Banking and Finance

International Wire Transfer Fee FAQS & How to Avoid Them

Elizabeth
July 27, 2021

Recent studies show that, on average, Americans lose $167.40 per year on bank fees. Sure, that might not sound like a lot, but after ten years, you have the potential of losing a total of over $1,600! That’s a nice down payment on your kid’s first car or a massive one-time payment towards your student loans.


While most of those fees are for monthly maintenance fees and ATM fees, international wire transfer fees do also account for quite a bit of lost cash. Just how much do you lose each time you incur an international wire transfer fee with your bank? It depends on if the transfer is incoming or outgoing, but most international transfer fees hover at around $40 per transfer.


This means that if you are relying on your bank for all international transfers and aren’t using a payment platform like Wise to send and receive money abroad then you could be paying hundreds of dollars yearly in fees. Here are some of the top international wire transfer fee FAQs and a few tips on how to avoid them.

What Are Wire Transfers?

Let's start off by helping you understand what a wire transfer is exactly. 


A wire transfer is the electronic transfer of money between two banks using an electronic platform. In essence, it’s a regular transfer of money between two people or accounts, similar to the way you’d send money via Western Union to someone else in a different state, for example. However, wire transfers are electronic in that you’re wiring the money, typically, from your bank account to someone else with a different bank account.


Depending on the banks that both the sender and the recipient use, it’s possible to initiate a wire transfer via the bank itself. Or, it can be done through a third-party money transfer service such as Western Union (as mentioned above) or a more popular platform such as Wise. 


For international payments, a service like Wise makes sense not only due to the lower fees associated with making a transfer but also simply due to the fact that it’s a totally safe and secure way to send large amounts of cash abroad.

Why Do Banks Charge Fees for Wire Transfers?

Banks charge fees for a lot of different types of transactions, but why do they charge fees for wire transfers? Well, international wire transfers are expensive for banks because they need to pay international brokers and the international bank that it is being sent to.


It’s also important to note that the banks are charging a fee for the work that goes into making the transfer happen. This includes the act of having to convert currencies in the event that it’s an international wire transfer. 


However, do note that most major banks charge a higher markup for currency exchange rates. This is why platforms such as Wise have come in and shaken everything up. They’re not only making it faster and easier to send money abroad, but they’re also not charging a markup on the conversion exchange rate.

Domestic Wire Transfer Fees

Looking for information on some of the most popular banks’ domestic wire transfer fees? It’s important to remember that domestic wire transfer fees fall into two categories: incoming and outgoing. As you’ll see below, outgoing transfer fees tend to be higher across the board.


View the information below or contact the bank directly to ask about their transfer fees.

What is the Chase Domestic Wire Transfer Fee?

The Chase incoming domestic wire transfer fee is: $15

The Chase outgoing domestic wire transfer fee is: $25

What is the Bank of America Domestic Wire Transfer Fee?

The Bank of America incoming domestic wire transfer fee is: $15

The Bank of America outgoing domestic wire transfer fee is: $30

What is the Citibank Domestic Wire Transfer Fee?

The Citibank incoming domestic wire transfer fee is: $15

The Citibank outgoing domestic wire transfer fee is: $25

What is the Wells Fargo Domestic Wire Transfer Fee?

The Wells Fargo incoming domestic wire transfer fee is: $15

The Wells Fargo outgoing domestic wire transfer fee is: $30

What is the US Bank Domestic Wire Transfer Fee?

The US Bank incoming domestic wire transfer fee is: $20

The US Bank outgoing domestic wire transfer fee is: $30

International Wire Transfer Fees

Looking for information on some of the most popular banks’ international wire transfer fees? It’s important to remember that international wire transfer fees fall into two categories just the same as domestic transfers do: incoming and outgoing. As you’ll see, US Bank charges the most for international wire transfer fees for both incoming and outgoing transfers.

What is the Chase International Wire Transfer Fee?

The Chase incoming international wire transfer fee is: $15

The Chase outgoing international wire transfer fee is: $35 ($40 if sent in USD)

What is the Bank of America International Wire Transfer Fee?

The Bank of America incoming international wire transfer fee is: $16

The Bank of America outgoing international wire transfer fee is: $35 ($45 if sent in USD)

What is the Citibank International Wire Transfer Fee?

The Citibank incoming international wire transfer fee is: $15

The Citibank outgoing international wire transfer fee is: $35

What is the Wells Fargo International Wire Transfer Fee?

The Wells Fargo incoming international wire transfer fee is: $16

The Wells Fargo outgoing international wire transfer fee is: $35 ($45 if sent in USD)

What is the US Bank International Wire Transfer Fee?

The US Bank incoming international wire transfer fee is: $25

The US Bank outgoing international wire transfer fee is: $50

How to Avoid an International Wire Transfer Fee

Certain banks waive domestic wire transfer fees if you have a premium account with them. However, that’s not really accessible for most people. In order to waive or avoid an international wire transfer fee every time you go to send or receive money abroad, we suggest either:


  1. Signing up for a Wise account. Read more about that here. Or, you can…
  2. Get a Cheese Debit Card.


While a Cheese Debit Card doesn’t make you totally exempt from transfer fees (even Wise has ‘em!), you can enjoy the perks of no international incoming wire transfer fees. Cheese waives one incoming wire transfer fee each calendar year. So, you can accept money from a friend or family member abroad with $0 fees on your end! On top of that, you can also enjoy:


❌ No Monthly Fee                                    🧀️ International Wire Transfer    

❌ No ATM Fee                                          🧀️ No SSN Required

❌ No Overdraft Fee                                 🧀️ $5 Cash Bonus

❌ No Insufficient Fund Fee                     🧀️ Up to 3% Saving Bonus

❌ No Minimum Balance Requirement    🧀️ Early Paycheck

❌ No Int. Incoming Wire Transfer Fee    🔐 FDIC Insured


Download the Cheese mobile banking app for either iOS or Android to get started saving more money as you spend.