Swedbank international transfer: Everything you need to know

If you have a Swedbank bank account or an account with any other Swedish bank, you have access to a full range of financial services. In this article, we will describe how to make an international Swedbank transfer, covering the costs and other essential info.

Just remember, even if you are a Swedbank customer, you are not obligated to send and receive money through them. There are cheaper options that may also be easier and faster, such as Wise.

More about this later!

Learn more about Wise 💰

What does it cost to make a Swedbank international transfer?

Let’s compare the costs of a 1000 SEK urgent transfer to an US bank account using Swedbank and Wise:

	Wise	Swedbank⁵
Sum received (USD)	94.46	80,95
Fee (SEK)	15,6	150 ¹
Exchange rate (SEK/USD)	0.0959521 Mid-market rate	0.0952347 Swedbank's own exchange rate

(The fees and the exchange rate are taken from Wise and Swedbank webpages. The fees can vary depending on the customers’ needs and contract)

The first time that you make a money transfer you might be surprised by the cost, as you’re not just paying the regular fee.

Just like when you exchange money, you receive another exchange rate than the average market rate found on Google. Traditional banks also add a margin to ensure they draw a profit from the transaction.

We will take a closer look at those bank charges very soon. For now, let’s learn more about Wise!

Save money making international transactions through Wise

As a Wise customer, you can say goodbye to hidden costs and unfair exchange rates. When you make international transactions through Wise, you always receive the mid-market rate - the same rate you see when searching Google.🌏

It is considered standard in the banking world to add a margin to the exchange rate. It is a way for banks to profit from your transaction. Because of this, it is always recommended to double-check which exchange rate your bank is offering.

With Wise, you can transfer more than 55 currencies all over the world. If you open a multi-currency account, you can also receive payments from 10 currencies, including Euros, British Pounds, and American Dollars, allowing you to receive payments just like a local.

Do as 12 million others have done and register at Wise.

P.S. You can verify your identity with your Swedish BankID 👀

Send money with Wise 🤑

Fees for international Swedbank transfers

Let’s check out the fees for making a Swedbank international transfer.

Transaction fees

Perhaps the most obvious fees are the Swedbank standard fees for international transactions. These fees vary depending on which currency you transfer and how quickly the recipient needs the money in their account.

Swedbank transfer abroad	0 SEK
Bank in Europe, EES, or Switzerland	0 SEK
The rest of the world and other currencies	50 SEK
Urgent transactions to Europe and other countries (online)	150 SEK
Urgent transactions to Europe and other countries (office)	300 SEK

Swedbank exchange rates

Why is the exchange rate at Swedbank higher than the one at Wise?

The true exchange rate (the one you see when you search Google), is called the “mid-market rate”. Simplified, this is the average real-time value of the buying and selling price for a currency.

When Swedbank and other banks exchange your money, they use a higher exchange rate than the mid-market rate, which gives you less money. By selling currency more expensively and buying it cheaper than the mid-market rate, Swedbank and other banks/currency exchangers earn money, thus giving you less. With Wise, you always get the mid-market rate.

Payment responsibility - SHA, BEN, and OUR

When you make an international transfer you know the payment responsibility. Depending on the agreement between you and the recipient, the various fees will be divided in different ways when sending money abroad.

All banks use the terms SHA, BEN, and OUR.

SHA: The person who initiates the transaction pays their own fees and the recipient pays fees from their own bank, as well as the intermediary bank fees.

BEN: The recipient pays all fees.

OUR: The person who initiates the transaction pays all fees—the fees from their own bank, the recipient’s bank, and any intermediary bank fees.

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How to make an international Swedbank transaction

This is how you can do an international transfer with Swedbank:

1. Sign up for the service “international transactions”. You can activate this service in a bank office or through the Swedbank internet bank support center.
2. Fill in your name and address.
3. Fill in the international bank account number (IBAN) of the recipient.
4. Enter the national ID of the bank (BIC/SWIFT).
5. Choose when the money needs to arrive.

As you can see, you must activate the service for international transactions.

You can register a transaction up to 12 months in advance. Of course, you can also contact your bank office to make the transaction from there. However, this will often include higher fees in terms of service fees¹.

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What do I need to make an international transaction?

To make an international transfer you need the following details:

• BIC/SWIFT– This number identifies the bank that will be receiving the funds.

• IBAN– This number identifies the individual account where you want to send money. You should double-check to confirm that you have the correct recipient IBAN number.

• Name and address of the recipient ².

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What do I need to receive an international transaction?

You must give the following information to the person who is sending you money:

• BIC/SWIFT
• IBAN
• Name and address

You can choose between receiving payments directly to your bank account, or you can get a notification about an incoming transaction with the Swedbank reference number, which you must first accept.

You can receive the notification electronically through your online bank, or send it home by post. When you receive money from abroad, you may get some questions regarding the transfer and your relation to the individual who sent the money.

They are general questions that the bank is obligated to ask to counteract illegal activities such as money laundering and the financing of terrorism/criminal networks⁴.

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How long does a Swedbank international transfer take?

When you make international money transfers through Swedbank, the arrival time varies depending on where you send the money and in which currency.

For transactions in SEK or EUR to another EU country, the money normally arrives the next banking day or during the very same day. This is referred to as a SEPA-transaction.

For other currencies and countries, a regular transaction usually takes 2-4 banking days².

Why is the transaction time longer than a transfer between Swedish banks?

When money is transferred internationally, a system called SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) is used. This is an aged system where money is sent from one bank to another with several other banks acting as intermediaries. The system has been used since the ‘70s. As you might expect, all this extra handling contributes to high fees and prolonged processing times.

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Summary

As you can see, it is easy to make a Swedbank international transfer once you have activated the service for international transactions and checked the Swedbank fees and exchange rates.

Remember, you can also use Wise to make international transactions which are both flexible and often cheaper than using traditional banks. With Wise, you will always pay the mid-market rate.

Wise is also available for companies. With a Wise business account, you can manage the international finances of your company. It’s all managed online, and as with everything else associated with Wise, it’s flexible, easy to use, and affordable.

Sources:

1. Swedbank fees
2. Swedbank international transfers
3. Exchange rates
4. International payments
5. Exchange rate Swedbank - Wise

(Sources controlled 27.12.2022)