If you need to send money to Australia, you could send the funds with your bank. But banks offer poor exchange rates on international transfers, so you’ll typically get a much better rate if you use a specialist money transfer company.
In this guide, we’ll provide a step-by-step guide on how to send money from Canada to Australia. We’ll also explain how to get the best CAD/AUD exchange rate, find the fastest transfer and ensure the safety of your funds.
Compare money transfer companies that let you send money to Australia. When you find the company that offers the best value for money, sign up for a free account.
It’s easy to sign up online or via the provider’s mobile app. You’ll need to provide:
Enter the amount you would like to send in Canadian dollars. Most transfer providers have an exchange rate calculator that will show you how many Australian dollars your recipient will get.
Choose whether you want to send funds directly to your recipient’s Australian bank account, send a cash pickup transfer or send money to their mobile wallet.
Provide your recipient’s name, address and contact details. If you’re sending money to their bank account, you’ll also need their account name, number, BSB code and SWIFT code.
Supported payment methods vary depending on the transfer company you choose. Common options include debit or credit card, bank transfer, Interac e-Transfer or bill payment.
Review the exchange rate and fee that apply to your transaction. Check that all the details are correct before sending your money.
On April 11, 2024, we visited several popular money transfer sites to compare the cost of sending $200 to Australia.
The figures in the table below are examples only. How much you’ll pay to send money to Australia depends on several factors such as the exchange rate, transfer amount, payment method, transfer speed, receiving method and any promotional offers that are available.
In this example, we chose the cheapest payment method at each company and selected transfers to an Australian bank account.
| Provider | Exchange rate | Fee | Recipient gets | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Remitly | 1 CAD = 1.1170 AUD (first transfer promotion, not the standard rate) | $2.99 ($0 on first transfer) | AUD$223.40 (with $0 fee on first transfer) AUD$220.06 (without $0 fee promotion) | Go to site |
| Wise | 1 CAD = 1.1172 AUD | $2.60 | AUD$220.54 | Go to site |
| Instarem | 1 CAD = 1.1127 AUD (first transfer promotion) 1 CAD = 1.1085 (standard rate) | $0 | AUD$222.54 (with promotion) AUD$221.70 (without promotion) | Go to site |
| Xe | 1 CAD = 1.0967 AUD | $0 | $219.34 | Go to site |
| WorldRemit | 1 CAD = 1.0852 AUD | $0 | $217.04 | |
| Remitbee | 1 CAD = 1.1071 AUD | $2.99 | $221.42 | |
| Western Union | 1 CAD = 1.101 AUD | $0 on first transfer $1.99 without promotion | $220.12 (with promotion) $218.01 (without promotion) | |
| Xoom | 1 CAD = 1.0949 AUD | $2.99 | $215.71 | |
| MoneyGram | 1 CAD = 1.0722 AUD | $4.99 | $209.09 | Go to site |
| Paysend | 1 CAD = 1.0948 AUD | $3 | $215.68 (illustrative purposes only, minimum transfer amount is $400) |
One thing we noticed when compiling this table is that transfer cost calculators work differently depending on the provider. While some include the transfer fee in their calculations, others quote the fee separately.
In our $200 example above, if the company charged a $2 fee:
While this is a minor difference, it impacts the amount quoted. You aren’t comparing apples with apples. To overcome this, we adjusted the “Recipient gets” figures in the table above to include the fee in our calculations.
Most companies offer money transfer apps for Android and iOS devices. These apps allow you to send money to Australia from your smartphone with just a few taps.
However, the best app for you will depend on factors such as whether you’re looking for the cheapest transfers, the fastest transfers or maybe just the app that’s the most user-friendly. In our guide to the best international money transfer apps, we compiled a list of the best apps based on different transfer needs. The winners are:
Check out the guide to find out why each app is the best in each category, and read Google Play and Apple App Store reviews from other users to find out whether apps are user-friendly.
Consider the following factors to find a transfer specialist that offers the best way to send money from Canada to Australia.
Most money transfer specialists add a markup to the mid-market (or real) exchange rate when converting your Canadian dollars to Aussie dollars. The size of the markup can have a big impact on the total cost of your transaction, particularly for large transfers, so shop around to find the best CAD/AUD exchange rate.
Bear in mind that some companies offer the mid-market rate.
