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Bankwest began operations as the Agricultural Bank of Western Australia in 1895. In 1945, it started trading as the Rural and Industries Bank of Western Australia. It became a savings bank in 1956, only 11 weeks after ANZ and Bank of NSW (now Westpac). Through the 60s and 70s, it held its own against the Big Four.
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By opening its first branch in Sydney in 1985, it switched gears to enter the big league. In 1994, it changed its name to the Bank of Western Australia and began trading as Bankwest. It became a part of the Commonwealth Bank Group in 2008.
This financial institution lets its customers send money overseas in different ways. What helps is that you have to pay a flat fee, no matter how much money you wish to send. While you can visit any Bankwest branch to initiate an international money transfer, you can do so using the online banking platform as well.
Bankwest offers amongst the most competitive exchange rates if you’re looking at Australian banks. However, you can get better rates through some specialist money transfer companies.
While the bank updates these rates on a regular basis, you should confirm the latest rates before going forward with any transaction. The rates it lists on the website are for transfers up to $100,000. To find out exchange rates for transfers over this amount you should speak to a bank representative over the phone or in person.
See today's currency exchange rates for Bankwest
Back to topWhile exchange rates play an important role in international money transfers, the fees you have to pay also require your attention. When you send money internationally through Bankwest, it charges a flat fee per transfer, no matter which country you’re sending the money to or how much amount you wish to send.
The table below shows how much it’ll cost to send money overseas using the services of Bankwest.
Sending money via online banking | $20 |
---|---|
Sending money through a Bankwest branch | $35 |
Initial query to investigate delayed transfer | $25 |
Every subsequent query or follow up message | $15 |
Since Bankwest can use an intermediary bank to process your payment, other fees and charges may apply. This basically means the recipient might end up receiving lesser money than originally intended.
Back to topBankwest lets you send money to over 200 countries. These include nations such as Azerbaijan, Botswana, Congo, Djibouti, Guatemala, Honduras, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein, Palestine, Rwanda, Uzbekistan and Zambia.
However, it does not let you send money to these countries.
There is no minimum limit to how much money you can send, provided you account for all applicable fees and charges.
Back to topBankwest lets you make one-time international fund transfers. While you cannot use its services to make recurring payments yet, the bank’s website mentions that it’s working on enabling this feature.
As a registered user you can change your daily International Transfer limit at any time, to a maximum of $20,000.
If you’re not in a hurry to transfer money, you can consider buying a foreign draft that you can send via mail.
Back to topBankwest lets you send money overseas using its online platform or by visiting a branch. If you live in a remote location or are currently overseas, you can download an International Money Transfer Form from the Bankwest website, and send the completed form over via fax. To send money online you have to register for the SMS Code option.
The cut-off time for international transfers is 5pm (AWST). The time an international transfer takes to go through can vary from three to five days. It may take longer depending on the destination country and bank.
Back to topBankwest offers an array of financial services and products through it personal and business banking platforms. These include services related to travel and foreign currency exchange as well.
While using Bankwest to send money overseas can work in your favour, make sure you compare your options before making a decision.