Free tool
FX savings calculator
Exchange-rate margin is usually the largest cost in a cross-border payment and the hardest to see. This tells you what it costs per year.
Run your numbers.
Annual saving at target margin
$11,400
At $600,000 of annual volume, moving from 2.4% to 0.5% changes your FX cost from $14,400 to $3,000.
Cost per $10,000 sent
$240.00 → $50.00
Understanding the result.
How to find your current margin
Take a recent transfer. Divide the amount your recipient received by the mid-market rate at the time you sent it — that gives the value delivered. Subtract that from what you paid, then divide by what you paid. The result is your all-in percentage cost, margin included.
Do this on three transfers across different days. Providers with wide undisclosed spreads show noticeably more variance than providers that price transparently.
What a realistic target looks like
On major corridors, an all-in cost under about 0.5% is competitive. Thin or volatile emerging-market currencies legitimately carry more, because local liquidity genuinely costs more to source.
Treat any provider that will not state the margin as a line item as charging above market until proven otherwise.
Questions about this calculator.
No — this isolates exchange-rate margin. Add fixed fees separately for a full all-in cost.
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