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What’s the best way to send money overseas? 7 top options for businesses

Last update: August 13, 2025

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If you’re a business looking for the best or cheapest way to send money overseas, you know that international money transfers can be slow and expensive. You’re probably looking for options with:

Low, transparent fees and no hidden costs, so you can protect your margins
Fast settlement times, to keep suppliers happy and keep your inventory flowing
Predictable exchange rates, so you can accurately calculate your costs and revenue

Plus, if you’re working with Chinese suppliers, you might want simpler ways to send payments specifically to China. Unfortunately, this is not something that all payment solutions offer.

In this guide, we’ll share the pros and cons of some common methods for international payment. We’ll cover:

Why WorldFirst is the best way to send money overseas
What other options do businesses have for overseas transfers?
How Bantam Materials uses WorldFirst for fast, trust-building payments

Already convinced that a multi-currency account is the best way to send money overseas? Open your free World Account now to get started making faster, simpler payments abroad.

Why WorldFirst is the best way to send money overseas

Traditional banks and other legacy transfer methods can make it complicated to send large amounts of money overseas. Opening a business bank account can take months and require in-person visits, while credit cards and wire services may charge exorbitant fees for international transfers.

Since 2004, WorldFirst has been working to make it simpler and cheaper for businesses to send and receive cross-border payments. Partnering with major financial institutions like J.P. Morgan, Barclays and HSBC, we’ve helped over a million businesses process $300 billion in transaction volume.

With a multi-currency World Account, you can pay your suppliers, vendors and other partners faster, for less. Here are some of the main reasons to choose a multi-currency World Account for all of your cross-border business payment needs.

Send money overseas fast, at competitive prices

With a multi-currency World Account, you can send money overseas in 100+ currencies to 210+ destinations, with competitive, transparent fees.

Log in to your World Account any time, 24/7, to make a payment. 80% of payments land on the same day, and almost all land in less than 48 hours.

When you join WorldFirst, you can also hold funds in 20+ currencies, including USD, GBP, EUR, CAD, AUS, NZD, JPY and CNH. You’ll get local account details for each currency, so you can hold and receive money without paying any fees until you’re ready to make a payment or transfer.

Local account details let you take advantage of local payment rails to pay faster in certain countries. For instance, by using IBANs for European payments or BSB numbers in Australia, you can pay just like a local – rather than using international networks such as SWIFT.

WorldFirst also enables free, instant payments to other World Account holders. Pay your suppliers, vendors and other business partners in just seconds, for no charge, when they join WorldFirst too.

Access affordable FX fees and better conversion rates

Some transfer methods can come with hidden fees or confusing pricing structures that make it hard to understand your costs. For example, they may advertise low fees, but use unfavourable conversion rates. Or, they may charge monthly fees or setup fees, which can add up to cancel out any cost savings.

WorldFirst is free to join, with no setup fees and no monthly or annual account fees in order to access our best rates. You only pay the listed prices and fees, and we use mid-market rate to calculate your currency conversion, plus a low, transparent markup.

If you have your eye on a specific exchange rate, you can take advantage of firm orders and forward contracts:

With firm orders, you let us know how much you want to trade, and the rate you want to trade at. Then, we watch the market for you and execute the transfer the moment we secure your desired rate.
Or, use a forward contract to lock in a conversion rate for up to 24 months, giving you more certainty over your costs and profit margins ahead of large future purchases, peak business periods and more.

Apply for free virtual World Cards, pay no FX fees on 15 currencies and get cashback

Sometimes, the easiest way to make an overseas purchase is to use a debit card or credit card. But these can come with exorbitant transaction fees (1–3% on average) on top of unfavourable conversion rates and other charges.With your World Account, you can get up to 25 free virtual World Cards to pay business expenses in 150+ currencies. Plus, pay zero FX fees when you pay in 15 major currencies from your World Account balance.

Your World Card also earns you up to 1.2% cashback on all business expenses, with no limit on your earnings. That means you earn more to invest back in your business when you pay suppliers, marketing costs, logistics, seller fees and more.

