Send Money from Australia to United States

Measured on the full cost — the transfer fee plus the exchange-rate margin — Remitly is cheapest on this corridor at A$1,000, across the 3 providers we hold checked figures for. Western Union advertises no transfer fee here, which looks cheaper and often is not: a provider with no fee recovers it in the rate, and the margin is usually the larger of the two costs. The cheapest provider also changes with the amount you send, so compare the final sum that arrives in US dollars rather than the headline fee.

At A$1,000, Remitly is the cheapest of the 3 providers priced at that amount on this corridor: about A$4.29 all in, or 0.43% of the amount sent. Wise is next at about A$5.06. That is the fee plus the exchange-rate margin that applied to a transfer of that size — priced at A$1,000 specifically, not worked out from a measurement taken at some other amount. It covers a bank transfer; cash pickup and mobile wallet payouts are priced separately. The margins were measured by Wise's comparison service rather than published by the providers themselves, and other providers here may be cheaper and are not priced this way.

Delivery ranges from minutes to a few business days depending on the provider and payout method. Western Union can deliver within minutes when you pay by debit card. Bank-funded and economy transfers typically take one to three business days but usually cost less. Transfers sent outside banking hours or over a weekend may not settle until the next working day.

Across the providers we compare, the available payout methods are bank deposit and cash pickup. The most widely used options in the United States are bank deposit over ACH, with some providers offering a faster push-to-debit-card option for a higher fee. A standard ACH payout typically lands within one to three business days; a debit-card push can arrive within minutes but usually costs more, so the fastest option on this corridor is rarely the cheapest one. Not every provider supports every method, so check the table above before you commit.

No. Remitly and Western Union offer cash pickup in the United States, so your recipient can collect the funds with valid photo ID and the transfer reference number. That said, bank deposit over ACH, with some providers offering a faster push-to-debit-card option for a higher fee generally cost less than cash collection.

Providers rarely give you the mid-market rate — the reference rate you see on Google or Reuters. Instead they add a margin, typically between 0.4% and 4%, and keep the difference. That margin is often larger than the visible transfer fee, which is why a "no fee" service can still be more expensive overall. For AUD to USD, compare the quoted rate against the mid-market rate to see the real spread you are paying.

Yes, provided you use a licensed provider. Every service listed on this page is regulated in Australia under AUSTRAC, which requires safeguarding of customer funds and identity verification. Send only to people you know personally, keep your transfer reference private, and be sceptical of anyone pressuring you to send money urgently to someone you have not met.

Yes. Each provider sets its own transfer limits, which vary by how much identity verification you have completed and how you pay. Larger transfers may require additional documentation such as proof of source of funds. For transfers above roughly A$10,000, a specialist foreign-exchange broker will often beat an app on rate.

Everybody here reaches a US bank account and two of the three reach cash, so this is a price corridor. At about 4.97 AUD on 1,000 AUD from a Wise account it is among the cheapest on the site — under half a percent. Card funding is the expensive habit: about 14.28 AUD by credit card against 4.97 from an account, nearly three times for the same transfer. Wise publishes a rate from 0.09 percent above 40,000 AUD. If you are moving a large sum rather than a monthly remittance, that tier matters more than anything else on this page.