Find the best way to send money from Sweden

Sending a euro payment from a Swedish bank account to another EU country costs nothing online. Sending money from Sweden in almost any other currency is a different story: the bank adds a fixed fee, converts at its own rate and can lose another chunk of the amount to banks along the way, which usually adds up to 2 to 4 percent.

More than one in five people living in Sweden were born abroad, and many of them send part of their income to family every month. Others pay for homes, studies or retirement abroad, often in large single amounts where every tenth of a percent counts.

The one thing to know before you use your bank: the visible fee is the small part. The exchange rate is where most of the cost of a money transfer from Sweden hides, and it is also where an online specialist saves you the most. This guide shows how to send money from Sweden for less, what each option costs and how long it takes.

Who Sends Money From Sweden

Roughly 4 billion US dollars a year leaves Sweden as personal transfers, according to World Bank data. Most of it is sent by people born abroad, who make up just over a fifth of the population, to relatives at home. The rest pays for homes, studies, pensions and business bills abroad, usually in larger and less frequent amounts.

Statistics Sweden counted 2.2 million foreign-born residents in 2025. The largest groups were born in Syria, Iraq, Finland, Poland and Iran, with Afghanistan, Somalia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, India and Turkey among the next largest. That mix explains why a money transfer from Sweden can be a few hundred kronor to a mobile wallet or a six figure sum to a property lawyer.

Families sending money home

A Riksbank survey found that just over 60 percent of foreign-born residents in vulnerable areas had sent money to someone abroad during the year, almost four times the national average. The most common amounts were 500 to 2,000 kronor, and more than three in four of them said sending money abroad is expensive. On small amounts they are usually right.

The same survey showed how people send: 38 percent by bank transfer and 29 percent through Western Union, with PayPal, Ria and Wise far behind. On some routes none of the online specialists pays out, so senders fall back on a bank or a licensed agent.

Swedes with homes, studies or pensions abroad

A second group sends far less often but in much bigger amounts: a deposit on a holiday home, tuition for a child studying abroad, or savings moved ahead of retirement somewhere warmer. On a few hundred thousand kronor, a margin of 1 to 2 percent is several thousand kronor, so this group gains the most from comparing.

What Swedish Banks Charge to Send Money Abroad

Online, Swedbank, Handelsbanken, SEB, Nordea and Danske Bank all send a SEPA payment in euros for free and charge 50 to 60 kronor for a payment in any other currency. Branch and phone prices run from 150 to 535 kronor. The bigger cost is the exchange rate, which none of them publishes as a percentage for transfers.

Published fees for private customers from each bank's own price list or payments page, checked November 2026. Exchange rate margins come on top and are not shown.

At every bank, the cheapest payment is an online SEPA payment in euros and the dearest an urgent payment in another currency booked by phone with all charges included.

Swedbank

Swedbank calls its free euro payment a Europabetalning and charges 50 kronor online for an Internationell betalning, the payment for every other currency and every country outside the EU. An urgent payment costs 350 kronor online and 550 kronor at a branch, and covering the receiving bank's costs adds at least 100 kronor.

Handelsbanken

Handelsbanken sends SEPA and euro payments for free online and charges 60 kronor for a normal payment, its usual choice for countries outside the EU, the EEA, Switzerland and the UK. An express payment costs 350 kronor. Paying all charges, including the foreign bank's, adds 250 kronor, and the bank itself advises against it outside Europe because other banks may still deduct fees.

Nordea

Nordea charges 60 kronor online for a foreign payment and nothing for an EU payment in euros or kronor with a correct IBAN. Add-ons stack quickly: 300 kronor for express, 50 kronor for a third currency, 250 kronor to cover the receiving bank's costs and 250 kronor if staff have to complete missing details by hand.

SEB and Danske Bank

SEB charges 50 kronor online for a payment outside SEPA, with a rise to 70 kronor announced in its price list, and 535 kronor through customer service. Danske Bank charges 50 kronor online and 250 kronor at a branch.

