How to get the best exchange rate when sending money abroad from Canada

Summary

Remitly is a cheap and easy way to send small amounts of money abroad. Especially if you are a new customer, as you get better exchange rates on your first £1,000 sent abroad.

Is Wise a Good Money Transfer App?

Yes, Wise is one of the cheapest and easiest ways to send money abroad. Highly recommended. Wise also won Best Money Transfer App in the 2025 Good Money Guide Awards.

But in a nutshell… Should you use Wise? Yes. Is it cheap? Yes. Is it easy to use? Yes. Is it safe? Yes.

Since Wise was founded back in 2011, I’ve followed its progress. There are many firms that shout loudly about wanting to disrupt an industry. But most of the time, it’s marketing hyperbole.

However, in Wise’s case, it has disrupted how we send money around the world – by making it cheap and making it easy.

The only reason not to use Wise is if you already bank with Starling, as the fees are pretty similar and you probably don’t want another app on your phone if you don’t need it.

Truly Disruptive

A few years ago, before Wise was founded, I wanted to send €30 to a friend in Munich. It was an absolute nightmare. I was banking with NatWest, which wanted £20 as a minimum fee for sending the money to a European bank account. Next I tried PayPal – still expensive. So I withdrew €30 in cash from a Euro cash machine in London, put it in an envelope and sent it through the post.

The only other option was the inconvenience of visiting a Western Union shop.

Thankfully along came TransferWise. It was a boom time for money transfer apps but this one had the best story: it was circumventing “evil” banks by transferring money abroad using P2P networks. If you needed to transfer €30 to Germany, it matched you with someone in Germany who wanted to transfer €30 to England.  No need to do any FX, and therefore less in fees to pay.

It also had fantastic marketing – for example stripping off to the pants in front of the Bank of England to protest “rip-off” banking charges. It was a stroke of genius, really, as British people love seeing naked people, and hate banks.

Of course liquidity gaps need to be filled when there isn’t someone on the other side of your transaction and TransferWise used firms like Currency Cloud (now owned by Visa) to ensure that customers always got the best price.

Richard Branson was also an investor. So there you go.

Over the years, Wise as grown by being easy to use and charging low fees.

How Does Wise Work?

Wise offers international money transfers and a multi-currency account with a pre-paid card. You can send 40+ currencies to 160+ countries, and hold 40+ currencies in a Wise account.

You can pay into your Wise account by debit card, credit card or bank transfer. If you have funds in a multi-currency account, you can use those to fund a transfer when sending money abroad. And you can choose to lock in a rate for up to 48 hours.

Wise says international transfers typically arrive in seconds.

Wise matches up buyers and sellers of currency in different countries, rather than physically transferring money internationally.

Wise Customer Service

We’ve marked Wise down a bit as it doesn’t provide a telephone number. This is fine for small transactions but if you’re sending a large amount of money abroad, you may be better off using a currency broker. Wise does offer a call back service for amounts over £80,000, though.

With a broker, you can phone up an account executive or dedicated dealer, who can provide updates on your transfer or help out immediately with any issues.

But all in all, Wise customer support, is fairly efficient.

Is Wise Safe?

Wise is about as safe as you can get for sending small amounts of money abroad.

Wise is not a bank – it doesn’t have a banking licence in the UK but is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority as an “e-money business”, which means funds are ring-fenced but not protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).

Wise is listed on the LSE (LON:WISE) with at market cap of around £11.7 billion, as at June 2025. That is well up from where it was at its IPO, but even though lots of tech firms listed in 2021, it was a pretty bad time to come to market, and most have performed poorly since then because of overall market conditions and over ambitions venture capitalists wanting a return on their investments. So the stock markets also think Wise is pretty good.

Since TransferWise launched, the group has grown to provide money transfers to over 15 million customers sending more than £9 billion a month.

It’s a shame it is planning on ditching the London stock markets for the glamour of high valuations in the US.

Using a listed app is helpful as you can see how it’s faring financially. If the Wise share price starts to go down, this could indicate potential financial problems and be a sign to switch to a different app.

Apps & Platform

Wise makes it incredibly easy to transfer money abroad – the app is really simple to use. If you have a large amount of money to send, you’re better off with a currency broker because they can help with market timing and lock in exchange rates with forward contracts and currency options. Plus if you ask nicely and are transferring enough money, a broker might undercut Wise’s exchange rates and fees. Remember, that in FX, everything is negotiable.

Wise is also venturing into other products, like multi-currency bank accounts and investing.

