Westpac vs Wise: International Transfer Fees Compared

Westpac or Wise: what changed and what didn't

On 1 December 2025 Westpac New Zealand removed the NZ$5 fee for sending foreign currency overseas through the Westpac One app and internet banking. It was a real change and a good one — Westpac now advertises NZ$0 on international payments in the 23 currencies and 137-plus countries available through Westpac One. What did not change is the exchange rate margin, which is where the actual cost of a Westpac transfer has always sat, and which Westpac still does not publish. The fee moved from NZ$5 to NZ$0. On a NZ$5,000 transfer that is a 6% improvement in your total cost.

We earn a commission if you open an account with some of the providers listed on this page. It never changes the rate or fee you pay, and it never changes our rankings — our comparison figures come from each provider's published pricing.

Westpac's published international transfer fees, itemised

From Westpac NZ's Transaction and Service Fees brochure and its international service fees page.

What you're doing	Westpac fee
Send a telegraphic transfer via Westpac One in a foreign currency	NZ$0 (fee removed 1 December 2025)
Send via Westpac One in New Zealand dollars	NZ$5
Send with staff assistance	NZ$30
Send with staff assistance to another Westpac foreign currency account	NZ$15
Send via Business Online	NZ$5
Send via Corporate Online or another digital channel	NZ$20
Choose the "our charge" option so the recipient gets the full amount	NZ$25
Send to Cook Islands, Tonga, Samoa, American Samoa, Vanuatu, Kiribati, New Caledonia, French Polynesia, PNG, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu or Fiji via Westpac One	NZ$0
Receive an inward telegraphic transfer to a Westpac account	NZ$15
Receive an inward telegraphic transfer credited to a non-Westpac account	NZ$15
Receive an inward transfer directly from Westpac Australia	NZ$0
Any transfer below NZ$100	NZ$0
Overseas bank charges	Westpac passes on charges exceeding NZ$25
Exchange rate margin	Not published

Read Westpac's own framing of the December 2025 change carefully. It applies to "international payments in the foreign currencies and countries available through Westpac One," and Westpac notes that "if using other Westpac platforms standard fees apply" and that "other charges by overseas banks and receiving institutions may apply." So the NZ$0 is channel-specific and currency-specific. Send NZD through Westpac One and it is still NZ$5. Walk into a branch and it is NZ$30 — a NZ$30 premium for someone else typing the SWIFT details, with no improvement in the rate to compensate.

Two Westpac-specific advantages are worth calling out. Inward transfers arriving directly from Westpac Australia are free, which is genuinely valuable for the large number of New Zealanders with Australian income, and it is the main reason a lot of trans-Tasman households keep accounts on both sides. And the twelve Pacific corridors Westpac sends to at NZ$0 via Westpac One is the widest free Pacific list of the five majors — although the FX margins on Pacific currencies are the widest in the market, commonly quoted at up to 5%, so a free fee there is not the same as a cheap transfer.

The number Westpac doesn't publish — and why we won't invent one

Westpac does not disclose the margin it adds to the mid-market rate. Nothing on its international service fees page, its send-money page or its general terms quantifies it.

Westpac is also absent from the main third-party dataset that measures New Zealand providers' all-in costs. Three New Zealand banks are in it: BNZ at NZ$77.46, ASB at NZ$84.58 and Kiwibank at NZ$108.39 on a NZ$5,000 transfer to the United States. Strip out each bank's own fee and the implied margins are roughly 1.55%, 1.4–1.6% and 1.97%. Independent surveys put New Zealand bank margins at 1.5–3% for major currencies. No New Zealand bank publishes anything below that band.

So we model Westpac at 1.5–2.5% and label it as modelled every time it appears. That is the honest treatment. We are not going to publish a precise-looking figure like "NZ$91.20" for Westpac when no one has measured it, because a fabricated decimal point is worse than a stated range. The NZ bank international transfer fee comparison applies the same rule to ANZ, which is also missing from that dataset.

Worked comparison: NZ$1,000, NZ$5,000 and NZ$20,000

Total cost, fee plus margin, sending to US dollars. All Westpac rows are modelled from its published fees plus the 1.5–2.5% band, not measured. Provider rows scale from the measured NZ$5,000 benchmark.