The exchange rate margin you do not see

Swedish banks publish a currency surcharge for card purchases abroad, typically 1.65 to 2 percent, but not for transfers. On a payment outside the euro, the rate is set when the bank executes the payment and only appears on the advice afterwards. That is the part of the price most people never check.

Public comparison data gives an idea of its size. Over a series of quotes, Swedbank's transfer rate sat around 0.5 to 2.5 percent below the mid-market rate depending on the currency, widest on rupees and lira and narrowest on dollars. On 10,000 kronor, a 1 to 2 percent margin is 100 to 200 kronor, two to four times the fee printed in the price list.

Even a free euro payment carries it. A SEPA payment from a kronor account still converts kronor to euros at the bank's rate, and in the same data that conversion cost about 1 percent. Our explainer on the mid-market exchange rate shows how to work out any bank's margin from the rate on your advice.

The extras on top

A payment outside SEPA can pass through one or more correspondent banks, and each can take a fee from the amount. Under the standard shared option, the recipient's bank and any banks in between deduct their charges, so the family sees less than you sent. Paying all charges yourself costs 100 to 250 kronor extra. Our guide to international wire transfer fees explains how these deductions work.

PayPal is the other common choice, especially for small amounts. Its conversion sat about 4 to 5 percent below the mid-market rate in the same comparison data, more than any bank on most currencies. Our breakdown of PayPal's international transfer fees shows where the cost comes from.

The Best Ways to Send Money From Sweden

The best way to send money from Sweden to a bank account in another currency is usually an online specialist paid by bank transfer, which costs well under 1 percent on the major currencies against 2 to 4 percent through a bank. Which of Wise, Remitly and Xe is cheapest depends on the currency and amount.

We checked on each provider's own site in November 2026 that people living in Sweden can send money with it.

Wise

Wise converts at the mid-market rate and charges a fee that it shows in kronor before you pay. Funded by bank transfer or Trustly from a Swedish account, that fee came to around 0.4 to 0.8 percent of a typical transfer on the major currencies in our checks, and less as a percentage on large amounts. You can send up to 12.5 million kronor in one transfer, depending on how you pay.

How you pay matters more with Wise than with most providers. A Visa debit card added about half as much again in our checks, and a Mastercard debit or credit card cost around three times as much as a bank transfer. Choose bank transfer or Trustly at checkout. Wise Europe SA is authorised by the National Bank of Belgium and passports that licence to Sweden. Our Wise review covers the account, the card and the rest of the product.

Remitly

Remitly is built for sending money home to family. From Sweden it charges a flat fee of nothing to around 35 kronor, depending on the destination, and sets its own exchange rate. In our checks that rate sat anywhere from under half a percent to about 3 percent below the mid-market rate.

New customers get their first transfer without a fee and at a promotional rate up to a capped amount, which can beat every other option once. Remitly pays out to bank accounts, for cash pickup and to mobile wallets on many routes, and you pay by Visa or Mastercard debit or credit card. Remitly Europe Limited is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. Our Remitly review and the Remitly and Wise comparison show where each one wins.

Xe

Xe charges no transfer fee from Sweden on amounts of around 10,000 kronor and up, and a fee of about 40 kronor on smaller transfers to some currencies. Its margin varied more by currency than Wise's in our checks, from about 0.2 percent on pounds and Norwegian kroner to around 1.5 percent on lira and over 1 percent on euros. Bank transfer, debit card and credit card all cost the same.

Xe is at its best on large, one-off sums in major currencies, where its narrow margins and lack of fees can undercut everyone else. Customers in Europe can send up to the equivalent of 375,000 euros a day online, and a dedicated team handles larger transfers. Xe Europe B.V. is licensed by the Dutch central bank. Read our Xe review and the Xe and Wise comparison before a big transfer.

Which option for which transfer

The right choice depends on the job. This is how the options line up for the transfers people make from Sweden.

For a planned transfer, each of the three gives a firm quote before you pay, so you can line them up against your bank's rate on the same day.

Whichever you choose, compare the amount the recipient gets, not the fee. A zero fee with a 2 percent margin costs more than a 50 kronor fee at the mid-market rate on almost any amount above a few thousand kronor, and that is the simplest test of the best way to send money from Sweden for your own transfer.

