Best Ways To Send Money To Germany From The US

Sending money from the USA to Germany isn’t a straightforward transaction. While sending money in the EU is very simple, overseas transfers are a bit of a headache. Nonetheless, US citizens and Germans living in the US are constantly sending money to Germany. Hence, it’s a very frequent transaction.

You can send money to Germany from the USA by using one of the following companies:

• Wise
• PayPal
• Xoom
• Western Union
• Wire transfer

When sending money to Germany, you have several options, which all differ in price and transfer speed. How can you transfer your money from the USA to Germany most efficiently and without losing much on commission? This and more you will learn in this article. Besides the options mentioned above, you can make an international transfer at a cheap rate on World Remit.

How to send money from the USA to Germany

Today, there are plenty of money transfer options between the US and the rest of the world. You can send money to Germany by using a regular bank or a dedicated money transfer provider.

While sending money by regular SEPA transfers within the EU is very straightforward, transactions from non-EU countries look different.

For instance, international money transfers between EU and non-EU countries are always more expensive and can be a bit complex.

Plus, the USA and Germany have very different banking systems; hence, a simple wire transfer is usually the most expensive option.

You have several options when sending money to Germany, including remittance/money transfer companies, forex brokers, and traditional bank wire transfers.

The best way depends on costs, speed, ease, and convenience. Be aware that “no fee” advertised by many providers doesn’t mean “no cost.”

Ultimately, these companies need to make a profit, and you usually lose some money on their exchange rate.

Here are the most common ways to send money to Germany from the US.

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1. Remittance services

Using remittance or money transfer companies is one of the common ways to send money internationally.

Examples of remittance services are Western Union (WU), MoneyGram, and PayPal. Remittance companies are best for smaller amounts (up to $1,000) when the recipient has no bank account.

If you send larger amounts, you will lose quite a lot of money on their fees and bad exchange rates.

Remittance services are also the best for sending cash and real-time money transfers. Western Union and others firms with physical branches offer international cash-to-cash (agent-to-agent) transfers. You simply give an agent cash, which gets transferred to another agent in Germany and converted to EUR.

Nowadays, you can send money online with remittance companies, Western Union, MoneyGram, and PayPal – they all offer online transfers.

2. Forex brokers

To send larger amounts to Germany, Forex brokers are the best. Most of them are based in the UK or Ireland but also have North America and Asia offices.

They specialize in multi-currency money transfers for individuals and businesses. For example, if you want to transfer $1,000 from a US bank account to a German account at the cheapest cost.

Sending money with forex brokers is by far the most lucrative way to transfer money between Germany and the USA or when several currencies are involved.

Some of the forex transfer firms are:

• Wise
• CurrencyFair
• OFX
• Xendpay

In most cases, these companies don’t have branches for clients; hence, they are cheaper to operate than traditional banks. Therefore, the rates of forex firms are more competitive and thus less expensive.

They are primarily young FinTechs with innovative business ideas and an infrastructure superior to traditional banks. As a result, these companies process international money transfers faster and cheaper.

3. Bank wire

The last option is to send money to a German bank via your home US bank. Even if you transfer money with a credit card, it takes a percentage in commission and has bad exchange rates.

How long does it take?

As a rule, you can expect the money transfer between the US and Germany to take between 3 and 5 days. A shorter transfer time is possible.

Services like Wise, Xendpay, or traditional banks, usually take one to three business days.

You can send money in minutes using remittance companies like Western Union. However, it only applies to cash transfers without the bank’s involvement.

How much does it cost?

Sending money from the USA to Germany will cost you, and depending on the provider you choose, it can be a small or large amount. Total costs of about $80 for a $1,000 bank transfer are realistic.

Here are the main factors influencing the total cost of your transfer:

• The transfer fee
• The transfer amount
• The speed of the actual transfer
• The exchange rate at the time of the transfer

For bank wire, for example, you pay processing fees, your bank fees, recipient bank fees, and unfavorable exchange rates.

Best way to send money to Germany from the USA

The overall best way to send money to Germany from the USA is by using Wise. It’s the most well-rounded option for sending funds to Germany. Wise offers the best benefits for a customer, such as ease of use and very low costs.