Provider	NZ$1,000	NZ$5,000	NZ$20,000
Westpac One, foreign currency	NZ$15–25 (modelled)	NZ$75–125 (modelled)	NZ$300–500 (modelled)
Westpac One, sent in NZD	NZ$20–30 (modelled)	NZ$80–130 (modelled)	NZ$305–505 (modelled)
Westpac in branch	NZ$45–55 (modelled)	NZ$105–155 (modelled)	NZ$330–530 (modelled)
Wise	~NZ$5–8	NZ$16.37	~NZ$66
XE Money Transfer	~NZ$8–12	NZ$30.18	~NZ$120
OFX	~NZ$20 (NZ$12 fee + margin)	NZ$39.02	~NZ$156
TorFX	~NZ$12–16	NZ$50.51	~NZ$202
Western Union	Quote only	Quote only	Quote only

The branch row is the one to notice. On NZ$1,000, walking into a Westpac branch instead of using the app roughly triples your cost — NZ$45–55 against NZ$15–25 — because the NZ$30 staff fee is enormous relative to a small transfer. If you are going to use Westpac, use Westpac One. The counter is worth paying for exactly twice: your first ever transfer, and a payment large enough that you want a human name attached to it.

How long each takes

Westpac does not publish a guaranteed timeframe for telegraphic transfers, which is normal — most of the delay lives in the correspondent bank chain, outside Westpac's control. Bank SWIFT transfers from New Zealand typically land in one to five business days, with one to three the common case for major currencies. Transfers between Westpac New Zealand and Westpac Australia often move faster because they stay inside one banking group, and they arrive with no inward fee.

Wise settles many major-currency transfers within hours, and near-instantly on corridors where it holds local payout rails, though first transfers and larger amounts can be held for verification. For most people the practical difference is a day, and the cut-off you submit by matters as much as the provider.

When Westpac is genuinely the better choice

• Trans-Tasman, Westpac to Westpac. If you or your family hold Westpac accounts on both sides, inward transfers from Westpac Australia are free and often faster, staying within one group. That is a specific, real advantage and it is why plenty of people keep both accounts. Our send money to Australia from NZ guide covers the corridor in full.
• The twelve free Pacific corridors. Cook Islands, Tonga, Samoa, American Samoa, Vanuatu, Kiribati, New Caledonia, French Polynesia, PNG, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Fiji all send at NZ$0 via Westpac One. Wise supports none of them except Fiji. For Pacific remittances Westpac is not a compromise, it is the answer.
• Bank drafts, documentary credits and letters of credit. Required by some visa applications, foreign universities, court filings and trade counterparties. No digital provider issues them.
• Large transfers where you want a named contact. On a property settlement or business acquisition, someone at Westpac who can trace a SWIFT message and escalate it is worth more than 1.5%. Pay the NZ$30.
• The "our charge" option. For NZ$25, Westpac covers the downstream charges so your recipient gets the exact amount. If you are paying a tuition invoice or a supplier bill to the cent, that certainty has value that a cheaper transfer does not provide.
• Existing Westpac lending on a package. Check whether moving FX volume affects your relationship pricing before you move it.
• Forward contracts and hedging. Locking a rate months ahead is a dealing-desk product. Westpac, OFX and TorFX will do it. Wise will not.
• You need banknotes. Wise cannot hand you cash. See currency exchange near me.

Westpac card fees overseas — and one card with none

Card / action	Westpac fee
Westpac personal credit and debit cards, foreign currency	1.83% of the transaction amount
Westpac Fee Free Mastercard	0% — no foreign currency fees
Westpac business credit cards, foreign currency	2.50% of the transaction amount
Overseas ATM cash withdrawal, debit card — Westpac's own fee	NZ$3
Overseas ATM cash withdrawal, credit card — Westpac's own fee	NZ$0
Global ATM Alliance member ATMs	Westpac's ATM fees do not apply
Wise debit card	No foreign transaction fee; conversion from 0.25% at the mid-market rate; ATM free to NZ$400/month then 2.69%

At 1.83%, Westpac's personal card fee is the second lowest of the five majors — below ASB's 2.10%, Kiwibank's 2.50% on debit and BNZ's 2.25%, above ANZ's 0% on personal credit cards. But the row that matters is the Fee Free Mastercard, which carries no foreign currency fee at all. If you hold one, it is one of the better travel spending cards issued in New Zealand and you should use it rather than a prepaid card. If you hold any other Westpac card, 1.83% on NZ$4,000 of holiday spending is NZ$73.20.

The Global ATM Alliance point is also worth knowing before you fly: at member ATMs Westpac's own withdrawal fee does not apply, though the 1.83% conversion fee still does on the converted amount. Our best card to use overseas from NZ guide compares the options, and should I pay in NZD or local currency covers the dynamic currency conversion surcharge that costs more than any of these fees.

