XE Money Transfer review (2024)

XE Money Transfer is part of Euronet and offers international transfers for individuals and businesses, all around the world.

If you’re thinking of making a transfer with XE, you’ll want to check out the costs and service on offer.

This handy article gives you all you need to know about XE Money Transfer — and also covers an alternative service, from Wise, to help you compare and find the right international payment provider for you.

Learn more about Wise

What's XE?

XE allows customers to make international payments direct to their recipient’s bank account, right across the world.

Transfer fees vary based on how you’d like to pay, and you’ll also find there’s a markup added to the mid-market rate to calculate the XE send rate.

That’s also a fee. We will cover more on that later, so you can see what a transfer with XE will really cost you compared to other providers out there.

Here are a few key facts and features of XE Money Transfer:

All transfers are arranged online or in-app, and can be made to 220+ countries and territories XE is backed by Euronet — a large financial services group XE generally does not offer customers the opportunity to have their recipient collect their payment in cash The XE send rate includes a markup on the mid-market exchange rate Like many other financial institutions, XE is fully licensed, which means your money is safe throughout the transfer

What does XE mean?
XE started out life as Xenon Laboratories, and changed its official name to the more succinct XE (the chemical symbol for the element Xenon) in 2001.

Pros and cons of using XE

✅ Pros	❌ Cons
Great range of countries and currencies covered Online and in app services Card payments may arrive in the recipient’s account in 24 hours or so	Exchange rates include a markup Transfer fees may apply if you pay by card No cash payment options

Send money abroad with a fast, cheap and secure Wise transfer

Send payments to 80+ countries with Wise, and get the mid-market exchange rate with low, transparent fees every time.

Wise payments can be fast — in fact 50% arrive in the recipient’s account instantly* — and you’ll be able to register an account and send money right from your phone with the Wise app**.

Visit the Wise desktop site, or download the Wise app now to see if you can save with low cost international payments from Wise.

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

XE International Money Transfer fees and rates

To decide if XE is the right international money transfer service for you, you’ll need to understand the fees charged — and how to calculate the cost of your payment. XE Money Transfer fees can include several different charges:

• XE transfer fee
• An XE fee based on the payment method
• An exchange rate markup
• Third party fees

Here are the most important costs to consider:

Payment type	XE Money Transfer fee¹
Pay by debit card²	Transfers to 250 USD: 2% XE fee Transfers 250 - 500 USD: 1% XE fee Transfers 500 USD - 1,000 USD: 0.7% XE fee Transfers 1,000 USD - 2,000 USD: 0.5% XE fee Transfers 2,000 USD - 3,000 USD: 0.4% XE fee Third party fees and exchange rate markups can also apply
Pay by credit card	2.99% of the full amount Third party fees and exchange rate markups can also apply
Pay by wire or bank transfer	Usually no XE fee — Third party fees and exchange rate markups can apply

What's the foreign exchange rate for XE?

XE uses the XE send rate whenever you’re making a payment. This is not the same as the mid-market exchange rate you’ll find when you search for your currency on Google.

Instead, a percentage fee has been added into the mid-market rate to calculate the XE rate used to convert your dollars to the currency you need.

💱 What is the mid-market rate?

The mid-market exchange rate is the rate you’ll find on a currency converter and with a Google search.  This is a useful benchmark as it’s the rate services like XE Money Transfer will get when they buy currency themselves. However, many banks and money transfer services don’t pass this rate to their customers.  Instead they add a percentage to the mid-market rate — a fee which makes it harder to see exactly what you’re paying for your transfer.

XE International Money Transfer: coverage, speed and limits

Let’s look at how XE works in terms of coverage, delivery times and how much you can send.

Where can you send money with XE?

XE allows customers to send money in over 139 currencies, to some 220+ countries and territories around the world³.

A full list of currencies is available on the XE Money Transfer website — some of the more popular routes include payments in the following currencies:

• CAD - Canadian dollars

• GBP - British pounds

• NZD - New Zealand dollars

• INR - Indian rupee

• EUR - Euros

• AUD - Australian dollars

• ZAR - South African rand

• HKD - Hong Kong dollars

• JPY - Japanese yen

How can you pay for your XE transfer?

International transfers with XE are usually done as direct deposits to your recipient’s bank account.

