Recently, I received an overseas transfer of 3K and my bank charged me a RTGS fee of AUD 10; which is mentioned in their terms and conditions and is totally fine. However, instead of receiving AUD 2990 (3k-10), I received a credit of AUD 2975 in my account and then a fee deduction of AUD 10 on top, so the net transfer became AUD 2965. The person who did the transfer already paid approx AUD 30 at their end to do the transfer, plus whatever margin their bank made in the currency conversion. For i.e. if the overseas currency should buy me AUD 100 at market rates, the overseas bank only gave them AUD 95, and charged a transaction fees on their end. I have a receipt of it, and I have seen it myself.
I would have let it gone if it was a one time thing, and it is a continuous occurrence with my bank. Even when I have transferred the funds to my account from overseas, I pay the fees at the bank where transfer is originating (plus hidden fees in the currency conversion rates) and they tell me a fixed amount which is being transferred, still I have never ever received the actual amount that is being transferred in my account. RTGS fees are displayed as a separate transaction, and have always been AUD 10; irrespective of what amount is being sent.
I have raised a dispute with Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) and the bank came back with the following response:
"As the funds are being transferred via the swift system the foreign bank (sending bank) will utilises third
party banks to facilitate international transfers. These third party banks or beneficiary banks may and
will charge their own fee which is deducted from the transfer. The difference between what the foreign
bank transfers and what Heritage receives is call a transaction charge. Regrettably, I am not in a
position to advise you which beneficiary banks have applied a transaction charge to your transaction.
To understand this I will direct you to the sender of the overseas funds credit and their foreign bank."
I have chased the foreign bank before (in different countries) and on this occasion too, they mentioned that x amount of US Dollars, were converted into 3K AUD. A transaction fees of 30 AUD was charged and apart from that NO other fee was taken from them. And they asked me to check with the Australian Bank.
My question is, what are the experiences of other people, who have transferred funds to their Australian account. Did you receive the actual amount that was sent, plus deduction of whatever the RTGS fees might be ? Or is it always the case that "transaction fees" are deducted in the middle ?
TLTR: Foreign bank transfer. Paid transaction fees at the foreign bank, paid RTGS fees at the Australian Bank, still there is a unknown transaction fees by some middlemen bank. Has anyone else have any experience with this ?
Apologies, if this is not clear and is a little confusing to read.
I've always found it difficult dealing with banks for overseas funds transfer due to all the various fees. The response from the Australian bank makes sense as you didn't state which foreign country so assuming it's a smaller country/bank such as Fiji/Papua New Guinea/Slovakia etc where they don't deal much in AUD so it has to go through foreign bank to australian bank via another larger bank such as Citibank/HSBC. I will get the Australian Bank to confirm the amount they received in writing and forward that to the foreign bank that you have confirmation they only received $2975 from _____.
I have started using Transferwise and it is so much easier and they amount they send is the amount you see on the screen. Rates are so much better and there's no hidden or extra bank fees when the money arrives in the bank account. Hopefully Transferwise is an option for you.