Money transfer companies compared: Switzerland

International money transfers can be costly, with hidden fees and fluctuating exchange rates that impact how much you spend to send money abroad. Many online money transfer companies claim to offer attractive exchange rates, but once you break down the cost you may be spending more than you expect. For a more detailed look at sending money abroad, check out our guide:

Sending money abroad: a guide to international money transfers.

Money transfer companies operate by charging an additional margin to the interbank exchange rate, transfer fees or a combination of both. Typically, banks add a margin of between 3% and 6% on top of the interbank rate. CurrencyFair, on the other hand, charges an average margin of 0.45%. You can access great FX rates in Switzerland from any device, at any time, and send and receive international money transfers in over 20 currencies with a CurrencyFair account. Some providers hide fees and charges in their exchange rate or make the information difficult to find on their websites. Others use complicated terms and conditions around their fees. Many of the money transfer providers we researched offer introductory rates and "fee-free"exchanges for first-time customers, then charge high fees for future transactions.

At CurrencyFair, our fee is always just €3.00 (or currency equivalent), regardless of the amount you're sending. We also empower our customers to choose their own exchange rates on our marketplace.

We've broken down the true cost of transferring money from Switzerland with money providers like Azimo, moneycorp, Small World, Western Union, Wise, XE and CurrencyFair by comparing how much it would cost to send and convert 1,000 CHF from Switzerland to euros.

When it comes down to it, CurrencyFair's transparent fees and exchange rates will end up costing you less, as seen in our comparison assessment below.

Money transfer companies compared:

• Azimo
• Moneycorp
• Small World
• Western Union
• Wise
• XE
• CurrencyFair

Using Azimo for money transfers from Switzerland

Azimo is an online money transfer service founded in 2012 that provides remittance services to 190 countries, including Switzerland. It offers two tiers of delivery that take between 24 hours and three days. Azimo's fees vary based on where you are sending to and from, and the delivery method that you choose.

To exchange 1,000 CHF into euros it offered an introductory exchange rate of 1 CHF = 0.90532 EUR (15:18, 5 July), 3 cents better than its standard rate of 1 CHF = 0.90244. It also offers no fees for your first two transfers and a delivery time of approximately one to three days. After this, its fees for changing CHF into euros go up to 2.99 CHF. At the introductory rate, your recipient would get €905.32.

Exchange rate and fee accurate as of 15:18, 5 July 2021

Using moneycorp for money transfers from Switzerland

Moneycorp is a foreign exchange and payment services company headquartered in London, that has been in business since 1962. It offers money transfer services to 190 countries and supports 33 currencies.

If you're sending money online with moneycorp or using its app, it charges a £5 fee for standard transfers, which take two to four days, and £9 for express transfers, which take up to two days. You can also arrange money transfers by phone, sent within moneycorp's express time frame, which are charged a £15 fee. CurrencyFair's €3 (or currency equivalent) fee applies to our standard transfer time of one to two days.

Moneycorp's exchange rates are based on a combination of factors and vary depending on the amount you're exchanging and in which currency. To get an estimate of how much your money transfer will cost, you have to sign up for a moneycorp account. Even then, to exchange 1,000 CHF into euros it offered an exchange rate of 1 CHF = 0.8749 EUR (14:53, 5 July), with no specified fees or estimated delivery time. At this rate, your recipient would get 874.90 EUR.
However, this doesn't take into account the additional margin or fees moneycorp would charge to your final transaction. If you'd like to compare the same amount using CurrencyFair yourself, our fees and exchange rates are available up-front using the calculator here.

Exchange rate and fee accurate as of 14:53, 5 July 2021

Using Small World for money transfers from Switzerland

Small World Financial Services provides online money transfers and in-person transfers from its worldwide agent network of 250,000 locations in 90 countries.

It offered an exchange rate of 1 CHF = 0.8897 EUR (15:33, 5 July), with a 10 CHF fee. To transfer 1,000 CHF from Switzerland to euros using a bank transfer, it adds the fee to the send cost. So for a total cost of 1,010 CHF, the recipient would get €889.67.

Exchange rate and fee accurate as of 15:33, 5 July 2021

Using Western Union for money transfers from Switzerland

Western Union is one of the largest remittance companies in the world, with over 500,000 agent locations across the globe. Its exchange rate changes depending on the delivery and payment method you choose.

Western Union doesn't accept business payments, and you are limited to sending 5,500 CHF per day. When paying for the bigger things in life, such as buying property overseas, paying for education abroad or transferring your savings, this can be at best inconvenient and at worst, unworkable. Breaking up a large transaction over several days is not only annoying, it can also end up a lot more expensive thanks to fees getting incurred every time. At CurrencyFair, you can send up to 100,000,000 CHF per transfer, and we offer tailored solutions for our business customers.

Why choose CurrencyFair for your business?

To send 1,000 CHF from Switzerland to euros using a debit card it offered an exchange rate of 1 CHF = 0.8968 EUR (15:54, 5 July), with a 3.90 CHF fee. So for 1,003.90 CHF, the recipient will receive €896.81, with an estimated delivery time of one business day.

Exchange rate and fee accurate as of 15:54, 5 July 2021

Using Wise for money transfers from Switzerland

Wise, formerly TransferWise, is a money transfer provider in Europe. Depending on how quickly you need the funds to reach the recipient, you can opt for different tiers of transfer speed with different costs.

To send 1,000 CHF from Switzerland into euros using a debit card it offered an exchange rate of 1 CHF = 0.914202 EUR (16:19, 5 July), with a 21.79 CHF fee. So 978.21 CHF gets exchanged into €894.28, and should be delivered within one day. However, its fees can snowball when you send larger amounts and can fluctuate depending on which currencies you're converting. The table below demonstrates how these fees can add up, particularly if you're transferring a large amount.

Exchange rate and fee accurate as of 16:19, 5 July 2021

Using XE for money transfers from Switzerland

XE is part of the Euronet Worldwide group and forms the third largest money transfer business in the world. It uses mid-market rates and offered 1 CHF = 0.9014 EUR (16:21, 5 July), so sending 1,000 CHF to euros converts to €901.40.

Under its FAQs, it states that: "Your money will reach its destination quickly, securely, and with no hidden fees”. However, it also states that: "Some money transfers are subject to a small fee”, without specifying what transfers are subject to them, and how much they might be. CurrencyFair's transparent fees are fixed at €3 (or currency equivalent) for transfers from Switzerland.

Exchange rate and fee accurate as of 16:21, 5 July 2021

Using CurrencyFair for money from Switzerland

CurrencyFair was founded in 2009 and offers secure money transfers to over 150 countries and over 20 currencies. Our exchange rate of 1 CHF = 0.9097 EUR includes our €3 fee, meaning when you send 1,000 CHF to euros the recipient will get €906.70 (16:29, 5 July).

Exchange rate and fee accurate as of 16:29, 5 July 2021

You can choose to send money immediately with our quick, low-cost money transfers, or set your own rate on our marketplace, and wait for the market to meet it — meaning you could even beat the currency market rate that you see on Google.

Join over 170,000 happy customers who have saved millions with CurrencyFair.

If you're sending money abroad from somewhere else in the world, compare the money transfer providers available in the following countries below:

• Money transfer companies compared: Germany
• Money transfer companies compared: France
• Money transfer companies compared: Thailand
• Money transfer companies compared: Australia
• Money transfer companies compared: India
• Money transfer companies compared: United Kingdom

For a more detailed look at sending money abroad, check out our guide: Sending money abroad: a guide to international money transfers.

Photo by Tim Trad on Unsplash