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7 June, 2023

Over 25% of Aussies wasting money on credit card fees for overseas payments

Unhappy young woman with wallet near cash machine outdoors

A new survey by Money Transfer Comparison has revealed that 27 per cent of Australians automatically pay by credit card when making payments overseas, despite knowing there may be higher fees attached.

With unnecessary and expensive international transfer fees attached to overseas credit card purchases and payments, it’s a concern that some Aussies are choosing this method of payment when more affordable transfer alternatives are available.

The findings were derived from a survey of an independent panel of 1002 Australians, commissioned by global comparison service Money Transfer Comparison which helps Australians source the best rate in international money transfers.

The survey also asked respondents whether they would continue to pay by credit card if they knew a secure transfer platform offered lower fees for overseas purchases and transfers. A whopping 88 per cent would pick the bank transfer to save money, but this means 12 per cent of Aussies are happy to use their credit card, despite the fees they may incur. 

“Aussies are wasting countless dollars on unnecessary fees which can easily be avoided by doing some desktop research that will take under two minutes,” founder and MD, Money Transfer Comparison, Alon Rajic, said.

“The cost of using a credit card abroad consists of three different fees that make credit cards, in some instances, cost more than 10% of the transaction’s total value. These large mark-ups can be easily avoided by using transfer comparison sites such as moneytransfercomparison.com, which always gives consumers the best possible price on overseas transfers.”

WA most likely to neglect the most cost-effective method

34 per cent of West Australians are automatically paying by credit card for overseas payments, followed by 31 per cent of respondents from Victoria, and 29 per cent of South Australians. Queenslanders are more likely to pay by the most cost-effective method with only 23 per cent of respondents choosing to pay by credit card. 

Younger Aussies are surprisingly neglecting their research

The survey also found older Australians aged over 55 are more likely to do the groundwork to find cost-effective methods for making international transfers and purchases, at 77 per cent. This is compared to 74 per cent of 35–50-year-olds and 69 per cent of 18–34-year-olds. 

However, if 18-34s knew about a secure bank transfer platform was available, with lower fees than a credit card, a greater number of young Australians would choose this option, at 91 per cent. This compares with 88 per cent of 35–54-year-olds and 85 per cent of Aussies aged over 55. 

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