A "total cost" number hides three different charges: the visible transfer fee, the invisible FX markup, and (for crypto rails) small network fees. This tool separates all three so you can see exactly where your money goes on any corridor.
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The tool splits every provider's total cost into its three components: transfer fee, FX markup, and network/processing fees.
Compare providers component-by-component, not just on the headline total.
A complete fee breakdown has three parts: (1) the transfer fee — the visible upfront charge; (2) the FX markup — the percentage gap between the mid-market rate and the provider's quoted rate; (3) network/processing fees — fixed costs like SWIFT correspondent-bank fees or blockchain network fees.
For large transfers, FX markup is usually the bigger cost: a 2% markup on $5,000 is $100, dwarfing a $5 flat fee. Banks and services like PayPal routinely embed 2–4% markups while advertising "zero fee" transfers.
Crypto rails route around correspondent banking: USD → USDC (on-ramp, 0.4–1.5%) → Stellar/Tron network ($0.0004) → local exchange → local currency (off-ramp). Total all-in cost typically lands at 0.3–0.8%.
SWIFT transfers route through up to 5 correspondent banks, each charging $5–25, on top of the sender's wire fee ($15–45) and any receiving-bank fee ($10–20) — the SHA/OUR/BEN fee-allocation structure determines who absorbs each hop's charge.
Worked example: Sending $1,000 from USD to NGN, the cheapest measured route today is Quidax at 2.13% better than the mid-market rate (a measured premium, not a cost) — about $21.30 more than a mid-market transfer on $1,000, as of July 30, 2026. Rates are refreshed every 6 hours from live provider data.
A complete fee breakdown has three components: (1) the transfer fee — the visible charge the provider shows you upfront; (2) the FX markup — the difference between the real mid-market exchange rate and the rate your provider gives you, expressed as a percentage; and (3) network/processing fees — small fixed costs like SWIFT correspondent bank fees or blockchain network fees. The total of all three is the true all-in cost.
For large transfers, FX markup is usually the bigger cost. A 2% FX markup on $5,000 is $100 — easily dwarfing a $5 flat transfer fee. Banks and services like PayPal routinely embed 2-4% markups in the exchange rate, showing a "zero fee" transfer while making their money invisibly. Wise uses the mid-market rate with 0% markup; digital asset rails also avoid FX markup by trading on open exchanges.
Crypto rails bypass the traditional correspondent banking system. Instead of USD → correspondent bank → local bank → recipient, the flow is: USD → USDC stablecoin (on Coinbase/Kraken, 0.4-1.5% fee) → Stellar/Tron blockchain ($0.0004 network fee) → local exchange → local currency → recipient bank. The on-ramp and off-ramp steps have transparent, market-priced fees. Total all-in cost is typically 0.3-0.8%.
SWIFT transfers route through up to 5 correspondent banks, each charging $5-25. The sender pays a wire fee ($15-45), the receiving bank may charge a receipt fee ($10-20), and intermediate banks deduct correspondent fees along the way. This is why "free wire" offers often result in the recipient getting less than expected — the fees are deducted from the transfer amount by correspondent banks (the SHA/OUR/BEN fee structure).
Compare live rates across 370+ corridors on RemitRoutes · methodology.