Sending money internationally can provide financial support to your loved ones – or simply give them a nice surprise. Make sure you understand any transfer fees, rules and regulations before you begin.
A series of international transfer fee regulations have been created to smooth out the process and make everything crystal-clear. Called ‘OUR’, ‘BEN’ and ‘SHARE’ (or ‘SHA’), they’re designed to show who is responsible for paying any transfer fees.
Read on to discover each international transfer fee regulation you might encounter when sending money outside Germany through a bank. We’ll explore the transfer fee regulations of SHA, OUR and BEN, and much more.
In this article
- What does transfer fee regulation mean?
- The types of transfer fee regulations: OUR, BEN, SHARE
- Transfer fee regulations in the EU and beyond
- How can I avoid transfer fee regulations?
- FAQs and guides
What does transfer fee regulation mean?
A range of transfer fees can apply when you send money overseas through your bank. To avoid confusion and ensure everyone knows where responsibility lies, three international transfer fee regulations have been introduced.
While their names – OUR, BEN and SHARE – may sound complicated, they’re simply a way of showing whether you or your receiver will need to pay the transfer fees.
Depending on your bank, you might have the option to choose which transfer fee regulation applies out of SHA, OUR or BEN. Your choice can have an impact on the final sum of money that’s made available to your receiver.
The types of transfer fee regulations: OUR, BEN, SHARE
OUR, BEN and SHARE are the three main international transfer fee regulations to keep in mind when sending money abroad. Your bank may ask for your preferred method or automatically choose for you. Let’s look at how each works.
OUR
The sender is required to pay all transfer fees for a particular money transfer when using the OUR option. It typically covers any transfer fees from your own bank and intermediate banks, plus the bank your receiver uses. Ultimately, it means all transfer fees are known upfront.
BEN
With this regulation, it’s up to the person receiving the money (the beneficiary) to pay any transfer fees. These costs can potentially eat into the amount they receive and there’s no guarantee they’ll get the exact sum you send.
BEN can be an option for financial gifts, however, where the receiving amount doesn’t have to be an exact figure.
SHARE
SHARE (or SHA) allows any international transfer fees to be shared between the sender and receiver. You pay the costs to send money through your bank, while your receiver deals with any charges to collect the funds.
Banks often use SHARE as a default option, so you may need to get in touch to see if OUR or BEN are available instead.
Transfer fee regulations in the EU and beyond
The transfer fee regulations that apply when sending money abroad often come down to the destination country. For example, money transfers sent from Germany to a member of the European Union (EU), or European Economic Area (EEA), can follow a different process to those further afield.
Money transfers within the EU and EEA
By law, the SHARE regulation is generally applied to money transfers completed within the EU, plus the EEA countries of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. However, since these countries are all part of the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), money transfers between them are often free of charge anyway.
Backed by the European banking and payments industry, the SEPA scheme aims to make cross-border money transfers as efficient as those completed domestically. The same standards apply across all SEPA members, and money transfers are normally free when they only involve EU or EEA banks.
Money transfers outside Europe
Countries outside Europe won’t be part of SEPA, meaning banks will charge transfer fees when you send money to them. However, this also gives you more options over who pays these transfer fees.
For one thing, there’s no obligation to use SHARE. Instead, all three international transfer fee regulations may be open to you when sending money beyond the EU and EEA. It ultimately depends on the facilities available at your bank and your personal preferences.
OUR is often chosen by those sending set monetary amounts to loved ones, or those that need to make specific payments, as it guarantees the amount sent will be received. With BEN and SHARE, transfer fees at the receiver’s end could reduce what they get.
How can I avoid transfer fee regulations?
Whether it’s OUR, BEN or SHARE, you’ll usually need to follow an international transfer fee regulation when sending money from your bank to another account in a different country.
The good news? You can potentially avoid these regulations by selecting a different money transfer method. For example, specialist money transfer services won’t ask you to choose between OUR, BEN and SHARE. Instead, you’ll normally be told of any costs up front, plus the exact amount your receiver will get.
Providers like Western Union allow you to check transfer fees1 and exchange rates in advance, so you can compare prices and carefully budget for any charges.
Whether in person or online, it’s easy to select different sending and receiving options and check the transfer fees1 associated with each one. The receive amount is also locked in once you’ve paid, giving your loved one peace of mind and certainty about the specific sum that’s heading their way.
However, it’s important to remember that money transfer services may not cater for every country. As a result, remembering the transfer fee regulations of OUR, BEN and SHARE will prepare you for every eventuality.
FAQs and guides
- How to transfer money from a credit card to an account
- What is the foreign transfer reporting obligation?
- How to send money abroad
- How to get an account number from an IBAN
1 Western Union also makes money from currency exchange. When choosing a money transmitter, carefully compare both transfer fees and exchange rates. Fees, foreign exchange rates and taxes may vary by brand, channel, and location based on a number of factors. Fees and rates subject to change without notice.
