The two parts of the price
Any transfer costs you exactly the difference between what you gave and what was received. What that difference is made of is an internal question, but knowing its structure helps to see what can be influenced at all.
- The stated fee — the percentage or the fixed amount the service names out loud
- The conversion rate — the difference between the market rate and the one your amount is counted at
- Fees of intermediaries — deductions by the banks in the chain — they exist only on banking routes
- The network fee — the charge for a transaction in a blockchain — it exists only on crypto routes
Where the rate hides
The rate is the largest and the least visible part of the price. Least visible because there is nothing to compare it with: an ordinary person has no correct rate at hand, and the one a search engine shows is the interbank rate, at which no exchange service in the world works.
That makes an honest-looking construction possible: transfers with no fee. There really is no fee, and the service's earnings are built into the rate — and in total such a transfer can turn out more expensive than a paid one.
A zero fee is not a price. The price is the amount the recipient gets.
What is named and what is not
| What | Named in advance | How to find out |
|---|---|---|
| The service fee | Yes | Stated in the terms |
| The conversion rate | Not always | Ask for the final amount to be received |
| Fees of intermediary banks | No | Visible only once the money arrives |
| The network fee | Yes | Depends on the load of the network, not on the amount |
| The recipient bank's fee | No | Ask the recipient's bank |
How to compare services properly
There is exactly one way, and it needs neither a calculator nor spreadsheets: ask everyone the same question and compare the answers.
- Name the same amount and the same destination
- Ask how much the recipient will get — in the currency of delivery
- Check whether that rate is locked or will be recalculated on delivery
- Ask whether anything is withheld on the recipient's side
- Compare the figures you get, not the percentages in the terms
Why a percentage is a poor unit of comparison
A percentage describes only one of the four parts. A service with a 0.5% fee and a rate two percent worse than the market costs more than a service with a 1% fee and an honest rate — while in advertising the first looks twice as good.
A rough example on round numbers: you send 100,000 rubles. With a 1% fee and no markup in the rate, 1,000 rubles go on the conversion. With a zero fee but a rate 2% worse than the market, 2,000 rubles do — twice as much, and there will be no such line on the receipt at all.
What can be saved on
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A direct currency pair
Rubles straight into the recipient's currency, without a chain through the dollar: the rate applies once rather than twice.
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The option that fits the task
On small amounts the network fee does not grow with the amount, on large ones it stops mattering.
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Locking the rate
A locked rate saves nothing by itself, but it removes the risk of getting less than expected.
How it works with us
We have one fee — 1% of the amount, the same for every destination, every amount and every option. There is no separate charge for urgency and no markup in the rate on the site: fiat comes from the official Central Bank rates and cryptocurrency from an exchange.
The manager names the final amount to be received before payment and locks the rate. Once locked, the amount is not recalculated — whatever happens on the market while the transfer is in progress.
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1% and nothing on top
No charge for urgency and nothing withheld along the way.
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The rate from its source
The Central Bank for currencies, an exchange for coins. Refreshed three times a day.
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The amount is named before payment
And locked — that is the price of the transfer.