Multiple virtual cards let you split expenses by currency, department, team, supplier, expense type and more. And, you can view and manage all of your World Cards, with transactions separated out by card in your World Account dashboard. With World Cards, you can easily track expenses, adjust spending limits or instantly freeze or cancel cards in case of fraud or theft.

Learn more about World Cards: How a multi-currency virtual card helps your business grow

Easily connect with and pay suppliers and partners overseas

WorldFirst makes it easier to expand your global presence, with other easy ways to connect and pay overseas.

With World First, you get multiple ways to find and pay suppliers in China, including:

Pay suppliers in CNH directly from your World Account dashboard to their bank accounts, or instantly to their World Accounts if they’re also with WorldFirst
Make instant payments to over 10 million suppliers through WorldFirst’s direct integration with 1688.com, the leading wholesale marketplace in China

WorldFirst also partners with 130+ marketplaces and payment gateways to give you even more ways to pay and get paid. Connect directly to send and receive payments through global platforms like:

Wayfair, Wish and Bestbuy in North America
Zalando, Rakuten and Allegro in Europe and the UK
Shopee, Coupang and SHEIN in APAC
Mercado Libre and Americanas in LATAM

And receive and manage marketplace payouts from platforms like Amazon, TikTok Shop and AliExpress, all through your World Account dashboard.

How to open a World Account

To open a World Account and start sending money overseas:

Navigate to our online registration portal. When you log in, make sure you have your mobile phone, email and owner IDs ready
Click Sign up and choose your region
Click Create account
Share some key details about yourself and your business
Upload your qualifying documents (more info here)
Visit our account opening help page to view the required document list and learn more about opening your account

Ready to start making fast and affordable overseas payments? Open a World Account for free today.

What other options do businesses have for overseas transfers?

Here are some other popular ways for businesses to send money overseas:

1. Debit and credit cards

Good for: Smaller companies who are more concerned with ease and convenience than optimizing costs during early growth stages. Sellers without a ton of startup capital, who need additional cash flow
Settlement time: Payments are instant, or take up to 1 business day to settle, depending on the card and merchant setup
Fee structure: Percentage-based, and can run as much as 3% per transaction. You may also be charged interest or penalties if you don’t pay your bill on time

Cards are one of the fastest ways to make international payments. They also come with automatic currency conversion and fraud protection, and may include additional perks like cashback or air miles.

Some payees prefer to receive payments by card, since they don’t need to provide their banking details. Some may even let you pay in instalments with cards, making it easier to manage cash flow. However, other vendors might not accept your particular card brand, or be willing or able to accept cards at all.

Virtual cards, in particular, have some additional advantages: they are quicker and easier to apply for and receive, come with lots of customisable features (like spending limits), are less prone to theft since there is no physical card to steal, and they can be instantly frozen or cancelled online.

2. International wire transfers

Good for: Businesses that need to pay in rare currencies or work with suppliers who can’t accept funds any other way
Settlement time: Transfers can take 3–5 working days or more to process, depending on country, currency, banks involved, etc. Once the funds arrive, they’re usually settled and available immediately
Fee structure: Costs vary between traditional bank transfers and money transfer providers like Western Union or MoneyGram. However, wire transfers tend to be more expensive than most other methods and involve lots of different fees. These can include transfer fees, different types of foreign exchange fees, intermediary fees and other third party fees

Wire transfers are considered a very secure and reliable choice, and many banks and other agencies around the world offer them. However, they can be expensive and inconvenient, depending on the bank. You may be able to make payments online or on a phone, but you may have to physically visit the bank branch to make larger payments.

3. Overseas bank accounts

Good for: Large, multinational companies with significant resources. Small or growing companies who transact regularly with specific countries
Settlement time: Usually same day or 1–2 business days
Fee structure: Varies widely depending on the bank, but can include FX fees, transaction fees, monthly account fees and more

Overseas bank accounts can be challenging to open: you need a local business entity, a presence on the ground to make local bank visits, and the ability to navigate rigorous application procedures, extensive documentation and long waiting periods – often all in a foreign language. These accounts usually only make sense for very large enterprises, or small companies who transact daily with one or two specific countries.

