Swift Go international payments: Fees, limits and rates

Swift® Go is a transfer service launched by the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (Swift).

It supports fast and low-value international transfers. If you need to pay family or clients overseas, Swift Go enables seamless payments across the globe.

We take a look at how to send and receive international transfers with Swift Go, including fees, transfer limits, and exchange rates.

What is Swift Go?

So, what is Swift Go? You can use Swift’s low-value money transfer service to send quick and easy cross-border transactions to over 130 countries.¹

Swift Go works with banks and third-party providers to ensure fast processing times and no fee deductions on international wire transfers.²

Key features of Swift Go:

• Get access to a secure network of over 630 member banks to enable cross-border payments in multiple currencies¹
• Use Swift Go to create a fully-customizable banking experience¹
• Swift Go’s “no deduct” principle determines how much transfers cost³
• Integrate Swift Go into your banking app for easy Swift transfers online²

Swift Go is aimed at consumers or small- and medium-sized businesses looking to send secure low-value payments of up to 10,000 USD.²

You’ll need to initiate your Swift Go payment via your bank. Your financial institution will validate, confirm, and set up your international SWIFT transfer to get it to your recipient.⁴

What’s the difference between SWIFT Go and SWIFT GPI?

Swift GPI has long been popular for international wire transfers. However, Swift Go builds on Swift GPI’s success to offer low-value cross-border payments for consumers and small businesses.

It supports faster and cheaper international transfers – and Swift Go has a “no deduct” policy.⁵ This means the full transfer amount is always credited to your recipient.³

Unlike other transfer services, you should know how much you’ll pay in foreign transaction costs or exchange rate fees before you come to make your payment.

Swift Go was first introduced under the Swift GPI umbrella, but the network has since made it possible for non-GPI member banks to use the service.⁴

How does Swift Go work?

It’s easy to make an international wire transfer with Swift Go. Let’s take a look at a step-by-step guide.

Step 1. The sender will first need to initiate a Swift money transfer through their bank. The provider may need details like the beneficiary’s name and account number

Step 2. The instructing bank will validate the transaction and confirm whether the beneficiary bank is a Swift Go member

Step 3. Next, the bank will create the appropriate network of intermediary or connecting banks needed to complete the transaction

Step 4. The instructing bank will add a Swift Go service code value to the Swift transaction and give it to formatting for clearing

Step 5. Finally, the receiving bank will use this code to identify the payment and process the transaction – and the beneficiary will receive the money in their account⁴

Both consumers and small- or medium-sized businesses can use Swift Go to initiate international payments in over 130 countries.

How much are Swift Go transfer fees?

Swift Go offers competitive and predictable pricing for international wire transfers – and any processing fees are agreed in advance. This means you’ll always know exactly how much it costs to send your payment.⁶

Swift Go uses a transparent “no deduct” principle to ensure your full transaction amount arrives with your recipient. Any banks that sign up for Swift Go promise to avoid extra deductions, too.³

If the bank needs to apply a fee, it won’t affect the balance that your beneficiary receives at the end of the transaction.⁴ However, beneficiary and intermediary banks can still charge customers a separate fee.⁵

You may also need to think about how much you’ll pay to exchange currencies for foreign currency Swift transfers.

All banks and money transfer services use an exchange rate to work out how much it costs to convert your US dollars into a foreign currency.

However, many services add a markup to the fair, standard mid-market exchange rate you might see online – and this can increase the cost of your international wire transfer.

What is the Swift Go transfer limit?

You can send up to 10,000 USD or equivalent via the Swift Go money transfer service.² Swift Go is set up for fast and convenient low-value payments for consumers and small- or medium-sized businesses.

If you need to send a larger payment, you can use the traditional Swift network for your international wire transfer.

What information do I need to make an international transfer with Swift Go?

You may need a few key pieces of information for your Swift transfer online, including:

• your beneficiary’s name
• your beneficiary’s account number
• the amount you want to send
• the currency used for your transaction
• the purpose of your transfer⁴

For more information about using Swift Go for yourself or your business, speak to your banking institution or reach out to a Swift Go specialist.

How long does it take for a Swift Go transfer to go through?

Swift Go aims to enable fast and convenient transfers to international locations in over 130 countries.

Participating banks and financial institutions sign a service level agreement, promising to process all payments in under 4 hours³ – and the fastest recorded transfer via Swift Go is 21 seconds.¹

In comparison, international transfers via the traditional Swift banking system can take several days to arrive.

Make low cost international transfers with Wise

A smart option if you’re sending money overseas: meet Wise.

Register a Wise account online or in the Wise app, and send money to 160+ countries, with the mid-market exchange rate and low, transparent fees.

Wise always shows you the amount you’re paying and how much your recipient will get — and you can even compare against other providers on the Wise app or desktop site.

If another service is cheaper for your particular payment, you’ll be shown — so you can’t lose.

Get started with Wise

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

It’s important to note that for some operations, such as sending USD to other countries where dollars aren’t the main currency, Wise will also use the SWIFT network. But for this type of transaction you’ll be informed if this system will be used and how much it’ll cost you.