Things to know about transferring money overseas
- Before transferring any funds, confirm the bank details of the person or business you’re transferring to. You'll need the following information from your recipient:
- Their full name and street address (not a PO Box).
- The IBAN or bank account number.
- A SWIFT code or BIC (this identifies their bank) or, if not available, the full bank address.
- Any other information they have, like sort codes or routing codes.
- To make an international transfer you need to have SMS Security switched on. Learn how to set up SMS Security in the NAB app or NAB Internet Banking. You also need to have Pay Anyone enabled.
- You can’t send an international funds transfer to or from a credit card account.
- You can check your international money transfer limit in the NAB app or through NAB Internet Banking. The default daily limit is $5,000. You can change this by calling us on 13 22 65 if you’re in Australia, or +61 3 8641 9083 if you’re overseas.
- There’s no limit on the number of international transfers you can make, as long as the total amount you’re transferring is under your daily limit.
- There is no fee for international money transfers sent via online banking when made in foreign currency. If you’re transferring Australian dollars the fee is $30.
- Before completing the transaction, you need to have enough money to cover both the fee and transaction amount.
- After you’ve made your international transfer, the funds are usually received within 24 hours by the payee’s bank.
Learn more about payment processing times for international funds transfers.
Real-time exchange rates
A real-time exchange rate updates every 60 seconds based on the domestic and foreign currency value.
When you’re creating a real-time transfer in NAB Internet Banking, the first page of your transfer will still show you the indicative rate.
If you're making an international transfer from 7.30am Monday through to midnight Friday you'll usually see the real-time rate on the final page before you submit your transfer.
When real-time rates aren't available
Real-time rates aren't available:
- before Monday 7:30am and after Friday midnight
- on public holidays.
Real-time rates also aren't available for future-dated or periodic transfers because we use the exchange rate available on that day.
When real-time rates aren’t available, we will use the exchange rate available on the next business day. If you don’t have sufficient available funds at the time of processing, the payment may be rejected.
How to transfer money overseas
NAB Internet Banking
- Login to NAB Internet Banking with your NAB ID and password.
- Open the Transfer & Pay menu and select ‘International transfer’.
- Select the linked account you are transferring funds out of from the From account drop-down list in the ‘Transfer details’ section.
- If you're paying someone you've saved previously, select them from the Saved beneficiary drop-down box.
- Select the country you wish to transfer funds to, followed by the currency. The currency will default to the preferred currency of that country. You can select another currency from the drop-down box, if required.
- Enter the amount you wish to transfer. An indicative rate will then display. The international transfer fee will be displayed in this section.
- There is no need to select Beneficiary or Remitter to pay overseas bank fees as NAB will absorb all overseas bank fees for international payments via NAB Internet Banking.
- Enter the beneficiary bank details into the Payee’s bank details section including the account number or IBAN of the beneficiary.
- Enter the beneficiary's details into the Payee’s details section.
Helpful hint: If you've previously saved the beneficiary’s details, these will be displayed. Otherwise, please provide the beneficiary name, address and country in the appropriate fields. - Enter a purpose of payment for the transfer. This is mandatory.
- Enter a description for the transfer which will appear on your statement.
- Select either a ‘one-off transfer’ or a ‘periodic transfer’ and select the transfer date.
- If you haven't accepted the terms and conditions previously please read through them, then click the radio button. Select ‘Next’.
- Check that your international funds transfer instruction details are correct then enter in your security code and select ‘Next’.
- Confirm the foreign exchange rate provided. A real-time exchange rate will display during business hours and an indicative foreign exchange rate will be provided outside of business hours.
- Select ‘Accept and transfer’. You have 60 seconds to accept the rate before it expires. If the rate expires, select Refresh exchange rate.
- The receipt for international transfer page displays with the details of your funds transfer instruction. You can print the acknowledgement details as a record of your transfer.
Helpful hint: To save new beneficiary details, in the acknowledgement screen, select Add to my beneficiary list. Enter a nickname for your beneficiary then select ‘Next’. Confirm the details and select ‘Save’. - Once you submit your transfer, the status will display as Processing. Once the payment has been processed by NAB and sent to the overseas bank, the status will be updated to Paid. If the transfer can’t be completed the status will change to Rejected.