You’ll often pay a transfer fee. This could be a flat fee or a percentage of your transaction amount. It can vary depending on your payment and delivery method as well as where you’re sending money.
Compare money transfer specialists using the specific details of your transaction to get an accurate idea of fees and exchange rates.
The provider you choose will obviously need to support Australian dollar transfers to Australia. But if you’re planning on sending money to any other international destinations, it’s worth checking if the company supports those currencies.
Check that the money transfer service supports your preferred payment method. Common options include:
Make sure the transfer service offers a convenient way for your recipient to access the money you send. For example, if you need to send a fast transfer, do they offer cash pickups? If your recipient needs the money sent directly to their bank account, does the provider offer bank transfers to Australia?
Check how long it will take for your recipient to get the money. Cash pickup transfers are generally the quickest option and allow you to send money to Australia in a matter of minutes. Transfers to a bank account often take 1-2 business days to process but may take longer in some cases.
Many providers have limits on how much money you can send per transaction, per day and per month. The limit may also vary for different currencies, so find out how much you can send to Australia with each service.
Check how you can contact customer support if you have a problem with a transfer. Can you contact the support team 24/7, or is service only available during specific hours?
There are a few simple things you can do to get the best CAD/AUD exchange rate when you send money to Australia.
Cash pickup transfers are the fastest way to send money to Australia from Canada. You can pay for your transfer online or via an app, and the person you’re sending money to will be able to collect the cash in Australia almost instantly.
Make sure you choose a money transfer service with convenient agent locations. Providers with a large network of cash pickup locations in Australia include:
Visit each transfer company’s website to search for cash pickup locations near your recipient.
The safest way to send money to Australia from Canada is to make sure you’re dealing with a legitimate, regulated company. Use a provider that’s registered with Canada’s industry regulators. For private money transfer services, this is the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC). For federally regulated financial institutions like banks, it’s the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC).
You can also check what security measures transfer companies have in place to protect your funds such as fraud monitoring and multi-factor authentication. If you check customer reviews on sites like the Better Business Bureau and Trustpilot, you’ll get a clearer idea of whether you’re dealing with a company you can trust.
Don’t forget to check out our detailed reviews of each transfer service when comparing your options.
If you need to send a large amount of money to Australia, for example to buy a house, your options are a little more restricted. Some transfer companies offer lower transaction limits, so you’ll need to consider providers like OFX that specialize in transferring large amounts.
When comparing money transfer services, look for a provider that offers:
There are three ways someone in Australia can access the money you send:
Australia received a total of $1.298 billion in remittances in 2022. That’s significantly less than the outward flow of remittances from Australia, which totaled $6.350 billion the same year.
Charlotte is working in Canada as a software engineer and she stays in regular contact with her elderly parents living in Australia. Her parents need funds to help pay off a mortgage, so Charlotte plans to send them $2,000 from Canada.
She decides to compare two money transfer specialists to see which one can save her the most money.
| Money Transfer Company 1 | Money Transfer Company 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Exchange rate | 1 CAD = 1.0851 AUD | 1 CAD = 1.1180 AUD |
| Transfer fee | $2.99 | $13.37 |
| Transfer method | Bank account deposit | Bank account deposit |
| Processing time | 1-2 days | 1-2 days |
| Amount received | AUD$2,166.96 | AUD$2,221.11 |
Charlotte decides to send the funds with Money Transfer Company 2. Despite charging a higher fee, the company’s strong exchange rate allows Charlotte to send an extra AUD$54.15 to her parents.
As of mid-April 2024, the exchange rate is 1 CAD = 1.12 AUD. From a historical perspective, this is a reasonably attractive exchange rate. If you look back at the CAD/AUD rate since the turn of the century, 1 Canadian dollar has traded at between 0.94 and 1.28 AUD. Looking back at the past year, the exchange rate has fluctuated between 1.10 and 1.17 AUD.
That being said, sending money to Australia at the start of April would have been better as the exchange rate was higher at 1 CAD = 1.15 AUD. It might not seem like a huge difference, but if you’re sending $5,000, the higher exchange rate would allow you to send $5,750, which is $150 more than if you sent at the mid-month exchange rate.
You can take advantage of big savings if you send money to Australia with a money transfer company instead of your bank. But it’s still important to compare money transfer services and shop around for the best exchange rates, fastest transfers and the most flexible payment and delivery methods.
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