• Related guide: How to get the best exchange rates when sending a large amount of money abroad

Pricing

Wise is among the cheapest money transfer apps and it displays the fees clearly on the website and app, but it’s not the absolute cheapest. We found Atlantic Money offering GBP-USD transfers at the interbank rate plus £3. But I suspect that isn’t sustainable and it’s only one corridor, while Wise offers 21 currencies. If you want to know more about Atlantic Money, you can read my interview with the founders, Neeraj Baid and Patrick Kavanagh (who helped build Robinhood), and make up your own mind about the service.

Research & Analysis

Wise doesn’t really have any currency forecasts, which is fine because exchange rates are hard to predict. But it would be nice to have at least some commentary on the markets.

We’ve given Wise a mid-ranking for research and analysis as it does provide lots of excellent guides online and has a good insight tab on the app which can help you see where your account money is being spent.

If you want currency forecasts, you can read our regularly updated analysis of whether now’s a good time to buy USD or EUR.

Is Wise a Bank?

No. The company does not hold a UK banking licence and your balance is not protected by the FSCS.

Wise is primarily a low-cost international money transfer app that allows you to save money when sending money abroad. However, Wise provides some of the features that banks also provide, such as holding and exchanging multiple currencies, and sending and receiving payments. And you can have a multi-currency account with a pre-paid debit card.

The firm is authorised as an “e-money” provider, which means your money has some protection but not as much as it would have with a bank. Money in bank accounts is protected by the FSCS guarantee, which covers balances up to £85,000 per eligible person, per bank.

Wise lets customers send payments to more than 160 countries and spend internationally with the Wise card. Local bank details are provided for up to 9 currencies including US dollars, pounds sterling and euros.

If you are looking for a bank account in the UK, you can see a list of current bank account switching offers here.

Are Currencies Direct a good currency broker?

Yes, in our 2024 and 2023 awards Currencies, Direct won “best currency broker”. They scored very highly in our customer survey, with very high scores in customer satisfaction and pricing.  Currencies Direct is also a well-established provider founded in 1996 and has 22 offices around the world.

Currencies Direct offer a good service for large international money transfers. They are a well-established and competitive currency broker for buying a property abroad or for international business payments at bank-beating exchange rates.

If you need to send a large amount of money abroad Currencies Direct can give you advice on the timing of a transfer and also get you bank beating exchange rates.

I’ve been dealing with currency brokers for nearly two decades now. Initially, when I was a prime broker doing currency conversions for institutions, but also as a currency broker myself doing conversions for people buying holiday homes. In this Currencies Direct review I give our ratings based on their nearest peers, and tell you what we think of them after testing them thoroughly. Plus highlight the key costs, facts and figures of their accounts.

A friend recently sent me a WhatsApp asking me what I thought of Currencies Direct. He even included a link to our old review, so clearly, it’s time for an updated version.

Instead of long-winded musings on the currency transfer industry or AI generated SEO (or SEM, search engine manipulation as I like to call it), I thought I’d do this review as a series of FAQs about Currencies Direct to provide short and relevant answers to potential questions people who are considering using them may ask. Why you ask? Well, I’ve been in the currency markets for about 20 years, as both a wholesale currency prime broker and a private client currency broker and these are the questions that people generally asked…

This is pretty much how our conversion went when we discussed Currencies Direct over coffee later that afternoon.

What does Currencies Direct do?

It helps you transfer large amounts of money from one currency and country to another.

What about small amounts of money, is it only for large transfers?

You can send small amounts of money, but to be honest, Currencies Direct is more for larger foreign exchange transactions. A typical customer may be someone buying a holiday home with a couple of large currency transfers for the purchase and then a few recurring smaller transfers afterwards for bills etc.

But can I still send smaller amounts?

Yes, but if you are only sending smaller amounts, you are better off with a money transfer app.

Why is it better for large amounts then?

When you send large amounts of money abroad, you need to think about two things. What the exchange rate will be, and when to send it. Currencies Direct will give you better exchange rates than a bank, and you get more control over when you do the conversion.

How?

You get better exchange rates because the “spread” or “mark up” Currencies Direct charge is better than the banks. Sometimes by about 4%.

Huh?

If you send £100,000 with your bank, the exchange rate markup can be up to 4% so it will cost you about £4,000 in fees. With Currencies Direct, it should be around £250.

My bank told me there were no fees for sending money abroad.

Well yes, there are no fees charged to you as commission, but they are included in the spread.

Do Currencies Direct charge a fee?