Helpful hint: The transferred funds are usually received within 24 hours by the beneficiary's bank. If the overseas bank is not the beneficiary's, it may take longer to forward funds to the beneficiary's bank. There may be other circumstances outside of our control which may also cause additional delays.
NAB app
- Log into the NAB app on your device.
- If using an Android phone, tap the Menu icon.
- Tap Transfer & pay.
- Choose the account you want to transfer money from.
- Tap Overseas.
- Use an existing payee if you have one, or select New international payee.
- If transferring to a new payee, enter the payee’s account details. Use the beneficiary bank’s SWIFT-BIC code if possible.
- Enter the beneficiary bank’s account details and select Continue.
- Enter the payee’s full name and address into the fields.
- Select the country you’re transferring money to from the drop-down list. Select Continue.
- Select the preferred currency for the destination you’re transferring money to. You can use the search box to select another currency if you need to.
- Review the details you’ve entered. If they’re correct, select Save and continue.
- Confirm which account you want to make the payment from.
- Enter the amount you want to send in foreign currency or Australian Dollars.
- Enter a description of the transaction and a message to the payee.
- Choose a Payment date and Frequency if required.
- Select Continue to review the details of your payment.
- Review the payment details and exchange rate. Select Authorise payment.
NAB branch
Customers who aren’t registered for online banking can transfer money overseas by visiting a NAB branch or contacting their banker. When making an international funds transfer at a branch you’ll need to bring:
- your photo identification
- full name of the beneficiary receiving funds
- location the funds will be sent to
- street address of the beneficiary
- name of the receiving bank
- SWIFT code of the receiving bank
- beneficiary account number (if sending funds to Europe, we will require the IBAN number not the account number of the beneficiary).
| Cut-off (AEST/AEDT) | Country and currency |
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| 10:00am |
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| 11:00am |
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| 12:00pm |
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| 1:00pm |
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| 3:00pm |
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| 5:00pm |
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Countries you can send international funds transfers to
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- Afghanistan
- Albania
- Algeria
- American Samoa
- Andorra
- Angola
- Anguilla
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Argentina
- Armenia
- Aruba
- Australia
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Bahamas
- Bahrain
- Bangladesh
- Barbados
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Belize
- Benin
- Bermuda
- Bhutan
- Bolivia
- Bosnia-Herzegovina
- Botswana
- Bouvet Island
- Brazil
- British Indian Ocean Territory
- Brunei Darussalam
- Bulgaria
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Cambodia
- Cameroon
- Canada
- Cape Verde
- Cayman Islands
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Chile
- China
- Christmas Island
- Cocos Islands
- Colombia
- Comoros
- Congo
- Congo, Democratic Republic
- Cook Islands
- Costa Rica
- Cote D’Ivoire
- Croatia
- Cuba
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Djibouti
- Domenica
- Dominican Republic
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- Ecuador
- Egypt
- El Salvador
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Estonia
- Ethiopia
- Falkland Islands
- Faroe Islands
- Fiji
- Finland
- France
- French Guiana
- French Polynesia
- French Southern Territory
- Gabon
- Gambia
- Georgia
- Germany
- Ghana
- Gibraltar
- Greece
- Greenland
- Grenada
- Guadeloupe
- Guam
- Guatemala
- Guernsey
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Guyana
- Haiti
- Heard and McDonald Islands
- Honduras
- Hong Kong
- Hungary
- Iceland
- India
- Indonesia
- Iraq
- Ireland
- Isle of Man
- Israel
- Italy
- Jamaica
- Japan
- Jersey
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan
- Kenya
- Kiribati
- Kuwait
- Kyrgyzstan
- Lao People’s Democratic Republic
- Latvia
- Lebanon
- Lesotho
- Liberia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
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- Macao
- Macedonia
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Malaysia
- Maldives
- Mali
- Malta
- Marshall Islands
- Martinique
- Mauritania
- Mauritius
- Mayotte
- Mexico
- Micronesia
- Moldova
- Monaco
- Mongolia
- Montenegro
- Montserrat
- Morocco
- Mozambique
- Myanmar
- Namibia
- Nauru
- Nepal
- Netherlands
- New Caledonia
- New Zealand
- Nicaragua
- Niger
- Nigeria
- Niue
- Norfolk Island