However, these accounts offer the advantage of local account details, so you can use local payment rails to pay faster for less. They also enable you to join niche marketplaces, or local branches of major global marketplaces (e.g. Amazon.de, Amazon.mx, etc.).

A dedicated overseas bank account can also mean stronger customer support, especially with compliance and fraud assistance. However, local accounts also mean more tax complications, strict reporting requirements and other additional complexities.

Find out more: How to open a USD business account as a non-US resident

4. PayPal

Good for: Dropshippers and sole proprietors with small transaction volumes, like a few dozen sales a month or less. Growing companies who need to vet new suppliers by making small MOQ sample orders
Settlement time: Usually one business day, but can incur significant delays if a transaction is flagged for review
Fee structure: Percentage-based. The more you spend, the more you pay. PayPal also sets its own currency conversion rates, which can be higher than market rates and other alternatives

PayPal is a money transfer service that’s quick and simple to set up, and is a very low-risk way to pay suppliers. It’s a high-trust brand name that most suppliers and vendors around the globe are familiar with, and you don’t need to exchange account numbers, or worry about unsecured credit card details.

However, PayPal does set daily transfer limits, which may be too low to meet some businesses’ needs. Some sellers may also refuse to accept PayPal payments, since chargeback disputes may tend to favor the buyer. Also, if a transaction is flagged due to fraud concerns or other red flags, it can be delayed for weeks until review is complete.

5. Crypto

Good for: Tech-forward companies that have the time and risk tolerance to experiment with a new payment method. Businesses that want to win clout and business from other tech-forward companies
Settlement time: Payments are settled in near real-time and can be processed 24/7
Fee structure: Fees tend to be lower because there are no intermediaries involved, and there may be no FX fees at all for certain borderless crypto currencies

Crypto can be an appealing branding decision for companies that need or want to appear on-trend, but the high-learning curve means someone on your staff with tech expertise needs to handle the setup.

Crypto can also invite a lot of risk and volatility, as currency values can shift dramatically and suddenly (though this is changing with stablecoins), and regulations can change overnight.

This regulatory uncertainty can also mean legal grey areas and complex accounting needs. For example, in countries like Australia, crypto counts as an asset, not a currency, for tax purposes. You or your recipient may have to pay capital gains taxes, which can be expensive. Payments can’t be reversed, so you may also need to develop your own fraud and dispute mechanisms.

While crypto might be a good addition for certain companies, it’s not practical to make it your only option. If you do decide to adopt crypto, use it in conjunction with another cross-border payment solution, like a multi-currency business account.

Bantam Materials uses WorldFirst for fast, trust-building payments

For Bantam Materials International, speed and reliability are critical to their business model. As the largest single buyer of recycled PET plastic in developing nations, their unique supplier structure is built on fast, reliable, on-time overseas payments to coastal communities in developing countries.

Since 2005, the company’s goal has been to reduce the amount of plastic that goes into the ocean, by collecting, recycling and turning plastic bottles into raw materials. To make this happen, Bantam sends more than US$100,000 a day through WorldFirst to bottle collectors, collection centers, recyclers and factories overseas.

Bantam relies on WorldFirst to pay suppliers and bottle communities on time, at competitive rates. On-time payments help establish trust in these communities and keep the business alive.

The company also needs to worry about currency risk and volatility in order to effectively manage its supply chain. WorldFirst partners with Bantam to mitigate this risk by reducing exposure through tools like forward contracts.

In partnership with WorldFirst, Bantam Materials has grown into a market leader for social entrepreneurship.

Read the full case study here: Bantam Materials and the fight against ocean plastics pollution

Make overseas payments a breeze with WorldFirst

When you want to send money overseas, WorldFirst can help make it simpler. With a variety of fast, reliable ways to pay, you can build better supplier relationships, maintain inventory levels and more.

WorldFirst also gives you more ways to make payments to China, and secure the exchange rates you need. Open a World Account for free today to experience more convenient cross-border payments.

The simpler way to pay and get paid

Save money, time, and have peace of mind when expanding your global business.