With Wise, you can send money in a short period of time and with the lowest fees.

The cheapest way to send money to Germany from the USA

Company Wise is the most affordable way to send money to Germany from the US. In fact, you will save more than 80% by doing a transfer with Wise, and it’s five times cheaper than via a standard bank.

Wise charges a flat fee of $4,67 + 0.43% of the converted amount. This is the lowest rate we have seen so far across all money transfer services.

Wise

Wise, formerly TransferWise, offers some of the best exchange rates you can find on the market.

Transfer fees	Transfer time	Payment options
A flat fee of $4,67 + 0.43% of the amount that’s converted	Between 2-5 days	Debit Card Credit Card Bank Transfer SOFORT Trustly Apple Pay

Wise is a UK-based money transfer service founded in January 2011 with headquarters in London and offices in other countries. They support more than 750 currencies worldwide, including GBP, USD, EUR, AUD, and CAD.

With Wise, you transfer money at the real exchange rate, which is the best you can ever find. Furthermore, money transfer with Wise is up to 5x cheaper than with banks. Over 7 million customers already use their services.

What is Wise offering?

Speed: Same-day delivery is possible. A transfer using a debit or credit card can arrive within minutes, while a transfer using a bank account can take, on average, about two to five business days.

Transfer limits and options: You can send up to $1 million per transfer. The recipient in Germany needs to have a bank account to get a transfer from Wise.

Wise independent review:

• Trust & Credibility – 10
• Service & Quality – 9
• Fees & Exchange Rates – 9,2
• Customer Satisfaction – 9,7
• Total: 9,5

Why choose Wise?

1. Favorable exchange rates. Wise always gives you the best exchange rate, the mid-market rate.
2. Transfer transparency. You always know how much you are paying, how much the recipient gets, and how long the transfer takes.
3. Trustworthiness. Millions of customers use wise and has a five-star rating on Trustpilot.
4. Top customer support. Real people answer your questions and requests.

Benefits:

Wise offers services for private clients, businesses, and freelancers. Your first transfer, up to $600, is free.

Wise doesn’t have any hidden costs. They provide full transparency for customers. The company also guarantees that your bank or the receiver’s bank doesn’t charge anything extra.

Whereas, some companies in this industry do have a terrible exchange rate even when they don’t charge a commission.

For example, you can lose a lot of money while using the services of Western Union or MoneyGram.

How it works:

If you have never used the platform Wise, you need to complete a short registration. The whole process, including the transfer and registration, takes only about 5 minutes.

1. Login or create a free account at the Wise.com

2. Select international transfer and enter the amount.

3. Check current rates and proceed with the transfer. At that point, you will be able to see:

• transfer fee
• converted to the EUR amount
• exchange rate
• the sum that the recipient gets
• your saving
• transfer time

4. After, you can select to whom you send money: yourself, another person, or a business.

5. Enter the recipient’s bank details and finish the transfer.

The recipient in Germany gets money in EUR at the best exchange rate possible.

Transfer fees:

To send money in USD to Germany, you pay a small, flat fee of $4,67 + 0,43% of the converted amount (you’ll always see the total cost upfront).

Wise’s exchange rate (1 EUR = 1.1319 USD) is even 0.04% better than the mid-market exchange rate.

Fees for Wise transfer to Germany from the USA:

Fixed fee	$4,67
% fee for transfers up to 133,295 USD	0.43%
% fee for transfers up to 399,885 USD	0.33%
% fee for transfers up to 666,475 USD	0.28%
% fee for transfers up to 1,332,950 USD	0.27%

Additional Fees: Transfers with bank debit (ACH) are the cheapest; then bank wire transfer, followed by debit card and credit card.

For example, on a $1,000 transfer to Germany, Wise charges a percentage fee of $4,67 along with the $2,59 bank fee for ACH transfers — the cheapest option.

However, that same $1,000 transfer will be a bit more pricey if you select wire transfer, debit card, or credit card as a means of payment:

• wire transfer — $5,64 fee
• debit card — $11,56 fee
• credit card — $37,44 fee

As you can see, the fees are very transparent.