- Northern Mariana Island
- Norway
- Oman
- Pakistan
- Palau
- Palestine
- Panama
- Papua New Guinea
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Philippines
- Pitcairn
- Poland
- Portugal
- Puerto Rico
- Qatar
- Reunion
- Romania
- Russia
- Rwanda
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- Saint Helena
- Saint Lucia
- Samoa
- San Marino
- Sao Tome and Principe
- Saudi Arabia
- Senegal
- Serbia
- Seychelles
- Sierra Leone
- Singapore
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Solomon Islands
- Somalia
- South Africa
- South Korea
- Spain
- Sri Lanka
- St Kitts and Nevis
- St Pierre and Miquelon
- St Vincent
- Suriname
- Svalbard and Jan Mayen
- Swaziland
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Taiwan
- Tajikistan
- Tanzania
- Thailand
- Timor-Leste
- Togo
- Tokelau
- Tonga
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Tunisia
- Turkey
- Turks and Caicos Islands
- Tuvalu
- Uganda
- Ukraine
- United Arab Emirates
- United Kingdom
- United States of America
- Uruguay
- US Minor Outlying Islands
- Uzbekistan
- Vanuatu
- Vatican City
- Venezuela
- Vietnam
- Virgin Islands (GB)
- Virgin Islands (US)
- Wallis and Fortuna
- Western Sahara
- Yemen
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
Additional information about transferring money overseas
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These are the cut-off times for your payment to be processed on the same day. If you submit your payment after these times it will be processed on the next business day.
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A SWIFT code is the international standard used to identify a bank. SWIFT stands for Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication.
A Bank Identifier Code (BIC) is also an international standard for identifying banks worldwide. It is also known as a SWIFT address. A BIC consists of a unique combination of letters and numbers in either 8 or 11 characters. This code identifies the bank’s name, the country it’s based in and the address of the branch.
When entering the beneficiary’s bank details, you’ll need to supply the BIC or SWIFT code. If you don’t know the code you need to supply the full name, street address and country of the beneficiary’s bank.
Learn about more SWIFT codes and BICS.
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IBAN stands for International Bank Account Number. An IBAN is used by many countries to identify a customer’s bank account. When you make an international transfer, you’ll need both an IBAN and a SWIFT code, or an account number and a SWIFT code.
An IBAN begins with a two-letter country code, followed by a combination of letters and numbers up to a maximum of 34 characters. The length of an IBAN will change based on the country. If you’re making a payment to a country that has adopted the IBAN, you need to supply it when making an international transfer. You should be able to obtain an IBAN from your beneficiary. Their bank can provide them with this upon request.
Here’s an example of an IBAN from the United Kingdom:
GB 19 LOYD 3096 1700 7099 43
In this IBAN:
- GB is the country code
- 19 is the check number
- LOYD 3096 is the bank
- 1700 7099 43 is the sort code and account number.
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You have the ability to set up periodic international funds transfers with the option to have your payment processed weekly, fortnightly, monthly, or quarterly.
You can also select a date (up to 18 months in advance) to send money overseas in the future. For both periodic and future dated international funds transfers, the foreign exchange rate at the time of the transaction will be applied and confirmed to you via secure email.
Fees for periodic or future dated transfers
When you create a periodical payment the fee will display as the standard fee. Fees will be charged at the time of processing.
For future dated payment you’ll be advised a fee at the time you create the payment. However, the fee charged at the time the payment is processed will be the lowest fee available on that day.
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If your beneficiary doesn’t receive the funds, or you want to trace, cancel or amend an online international funds transfer, you need to send a secure message through NAB Internet Banking with the full details of the transaction. We’ll begin an investigation once we receive your message.
You can learn more about locating payments by viewing our guides on receiving money overseas and payment transfers.
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We use trusted partner banks to send international payments. For mobile and internet banking transfers, even though we request partners do not deduct any additional fees, it may happen outside of our control. In this case, we’ll reimburse additional fees deducted by a partner bank.
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