AIB - Standard Foreign Exchange Rates for Outgoing International Payments – AIB Buy
3. AIB - International Payments FAQ
4. Please seeTerms of Use for your region or visit WiseFees & Pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information.

Sources last checked on date: 19 January 2024