Where do fees hide?
There is a price beyond the price tag.
“No fee” does not always mean no cost. A mark-up on the exchange rate, the gap between buying and selling. The price that lies beyond the price tag.
In 30 seconds
- Costs come either as a fee shown up front or built into the exchange rate or the price.
- According to the World Bank, sending money across borders costs 6.36% of the amount sent on global average — the fee plus the exchange-rate mark-up.
- In the United States and the EU, rules require firms to show clients the exchange rate and the total of costs.
A price tag is not always a single tag.
Alongside the fee on show, some costs sit inside the rate or the price.
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Two kinds of cost
Some costs are shown as a separate “fee”; others are included in the exchange rate or in the buying and selling price, and are harder to see as a separate item.
“No fee” means there is no separately itemised fee. It does not necessarily mean there is no cost at all.
A little over 6% of what you send.
The cost of a cross-border remittance is measured as the fee plus the exchange-rate mark-up.
Global average cost of cross-border remittances (third quarter of 2025)
Measured by the World Bank on a $200 transfer. The fee plus the exchange-rate mark-up.
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The sum of two parts
The World Bank’s remittance price survey measures the cost of a transfer as the fee paid by the sender plus the exchange-rate margin. The global average in the third quarter of 2025 was 6.36%.[1]
Sending $200 costs about $12.70 on average (our calculation). Even when the fee looks low, a large rate mark-up means less arrives.
Showing it has become a rule.
Rules require firms to show clients the exchange rate and the total of costs.
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Remittances in the United States
The US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s remittance rule requires that, before payment, the consumer is shown the exchange rate, the fees and taxes collected by the provider, fees charged by agents abroad and intermediaries, and the amount expected to be delivered.[2]
Investments in the EU
EU rules require investment firms to total their costs and charges and show them both as a cash amount and as a percentage. They also set out an illustration of the cumulative effect of costs on return.[3]
Look for the cost inside the price.
Costs sit in many places: keeping an account, exchanging currency, the gap between buying and selling, withdrawing.
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Where to look
The cost of simply holding an account, the rate used to exchange currency, the gap between the selling and buying price, the cost of withdrawing. Check where each cost falls, and how much, in the firm’s schedule of charges and in the amount shown before you trade.
Numbers, on the spot
Costs change with timing, conditions and firm. This edition does not list figures by firm; it suggests checking the amount shown before each transaction.
A scale to read before you pay.
A scale for reading the price beyond the price tag.
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Fees
How much is shown as a separate fee.[2]
The rate mark-up
The exchange rate used, and its gap to the market rate.[1][2]
Total cost
The total of costs, shown as an amount and as a percentage.[3]
This is not advice
This edition explains how costs work. It does not recommend or compare any company or service.
Next question
NEXT QUESTIONLook at the exit before the entrance.NEXT QUESTIONAn envelope grows lighter on its way.See the Field Notes shelf →What this edition cannot tell you
- Specific cost figures by firm. They change with time and conditions, so we deliberately do not list them.
- Rules on showing costs outside the United States and the EU.