How Much Does It Cost to Send Money From Sweden?

With an online specialist, sending money from Sweden usually costs 0.3 to 1 percent of the amount on the major currencies. A Swedish bank costs around 1 to 4 percent outside the euro once its exchange rate is counted, and much more on small amounts. PayPal costs 4 to 5 percent.

The table shows the total cost of the same amount sent on seven routes, priced on one day. Total cost means the fee plus whatever the exchange rate took, measured against the mid-market rate.

Total cost on SEK 10,000, quotes collected 4 November 2026 from Wise's public comparison data and Xe's and Remitly's own calculators. Remitly at its standard rate, without the first transfer offer. Swedbank as priced in the comparison data, including a 150 kronor fee outside the euro. Rates move by the minute, so treat small gaps as noise and large ones as the story.

A typical transfer of 10,000 kronor

At this size, the cheapest specialist on each route cost roughly 20 to 90 kronor, the bank 100 to 380 kronor and PayPal 430 to 530 kronor. No single provider won everywhere. Wise was the most consistent, Xe was sharpest on pounds and close on zloty, and Remitly was competitive on rupees while its margin on pounds and dollars made it one of the dearer options there.

The bank comes closest on euros, where its payment is free to send and only the conversion costs money. On the other currencies, its fee and margin cost at least three times what the cheapest specialist charged, and about ten times on pounds.

The order also shifts from one quote to the next on currencies such as rupees and lira, so a minute spent comparing before each large money transfer from Sweden is worth more than loyalty to one app.

Small amounts, where fixed fees bite

On 2,000 kronor, the kind of amount many people send home each month, the bank's fixed fee does most of the damage. Outside the euro, the same comparison data put a Swedbank payment at around 8 to 10 percent of the amount, while Wise cost about 1 to 2 percent and Remitly's first transfer came without a fee. Sending small amounts through a bank is the most expensive habit in Swedish money transfers, and also the most common one.

Large transfers of 100,000 kronor and more

On large amounts, the bank's fixed fee stops mattering and the margin takes over. In the same data, Swedbank cost around 0.7 to 2.4 percent on 100,000 kronor outside the euro, while Wise cost 0.4 to 0.7 percent and Xe 0.3 to 1.5 percent depending on the currency. On a property deposit or a pension transfer, that difference is thousands of kronor.

For sums like these, get quotes from more than one specialist on the day and read our guide to the best way to transfer large sums internationally before you transfer money from Sweden in one go.

What the gap adds up to over a year

Take a regular monthly transfer of a few thousand kronor outside the euro. Through a bank, a fixed fee and a 1 to 3 percent margin add up to roughly 1,000 to 3,000 kronor a year. With a specialist paid by bank transfer, the same twelve transfers usually cost a few hundred kronor, which for a family supporting relatives abroad is a month's transfer or more.

How Long Does It Take to Send Money From Sweden?

A euro payment from a Swedish bank usually reaches the recipient's bank the next banking day, and a payment in another currency takes two to four banking days, sometimes longer. Specialists are faster on most routes: many transfers arrive within minutes or hours once the money reaches them, and most of the rest within a day.

Delivery times from each bank's payments page and the providers' own delivery estimates, November 2026.

How long each option takes

Swedish banks are fast inside the euro area. Handelsbanken gets a SEPA payment there the same day if you send before 3 pm, and Swedbank normally by the next banking day. Outside it, a normal payment takes two to three banking days at Handelsbanken and one to three at Nordea, which warns that some recipient banks take five or six. Express costs 300 to 350 kronor and speeds this up.

The specialists work differently. Once your money reaches them, they pay out from local accounts in the destination country, so the transfer skips the chain of correspondent banks. In our checks, Wise and Xe estimated minutes to a few hours for pounds, rupees and baht, and up to a day or two for some other currencies such as zloty. Our guide on how long a money transfer takes covers the factors that apply everywhere.

What slows a transfer down

A payment booked after the cut-off time, at a weekend or on a Swedish public holiday such as Midsummer Eve waits for the next banking day. A first transfer with any provider waits for your identity check, and a large one can be held while the source of the money is checked.

