Sending money to Zimbabwe from Canada
The World Bank surveyed 6 providers on this corridor. On C$200 the cheapest costs 2.17% of what you send and the dearest 11.05%. Enter your own amount below — the ranking changes with it.
Cheapest surveyed
Royal Bank of Canada
C$4.34 to send C$200
(2.17%)
The dearest would cost you
C$17.76
more, for the same transfer
Note: the survey priced this corridor at C$200 and C$500. Outside that range these figures are projected from each provider's fee and margin rather than directly observed.
Every provider, ranked at C$200
The fee and the exchange-rate margin are shown separately on purpose. A transfer advertised as "no fee" can still be the expensive one, because the margin is where the cost hides.
| Provider |
Type |
Fee |
FX margin |
Total cost |
% of transfer |
|
Royal Bank of Canada
2 days |
Bank |
C$0.00 |
C$4.34 |
C$4.34 |
2.17% |
|
Western Union
Less than one hour |
Money Transfer Operator |
C$1.99 |
C$3.58 |
C$5.57 |
2.79% |
|
WorldRemit
Less than one hour |
Money Transfer Operator |
C$0.00 |
C$7.08 |
C$7.08 |
3.54% |
|
MoneyGram
Less than one hour |
Money Transfer Operator |
C$5.99 |
C$3.92 |
C$9.91 |
4.96% |
|
Toronto Dominion Bank
3-5 days |
Bank |
C$6.99 |
C$5.24 |
C$12.23 |
6.12% |
|
ScotiaBank
2 days |
Bank |
C$7.00 |
C$15.10 |
C$22.10 |
11.05% |
Banks, transfer operators and mobile money
Who you send with matters more than anything else about the transfer. Median cost by provider type, on C$200:
- Bank — 6.12%
(3 providers surveyed)
- Money Transfer Operator — 3.54%
(3 providers surveyed)
That ordering is for C$200 and does not necessarily hold at your amount. Where a provider charges a flat fee, it is punishing on a small transfer and forgettable on a large one — which is enough to reverse the order entirely. The ranked table above is the one computed at your amount; this one is not.
How to read these numbers
The cost of a transfer is the fee plus the margin the provider takes on the exchange rate. The margin is invisible at the counter: you are quoted a rate, not the difference between that rate and the interbank one, so a "free" transfer can quietly cost more than one with a fee attached. Both are separated in the table above.
Percentages fall as the amount rises wherever a provider charges a flat fee, which is why the same provider can be the cheapest at one amount and not at another. That is exactly what the calculator is for — the ranking above is computed at your amount, not at a fixed one.
Source: The World Bank, Remittance Prices Worldwide, available at https://remittanceprices.worldbank.org — survey period 2025 Q1, field-collected to 11 March 2025.
Licensed CC BY 4.0. These are surveyed benchmark costs from a dated quarterly study, not live quotes, and providers change pricing between surveys — check the current cost with the provider before you send. The World Bank does not endorse this use of its data. This is general information, not financial advice.
