Reduced amount arrived - reason untraceable

I made a banktransfer of 170 USD and only arrived 107 USD (from my Revolut USD account to a USD bank account in Ecuador). Before transfering the money I checked the system by transfering smaller amounts (20 USD) and it worked, no deduction. I really don’t understand where my 63 USD went. Both Revolut and the bank say it’s not their fault. Very disappointing. :frowning:

With international SWIFT transfers, intermediary banks are involved. They sometimes charge flat fees, or percentages. And fees can vary depending on the amount sent.

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Hey @madseason :slight_smile:

Taking Lloyds’ fee schedule as a reference (consider these are not the official fees, but the ones from a random bank, used just for exemplification purposes)…

  • Sent: 170 USD ~ 120 GBP
    • (-) intl. transfer fee (9.5 GBP)
      • 158 USD ~ 111.5 GBP
    • (-) correspondent bank fee (20 GBP)
      • 130 USD ~ 91.5 GBP
    • (-) exchange rate fee (3.2%)
      • 126 USD ~ 88.5 GBP
    • (-) receiving fee (10 USD in most ecuadorian banks)
      • 116 USD

So you can easily imagine how you get to that amount. Receiving fees are even higher in some other banks, including some from Mexico (30 USD in Bancomer)

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Thanks @Juliopp !
Your explanation was really useful. I wish Revolut would be more clear about these issues. I based my expectations on my experiences with the smaller amounts, shouldn’t have :slight_smile:
Personal conclusions: use Revolut only for card payments, or small amount transfers if you’d like to escape those exaggerated fees!
Thanks once again.

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