They don’t charge additional fees. They make their money on the exchange rate spread.

What’s the spread?

The spread is the difference between where a currency broker buys the currency and where you buy the currency.

So they mark my price up rather than charge fees?

Yes, take a look at our guide on how to compare exchange rates and come back?

Ok, fine, I’m up to date. But how do I know they are going to give me the best exchange rate?

Just ask them – say verbatim “how far as a percentage will my price be from the mid-market?”. They should give you an answer as a percentage. The more money you want to transfer the lower the percentage will be.

Whatever they come back with, ask for less – remember everything is negotiable.

If they can’t give you a straight answer, just look for another currency broker that can.

No, I mean, how do I know this is the best time to convert money at the current exchange rate?

You don’t, nobody knows where exchange rates will be in the future.

What about currency forecasts and predictions?

They have educated guesses at best. When it comes to foreign exchange it’s very easy to protect yourself from losing money, but very difficult to make money from trying to predict exchange rates.

Ok, fine, but I’m buying a villa in Spain at the moment and I need to pay for it in 6 months and I think now is a good time to buy Euros. Can they help me lock in the currency exchange rate?

Yes, that’s very good question and bravo for thinking of hedging your upcoming currency exposure?

What?

Sorry, yes you can buy Euros now with a currency forward contract. You can lock in the current Euro exchange rate for up to 12 months with Currencies Direct.

Great – but, there is a bit of a snag, I am selling a UK property that won’t complete for a couple of month so can’t afford all the Euros just yet.

That’s fine, when you use a currency forward you only need to put down a small deposit on the full amount you buy. Usually around 10%.

But is my money safe with Currencies Direct?

Yes, Currencies Direct are authorised by the FCA, so they have to keep client funds separate from their money. These accounts are segregated and the money is protected if they or their bankers go bust. But unlike banks and investment accounts there is no FSCS protection.

Is it a big company then?

Yes, Currencies Direct was founded in 1996, they have over 500 employees, and processed about 550,000 payments last year, totalling £10bn. Blackstone also invested £150m in Currencies Direct.

What’s Blackstone?

They are a massive private equity firm that invests in all sorts of things, they have about $10 trillion of investments.

Ok, fine. But how does Currencies Direct work?

You open an account here by requesting a quote through their website or registering online. Then they will assign someone to look after your account who will help you with the transfer.

Do I have to transfer money over the phone or can I do it online?

You can do up to £25k online, but, one of the main benefits of using a currency broker like Currencies Direct is that you get someone to actually talk to. Most people find this helpful when transferring large amounts of money abroad.

Thanks,

Pleasure.

You may also enjoy our interview with the CEO of Currencies Direct, Marc Morley-Freer.

Is OFX a good currency broker?

Yes, we rate OFX as a very good currency broker as they offer discounted exchange rates, personal service for individual buying a property abroad of for businesses needing more complex services like integrated Amazon payments or currency hedging strategies.

OFX offer a great way to time and save money on large currency transfers for either foreign property purchases international moves or for business transactions.

If you have a large currency conversion coming up OFX can help you reduce costs when buying a holiday home abroad, or moving to another country. These key benefits of using a currency broker like OFX for international property purchases are:

Better exchange rates

Control over the price and time of the conversion

Personal support

OFX Offer Competitive Exchange Rates
When purchasing property abroad, exchange rates can significantly impact the overall cost, especially if you send the money from a traditional high street bank, which can charge up to 4% of the value of the foreign currency. Using a currency broker like OFX means that you can negotiate lower commissions. Whilst FX pricing may seem complicated, it’s quite simple to calculate. We’ve produced guides on ‘how to compare exchange rates‘ and how to avoid ‘honeymoon exchange rates‘, which will help you get better exchange rates when sending money abroad.
Transfer Timing & Flexibility
When you transfer money with your bank you have little or no say over when it is done or at what exchange rate is used, as the bank just provides a rate which you can either accept or not. But OFX will let you set a limit if you have a price in mind and you can also lock in an exchange rate for a future transfer (using forward contracts) or want to set up regular payments for a mortgage.
24/7 Service and Support At OFX
Again, banks are quite impersonal things, and even the new breed of digital banks like Starling and Monzo (who do provide good exchange rates) don’t offer personal services. Large currency transactions for buying property in another country can be stressful, especially when navigating different time zones and dealing with the onerous AML requirements and delays. It’s important and actually quite reassuring to have an account manager at OFX you can call for support, ensuring that you can get help whenever you need it, no matter where you are in the world.