Two delays are particular to Swedish banks. Nordea makes you switch international payments on before each round of sending, and SEB turns them off after a year without use, and either takes up to 24 hours to open. At Nordea, a payment over 150,000 kronor also needs a payment code describing what it is for.

How to Send Money From Sweden, Step by Step

To send money from Sweden you need an account at a Swedish bank in your own name, a way to prove who you are, and the recipient's full name and bank details. A Swedish personal identity number and BankID make every step faster. For large sums, keep documents ready that show where the money came from.

What you need before you start

Most providers ask for photo ID and sometimes proof of address before your first transfer, and Swedish banks identify you through BankID. Newcomers without a personal identity number often struggle to open a bank account at all, which is the first hurdle to sending money from Sweden. Our guide to opening a bank account in Sweden as a non-resident covers the options.

For the recipient, you need their name exactly as it appears on the account, plus an IBAN and usually a BIC for Europe, or an account number and bank code elsewhere. Check these details twice, because a misdirected payment is yours to reclaim.

With a provider online

Create an account in the app or on the website, verify your identity, then enter the amount in kronor and the currency to send. The quote shows the fee, the rate and the amount the recipient gets. Add the recipient's details and pay. With Wise, paying by bank transfer or Trustly from your Swedish account is the cheapest option. Remitly takes debit and credit cards, and Xe charges the same for a bank transfer or a card.

From your own bank account

In the internet bank or app, check that international payments are switched on, then choose between a SEPA or euro payment and a payment in another currency. Enter the recipient's details, the amount and the currency. Leave the charges option on the default where each side pays its own bank, unless you have agreed otherwise with the recipient.

Add a payment code if your bank asks for one, as Nordea does above 150,000 kronor. Afterwards, the payment advice shows the exchange rate you actually got, the number to compare with the mid-market rate.

With cash

Cash transfers through an agent such as Western Union still have a place where the recipient has no bank account, but you pay for it in a higher fee, a wider margin or both. Remitly's cash pickup covers many of the same countries from an app.

Avoid informal transfer networks that are not registered with Finansinspektionen. Running a money transfer service in Sweden requires permission or registration, and money sent through an unregistered operator has no protection if it disappears.

Limits, Tax and Reporting When You Send Money From Sweden

There is no tax on sending money from Sweden, and Sweden abolished its inheritance and gift tax in 2004. Banks and payment providers do report payments over 150,000 kronor to the Swedish Tax Agency, and cash worth 10,000 euros or more has to be declared when you leave the EU.

How much you can send

Each provider sets its own ceiling. Wise lets you send up to 12.5 million kronor in one transfer, depending on how you pay, with a lower limit for cards. Xe's online limit for customers in Europe is the equivalent of 375,000 euros a day. Remitly's limits depend on how far your identity has been verified and rise as you provide more information.

Banks set daily limits too. Swedbank starts new customers at 50,000 kronor a day and lets you raise it for one day with BankID.

Tax and reporting

Sending your own money abroad is not taxed, and a gift of money to family is not taxed in Sweden either. Under the Swedish Tax Agency's rules, banks and payment providers report payments to or from abroad over 150,000 kronor, including a sum split into smaller payments within the same calendar year, for people who are fully taxable in Sweden.

Reporting is not a tax and needs no action from you beyond giving your bank the right payment code. The recipient's country may have its own rules on gifts or large incoming payments, so check those before sending a large sum.

What triggers extra checks

Anti-money laundering rules require banks and providers to understand why money is moving. Large transfers, unusual patterns and payments to higher-risk countries lead to questions about the purpose and source of the money. Nordea blocks payments to countries on the EU's high-risk list, and every bank screens payments against sanctions lists, so some routes are simply closed.

Is It Safe to Send Money From Sweden?

Yes, as long as you use a bank or a payment company with permission to operate in Sweden. Wise, Remitly and Xe hold licences in other EU countries and passport them to Sweden, which you can confirm in Finansinspektionen's company register. The bigger risk is being talked into sending money to a fraudster.