Transfer time:

Wise is faster than many other providers; most transfers are done within the day. However, depending on the payment method, it can take up to 5 days to complete; between 3-5 days is the average.

Send money to Germany from the US with PayPal

While living in the US, you are most probably well aware of PayPal. PayPal it’s great for sending money in the same currency, while making international transfers is super expensive.

Firstly, a recipient in Germany must have a PayPal account so you can send them money via PayPal.

Transfer fees	Transfer time	Payment options
A flat fee of $2,25 + markup in the exchange rate Plus recipient pays a 2,5% conversion fee	Between 3-5 days	PayPal balance Bank account Debit Card Credit Card

What is PayPal offering?

Speed: Your transfer will take between 3-5 days.

Transfer limits and options: Individual transfers are limited to $4,000 as a one-time transaction.

Customer experience: Support is primarily available via chat or email.

PayPal independent review:

• Trust & Credibility – 7,9
• Service & Quality – 7,8
• Fees & Exchange Rates – 1
• Customer Satisfaction – 4,7
• Total: 5,4

There aren’t really benefits of PayPal over other money transfer options.

Transfer fees:

With PayPal, you pay a fixed sending fee plus exchange rate markups.

PayPal’s exchange rate (1 USD = 0.8562 EUR) is 3,37% worse than the mid-market exchange rate, adding $33,56 USD to the total cost for the $1,000 transfer.

The sending fee depends on the payment method:

• Bank account – $2,25
• Credit or debit card – $2,25 plus a fee of 1,90% from the sending amount plus $0,30

Moreover, the recipient pays a 2,5% conversion fee when receiving EUR (if their account is in EUR). Besides that, you might lose around 3%-4% on the conversion rate.

Transfer time:

Most money transfers with PayPal take between 3 and 5 days, depending on the payment method.

PayPal is a good choice if:

1. You are sending money in the same country (not across international borders)
2. It’s not a cross-currency transfer
3. Both you and the recipient have a PayPal account
4. You can fund your account via direct debit from your bank account

PayPal isn’t a good choice if:

1. You need to fund your account via a debit or credit card (commission)
2. You are transferring money internationally
3. You are sending money in a different currency than the receiver’s account
4. In these cases, the costs can add up very quickly and will often be between 3% and 7% of the amount you transfer

Send money to Germany from the USA with Xoom

Xoom is a money transfer option offered as a part of PayPal. Xoom is a forex exchange concept and is particularly good for making international transfers in a different currency.

Transfer fees	Transfer time	Payment options
A flat fee of $4,99 + markup in the exchange rate	Between 2-3 days	PayPal Bank account Debit Card Credit Card

Xoom is a relatively cheap option to send money from the USA to Germany. They tend to have low upfront fees, under $5, when using a bank account instead of a debit or credit card, but exchange rate markups can be over 3%.

Yet, Xoom still tends to be cheaper than banks’ international wire transfers.

What is Xoom offering?

Speed: Many transfers can arrive within minutes, regardless of the payment method. But it could take up to a few days.

Transfer limits and options: Individual transfers are limited to $2,999 per day if you have only a basic profile on the site and up to $50,000 per day to a recipient’s bank account by verifying personal information through Xoom.

Customer experience: Phone support is available 24/7 in different languages.

The main benefit of PayPal’s Xoom is its speed – you can get your money in Germany in under 3 hours.

Transfer fees:

With Xoom, you pay a sending fee plus exchange rate markups. The sending fee depends on the payment method:

• Bank account – $4,99
• Credit or debit card – minimum $4,99 but can rise substantially – to $60,99 when sending $2,999

For example, when sending $1,000 from the USA to Germany, Xoom is using a conversion rate of 0.866, which is worse than the mid-market rate of 0.883.

Ultimately, you pay an additional $19,14 on top of the fixed transfer fees.

You can send up to $2,999 for only $4,99 from a US bank account. But the fee rises to $60,99 when using a credit/debit card.