What Wise doesn't do

Wise cannot hand you banknotes, does not issue bank drafts, documentary credits or letters of credit, does not lend, and does not assign you a dealer for large transactions. It reaches 80 countries against Westpac's 137-plus. It cannot send to Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea or the Cook Islands — five of the twelve corridors Westpac sends to for free.

On regulation: Wise Payments Ltd operates in New Zealand as a foreign entity and is not licensed by a New Zealand regulator. It is supervised by the Department of Internal Affairs for anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism-financing purposes, and funds are safeguarded rather than covered by a deposit guarantee. That is a real difference from a registered New Zealand bank and worth weighing — though New Zealand also has no retail deposit guarantee covering Westpac balances at the time of writing.

Three things to do before your next Westpac transfer

1. Use Westpac One, not the branch. The counter costs NZ$30 more for identical execution and no better rate.
2. Select the destination currency, not NZD. NZD sends through Westpac One still cost NZ$5, and sending NZD hands the conversion to a bank offshore at a rate you never see.
3. Compare the amount that lands. Get Westpac's quote and one specialist quote at the same moment, check both against the real rate with our currency converter, and compare the figure the recipient receives rather than the fee. On NZ$20,000 that comparison is worth NZ$230–430.

Frequently asked questions

Did Westpac remove its international transfer fee?

Yes, on 1 December 2025 Westpac NZ removed the NZ$5 fee for sending foreign currency overseas through the Westpac One app and internet banking. It applies to the currencies and countries available through Westpac One — 23 currencies and more than 137 countries. Standard fees still apply on other Westpac platforms, sending in NZD still costs NZ$5, and the exchange rate margin is unchanged.

Is Westpac international transfer expensive?

The fee is now NZ$0 online, which is as good as it gets. The total cost is another matter: Westpac does not publish its exchange rate margin and is absent from the main third-party benchmark dataset. Given that the three measured New Zealand banks came in between 1.55% and 2.17% all-in, a Westpac transfer of NZ$5,000 plausibly costs NZ$75–125 against NZ$16.37 through Wise. That is a modelled range, not a measurement.

What exchange rate does Westpac use for international payments?

Westpac does not disclose a margin on any of its published pages. The only way to know what you are paying is to compare Westpac's quoted rate against the mid-market rate at the moment you transfer, and to compare the amount your recipient actually receives against another provider's quote for the same amount.

What is Westpac's foreign transaction fee on cards?

1.83% of the transaction amount on personal credit and debit cards, and 2.50% on business credit cards. The Westpac Fee Free Mastercard has no foreign currency fees at all. Westpac charges NZ$3 for an overseas ATM withdrawal on a debit card and nothing on a credit card, and its ATM fees do not apply at Global ATM Alliance member machines.

Does Westpac charge to receive money from overseas?

NZ$15 for an inward telegraphic transfer, whether it is credited to a Westpac account or passed to a non-Westpac account. Two exceptions: no fee on amounts below NZ$100, and no fee at all on inward transfers received directly from Westpac Australia.

Which countries can I send to free with Westpac?

Via Westpac One, transfers to the Cook Islands, Tonga, Samoa, American Samoa, Vanuatu, Kiribati, New Caledonia, French Polynesia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Fiji carry a NZ$0 transfer fee, in both NZD and foreign currency. Note that FX margins on Pacific currencies are the widest in the market — commonly quoted at up to 5% — so a zero fee is not the same as a cheap transfer.

How long does a Westpac international transfer take?

Westpac does not publish a guaranteed timeframe. Bank SWIFT transfers from New Zealand typically take one to five business days, with one to three usual for major currencies. Transfers between Westpac New Zealand and Westpac Australia often move faster because they remain within one banking group, and arrive without an inward fee.

Should I use Westpac or Wise?

Use Wise for ordinary transfers to supported countries — the cost difference on NZ$5,000 is plausibly NZ$60–110 and scales with the amount. Use Westpac for transfers to or from Westpac Australia, for the twelve Pacific corridors it sends to free, for bank drafts and documentary credits, for the NZ$25 "our charge" option when the recipient needs an exact amount, and for large payments where you want a named contact. If you hold a Westpac Fee Free Mastercard, keep using it overseas.

Related comparisons

See ANZ vs Wise, ASB vs Wise, BNZ vs Wise and Kiwibank vs Wise for the other four majors, or the full NZ bank international transfer fee comparison for all five side by side. For the cash side, the cheapest way to exchange money in New Zealand.