Who regulates money transfers in Sweden

Finansinspektionen, the Swedish financial supervisory authority, licenses and registers banks and payment companies in Sweden and lists foreign firms passported into the country. Wise Europe SA is authorised by the National Bank of Belgium, Remitly Europe Limited by the Central Bank of Ireland and Xe Europe B.V. by the Dutch central bank.

Before you use any provider you have not heard of, look it up in Finansinspektionen's company register. If it is not there, do not send money through it.

Scams that target senders in Sweden

The most common frauds in Sweden start with a call or message from someone posing as your bank, the police or a delivery company, asking you to log in with BankID to stop a payment or protect your account. Romance and investment frauds build trust over weeks before asking for money abroad.

A transfer that has been paid out cannot be reversed, so only send money to people and businesses you know, and check Finansinspektionen's investor alerts before paying an investment firm abroad.

The Routes People Send on Most From Sweden

The busiest routes from Sweden lead to the countries where its largest immigrant groups were born and to the places where Swedes live, study or own homes. Payments to euro countries are the simplest. For other currencies, the cost depends on whether a specialist covers the route, and on some routes none does.

Poland

Poland is the largest destination outside the euro where all three specialists pay out, and Sweden's Polish-born community is about 100,000 strong. Money goes to Polish bank accounts in zloty, usually within a day or two. In our checks Wise and Xe priced zloty almost identically, while the bank cost several times as much. See our page on sending money from Sweden to Poland.

India

Indian engineers, researchers and students are a fast-growing group in Sweden. Transfers to Indian bank accounts in rupees usually arrive within hours through a specialist. Wise and Remitly both priced rupees sharply from Sweden, while Xe did not quote the route in our check. Compare the options on our page for sending money from Sweden to India.

Turkey

Transfers to Turkey go to bank accounts in lira. The lira has lost value quickly in recent years, so senders often prefer fast delivery to lock in the rate. Remitly and Xe also cover the route. Read more on our page for sending money from Sweden to Turkey.

Thailand

Thailand draws Swedish retirees, long-stay visitors and people with partners or homes there. Xe and Wise both estimated delivery in baht to Thai bank accounts within hours in our checks, which suits regular living costs paid from a Swedish pension. Our page on sending money from Sweden to Thailand compares every option.

Bottom Line

Inside the euro area, your Swedish bank's free SEPA payment is hard to beat on the fee, although a specialist usually converts kronor more cheaply. Outside the euro, the bank's fixed fee, its hidden margin and the charges deducted along the way make it one of the most expensive ways to transfer money from Sweden, especially on the small amounts most people send home.

For a bank deposit in another currency, Wise paid by bank transfer or Trustly is the most consistent low-cost choice. Remitly is the one to check for cash pickup, mobile wallets and a first transfer, and Xe for large sums in major currencies. Whichever you use, compare the amount that arrives rather than the fee, and avoid any service you cannot find in Finansinspektionen's register.

Sources

Fees, limits and rules were checked on these pages in November 2026:

• Swedbank: Betalningar till utlandet
• Handelsbanken: Utlandsbetalningar
• SEB: Aktuella priser för privatpersoner
• SEB: Betala till utlandet
• Nordea: Så fungerar utlandsbetalningar
• Danske Bank: Avgiftsinformation (PDF)
• Skatteverket: Kontrolluppgift om betalningar från eller till utlandet
• Riksbank: Betalningsrapport 2024 (PDF)
• Statistics Sweden: Utrikes födda i Sverige
• World Bank: Personal remittances paid, Sweden
• Wise: What currencies can I send to and from?
• Wise: SEK transfers
• Wise: How is Wise regulated in each country?
• Wise public price comparison data, SEK to EUR, PLN, GBP, USD, INR, TRY and THB
• Remitly: Send money from Sweden
• Xe: Countries you can send money from
• Xe: Transfer limits
• Finansinspektionen: Company register
• Finansinspektionen: Investor alerts
• European Commission: EU cash controls
• IFN: Swedish inheritance and gift taxation, 1885 to 2004