To arrange a transfer, you’ll need to send your payment to XE as a wire transfer or using your credit or debit card, and XE will then pass the money on, in local currency, to your recipient.

How long does an XE transfer take?

XE will confirm the transfer delivery time when your transaction is confirmed.

Most payments are completed on the same day that XE receives the money from your bank — but this can mean that the overall time from initiating your transfer to it being received is between 1 and 4 business days.

That’s because the exact transfer time will depend on the processes used by your bank and your recipient’s bank, and may take longer if you’re arranging a transfer outside of working hours, at the weekend or during public holidays.

What are the limits for sending money with XE?

You can send up to 535,000 USD or the currency equivalent from the US⁴. It’s helpful to know you can’t send under 3,000 USD and pay by bank or wire transfer from the US.

Is XE money transfer safe?

Yes. XE is an established business which is trusted and fully regulated wherever in the world it operates.

XE uses industry standard anti-fraud measures to track and prevent issues and keep customers and their funds safe, including thorough verification processes and a secure login system.

How does XE work?

To get started with XE Money Transfer, you’ll need to set up an account. This can usually be done quite simply, online.

However, you may be asked to provide a scan or image of your identity documents before you can begin making transfers.

Once you have an account, you’ll need to take the following steps to initiate a transfer:

Log into your account Model the payment by confirming how much you want to send, which currency, and where the recipient’s bank account is located Confirm how you’ll pay, and check you think the exchange rate and overall cost is fair Make the payment to XE You’ll receive notifications from XE when your money is received, and when the international transfer has been completed

Do you need a bank account to send money with XE?

To send a payment with XE you’ll need a bank account, debit card or credit card to send the funds in dollars to XE for onward transmission.

Can you track XE transfers?

Yes. You can track your XE transfer online or in the XE app by logging into your account and looking for the Track button⁵.

What's the XE support experience like?

XE has customer support on offer by phone, in app chat and email. The website is pretty easy to navigate, with a comprehensive FAQ section, written in plain English. Here are your key options:

Contact option	Availability⁶
Phone support⁷	+1-877-932-6640 Phone support in English only
In app support	In 100+ languages, log into your account for access
Email	In 100+ languages, visit the XE desktop site for access

Trustpilot — which collates real customer reviews — gives XE Money Transfer a 4.8 stars out of 5 for service⁸. You can read real customer reviews and testimonials over at the Trustpilot website, which is available in the sources section below.

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If you’re planning on making an international payment, the service you choose can make a big difference to the costs and fees you need to pay.

To find the right provider for your needs, you’ll want to look at the upfront charges, but also the exchange rate to make sure it’s fair.

If you’re not impressed with the rates on offer at XE, and want to find a provider offering the mid-market exchange rate for transfers, check out Wise, to see if you can save.

You can send money online from the Wise website or mobile app, in just a few clicks.

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XE or Wise: what's the best option for you?

XE Money Transfer isn’t your only option. If you’re not sure about XE vs Wise, check out this head to head comparison.

	XE	Wise
Exchange rate	XE send rate, which includes a markup	Mid-market rate
Available currencies;	100+	50+
Transfer speed	Card payments can arrive in 24 hours Bank transfers may take 1 — 3 days	50%+ of payments are instant, 90%+ arrive in 24 hours*
Payment methods from USD	Bank transfer, credit or debit card	Bank transfer, credit or debit card
Fees	Fees can include: XE transfer fee XE send method fee Exchange rate markup Third party fees	Fees include a low fixed fee and a percentage charge based on currency and payment method.

Still not sure of what's the best provider below? Check out the comparison below:

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XE Money Transfer can be a good pick if you need a service which can send payments to bank accounts more or less anywhere in the world. However, the fees used by XE can be somewhat complex and may not be the very cheapest out there.

See if your payment route is covered by a low cost provider like Wise, and compare the fees and exchange rates available from a few different services to get the best one for your needs.

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Sources:

1. XE Money Transfer - Fees
2. XE Money Transfer - Debit card fees
3. XE Money Transfer - Currencies
4. XE Money Transfer - How much can I send?
5. XE Money Transfer - Tracking
6. XE Money Transfer - Contact
7. XE Money Transfer - Phone numbers
8. TrustPilot - XE

* The speed of transaction claim 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

** Eligibility is subject to verification of customers identity

Sources checked on 12.12.2022