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Don't spend more than you need to when transferring money to Barbados.
This guide explains how to get the most cost-effective money transfers and lets you compare your options.
You can use the table below to check different options.
Enter how much you want to send, then the table will do the maths. You'll be able to see how much it'll cost in fees and exchange rates to use different services.
The "Rate" and "Amount Received" displayed are indicative rates that have been supplied by each brand or gathered by Finder.
Exchange rates are volatile and change often. As a result, the exchange rate listed on Finder may vary to the actual exchange rate quoted for the brand. Please confirm the actual exchange rate and mention "Finder" before you commit to a brand.
Work out what's most important to you, then balance the pros and cons of different options.
Generally, you'll get better value for money if the currency being sent is strong relative to the currency being received, at the time you're sending it.
The Bajan dollar, or Barbadian dollar, is pegged to the US dollar at a rate of 2:1. This means it's worth paying attention to AUD/USD exchange rates when sending money to Barbados.
Below you can see a real-time update of the mid-market (average) rate for Australian dollars (AUD) to Barbadian dollars (BBD).
Today's exchange rate AUD to BBD
Not all banks and money transfer services will offer Barbadian dollars, so options may be limited.
Let's look at how two example money transfer services compare if you're sending $1,000 to Barbados.
| Money transfer service 1 | Money transfer service 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Exchange rate | 1 AUD = 1.392 BBD | 1 AUD = 1.416 |
| Fee | $9 | $3.99 |
| Transfer speed | Minutes | 1 hour |
| Total Barbadian dollars received | BBD$1,329.25 | BBD$1,410 |
| Receiver gets | BBD$80.75 less | BBD$80.75 more |
In this example you would be paying a lot more for a slightly faster transfer and cash pick-up.
How long it takes to send money to Barbados depends primarily on how you pay for your transfer and how it's sent. Bank transfers are typically the slowest part of the procedure, so by avoiding them you'll often find faster transfers. For example, if you pay with card or cash for the recipient to make a cash pick-up it will often be quicker than paying with a bank transfer to get funds sent straight to the recipient's bank account.
Sometimes you might need to send cash to Barbados fast, such as if a family member had their wallet stolen while holidaying there.
If you need to get funds there in a hurry, you can compare options to find the most efficient way of getting funds from A to B.
But even if speed is the number one priority, there's still room to find more cost-effective options.
If you don't have a bank account, you can still use cash transfer services to get the money to its destination.
Similarly, a recipient can get the money with a cash transfer if they don't have a bank account.
These cash transfer services are widely available around the world and although they'll typically not be the cheapest available service they can be fast, convenient and usable without bank accounts.
As a tourist-friendly destination, there are plenty of ATMs and banks in the more heavily populated parts of Barbados and there are several pick-up points for services such as MoneyGram and Western Union around the islands.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) considers Barbados to be a safe country compared to many other Caribbean nations, but it's always advisable to be careful when handling large amounts of cash or travelling.
Try to pick up cash in well-populated, well-lit areas during the day and avoid doing it alone where possible.
