The cheapest way to send money from Australia to New Zealand (Wise)

Over the past few years, a large number of people from New Zealand have emigrated to Australia. If you've emigrated to Australia but still call New Zealand home, you may find yourself wanting to send some of your earnings back to family and friends. Here's the cheapest way to send money from Australia to New Zealand with Wise.

Migrating from New Zealand to Australia

As of 2024, nearly 47,000 New Zealanders are expected to have emigrated to Australia. For reference, that's about a third of the total 130,000 people who left last year.

Even if they've moved from New Zealand to Australia, I don't think they've completely cut ties with New Zealand, I think they could move back at any time, and I think that's something you have to be aware of, is sending different currencies.

That's why we think it's important to know how to send Australian and New Zealand dollars quickly and with low fees.

Wise International Money Transfer Service

If you're moving to or living in Australia, there's a good chance you'll want to send money to New Zealand, but do you still go to your main bank to do it?

Wise Servicessends money in the currency of your preferred account in a matter of minutes for a low fee. For example, I'm Korean and I live in New Zealand. Of course, I have a job and earn New Zealand dollars.

But sometimes I need to send money overseas to my family back home. This is when I turn to Wise, because I've had some really stressful experiences with New Zealand bank transfers.

How to send money from Australia to New Zealand

Let's start with a brief explanation of how to send money from Australia to New Zealand with the Wise service, assuming that New Zealanders who have gone to Australia obviously have at least one New Zealand bank.

1) Create a Wise Australia account

By default, you'll need to create an Australian account (AUD) when you enter Wise and click the +new button. You can easily find the Australian currency by typing AUD among the various currencies.

2) Send Australian dollars to your New Zealand bank account

And then you'll see that one of your Wise accounts is Australia, and if you click on it, you'll be taken to this screen.

Now send money from your Australian bank account to your Wise Australian account. You can use the Add button to do this, and once the Australian dollars have been transferred, you'll be able to see the amount you've transferred here.

What was our purpose? It was to send money from Australia to New Zealand, and now all you have to do is transfer the Australian dollars in your Wise Australian account to your New Zealand bank account of choice (Send button) and you're done.

When you send money, you're converting Australian dollars to New Zealand dollars, so the Wise exchange rate is applied at that time. Of course, you can see the full exchange rate when you send money.

Then, enter the recipient's name and account number (New Zealand bank account), hit the send button, and your money will be sent in a matter of minutes with confirmation and tracking.

If it seems like a hassle, just do it once and it'll be set up automatically after that, making international money transfers a breeze. If you want to send money from Australia to New Zealand, you can use the Wise websiteto get started.

Wise cards

In New Zealand and Australia, the cards from the banks we use are similar, so we can pay with the cards we use in each country, which is exactly what happens when we travel outside of New Zealand and Australia.

In my Wise accounts, I have Japan (Yen), Australia (Australian Dollars), Korea (Korean Won), New Zealand (New Zealand Dollars), and the United States (U.S. Dollars). When I create a trip to Japan, I convert my travel budget from New Zealand Dollars to Japanese Yen and keep it in my Wise Japan account.

And the Use a Wise cardBut we might not be traveling to Japan, and we might not be going to Japan. If you're traveling to another country, the process is the same: create a local currency, put money in it, and feel free to use it locally.

This takes the worry out of currency conversion, and because Wise gives you such a great exchange rate, you'll also be able to convert at a favorable rate compared to your local or bank exchange rate.

While I love the Wise card, there is one thing about it: there is a card fee. However, if you use my link below, you can get the card for free, so if you're interested, take advantage of that.

Finalize

Today we've talked about the cheapest way to send money from Australia to New Zealand, and we've briefly touched on the Wise service that allows you to send money to the account of your choice with just a few clicks and in a matter of minutes.

It's great for sending money from abroad to home, or if you're working abroad and need to send money in a hurry to another country.