Xoom is slightly better than Western Union. For a $1,000 transfer to Germany, you will pay about 2% to 4% in exchange rate fees, along with a debit or credit card fee of $30,49.

Transfer time:

Most money transfers with Xoom take between 2 and 5 days, depending on the payment method.

Send money to Germany from the USA with Western Union

Western Union is the world’s biggest provider of remittance services. You can easily send money between the EU and the USA. Transfers are available in their offices across the country or online.

However, Western Union is one of the most expensive ways to send money from the USA to Germany.

Transfer fees	Transfer time	Payment options
Transfer fee + markup in the exchange rate The fee depends on the amount and payment method	In minutes or up to 5 days (when sending money from a bank account)	Cash Bank account Debit Card Credit Card

Benefits:

Instant cash delivery – this company is well known for its in-person real-time cash transfers.

It’s the best overall for same-day delivery. You can just walk into the WU office and send cash for the receiver to get it almost immediately on another side of the world.

What does Western Union offer?

Cost: Fees for transfers vary. The price for sending up to $1,000 can be under $5, but Western Union’s rate markups range and add about 4-5% on top.

Speed: Same-day delivery is possible when you send money to cash pickup locations in Germany. The cheapest transfers require bank accounts for sending and receiving money and can take over a week for delivery.

Transfer limits and options: Western Union has various transfer limits which are hard to identify.

Customer experience: They have phone support and live chat available, but the website doesn’t make it easy to compare exchange rates.

Transfer fees:

The cost of transfers ranges widely. Transfer fees for amounts under $1,000 can be less than $5. For example, for sending $1,000, you pay depending on the fund source:

• Bank account – $5
• Debit card – $7
• Credit card – $34

Additionally, customers pay a difference in the exchange rate, which adds roughly 4-5% to the total transfer cost.

Hence, when sending $1,000 from the USA with Western Union, someone in Germany receives only 817,90 EUR ($929) in the best case.

Transfer time:

Transfer time depends on the payment way, transfers via bank take between one and five business days. For debit and credit card transfers, a recipient could get money in one day.

Money for cash pickups is delivered in minutes.

How to transfer money from a US bank to a German bank?

If you, for some reason, need to transfer money from one bank account to another directly without the involvement of third parties, it’s also possible to do. However, bank wire might be less straightforward and more expensive than other solutions.

When sending money via banks internationally, different cost structure applies. As a sender, you will incur:

• processing fees
• your bank fees
• and unfavorable exchange rates

And someone in Germany will face – recipient bank fees.

Moreover, the main problem is that banks usually have higher foreign exchange rates when sending money overseas. Banks also charge fees for their services plus the conversion rate.

Almost any US bank offers wire transfer services. The average cost at the top ten American banks for an outgoing international wire transfer is $45,50.

Using Bank of America, for instance, you’ll pay a fixed fee of $45 no matter how much money you transfer into Germany.

Since a bank’s fee is a flat rate, it’s a good option for transferring more significant amounts of money.

Hence, banks are suitable for sending money to make some big purchases in Germany, e.g., making down payments on cars or property.

For transfers of up to a few thousand dollars, it’s best to avoid banks and stick to Wise.

To transfer money to the German bank account, you will need the following information:

• The name and address of the beneficiary
• The name and address of their bank 
• IBAN Number 
• SWIFT/BIC code

SEPA transfer is the most common and uncomplicated bank transfer within the EU, which is, unfortunately, not available in the US.

All transfers from outside of the EU are considered foreign transfers by German banks.

There are some limits to the money transfer in Germany. A recipient must report a transaction that exceeds 12,500 EUR per the Foreign Trade and Payments Ordinance.

Transfer time	2-5 days	3-5 days	2-3 days	Immediately or up to 5 days
Fees	$4,67 + 0.43 % of the amount	$2,25 + exchange rate Recipient pays a 2,5% fee	$4,99 + exchange rate	$4,99 + exchange rate (+4-5%)
Payment method	Bank account / Direct Bank Transfer / Debit Card / Credit Card	PayPal / Bank account/debit card / credit card	Bank account/debit card / credit card	Bank account/debit card / credit card/cash