Sending and Receiving Money as a Student in Europe: SEPA, Wise, and Revolut Fees Compared

SEPA transfers: free between euro accounts

The Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) covers 36 countries and lets you send euros between two euro bank accounts at domestic-transfer prices, even across borders. Most banks charge nothing for a standard SEPA credit transfer, and the EU's Instant Payments Regulation, in force since 2024, requires banks in the euro area to offer instant transfers, arriving within seconds, at no higher price than a standard transfer, according to the European Central Bank . If you and whoever is sending you money both hold euro accounts, this is the cheapest way to move it.

SEPA only covers euro-to-euro transfers. Moving money from a non-euro account, a UK pound account for example, into a euro account falls outside SEPA's free-transfer rules and usually comes with a currency conversion cost.

Wise: pay a transparent fee, get the real exchange rate

Wise charges a fee starting from around 0.33% of the amount sent and applies the mid-market exchange rate with no added markup, according to Wise's pricing page . The exact fee depends on the currency pair and amount. For students receiving an allowance from a non-euro country or paying tuition abroad, this usually beats a bank, since a bank's "no fee" transfer often hides its real cost inside a worse exchange rate.

Revolut: free for SEPA, priced for everything else

Revolut sends SEPA transfers free, regardless of plan, according to Wise's comparison of Revolut's fees . Outside SEPA, Revolut charges a variable fee, around 0.15% of the amount, for bank transfers, with a free monthly allowance that depends on your plan tier before charges apply. Revolut works well if you already hold a multi-currency account there and mostly move money between your own accounts.

Traditional bank wires: the expensive default

A standard international bank wire routes your money through one or more correspondent banks, each of which takes a cut. Banks typically charge a flat fee on top of an exchange rate that sits below the mid-market rate, and the transfer itself often takes several business days to clear. For a one-off large payment, like a full semester's tuition, compare your bank's total cost, fee plus rate markup, against Wise before sending, since the gap grows significant on larger amounts.

Quick comparison

Regulation and safety

Wise and Revolut are licensed and regulated in the countries where they operate, and both safeguard customer funds separately from company money, but neither is a bank in every market, so your balance does not always carry the same deposit protection as a bank account. Check which type of entity, bank or e-money institution, holds your account before keeping a large balance with either app long term. Read the specific terms for your country before transferring your full living budget into either app, since coverage details differ by market.

Currency risk: locking in a rate

If you're converting a large sum, a full year's tuition, for example, exchange rates move between the day you check a price and the day you actually send the money. Wise and Revolut both let you lock in a rate for a short window before completing a transfer, which protects you from a rate shift in the hours it takes to arrange payment. For very large one-off payments, ask whether your provider offers a forward contract or rate guarantee, since a small rate movement on a full year's tuition adds up fast.

If your home currency isn't the euro

Students moving from outside the eurozone, the UK, Sweden, or Poland, for example, need a plan for the first transfer before SEPA becomes useful at all. Open a euro account with your bank or with Wise or Revolut before you need the money, so family or scholarship payments land directly in euros without a costly last-minute conversion. Once that account exists, everyday transfers from other euro accounts, rent, allowance, part-time pay, all move through SEPA for free.

Which to use as a student

If you and whoever is sending you money both hold euro accounts, use SEPA and pay nothing. If money crosses currencies, whether that's a UK-based parent sending pounds or you paying tuition in a non-euro country, open a Wise or Revolut account and compare their live quotes for your exact amount before you send. Skip the bank wire unless neither app supports your destination, since it stays consistently the most expensive route for a currency conversion. Keep a small buffer in your main account too, since a failed or delayed transfer at the wrong moment, right before rent is due, causes more stress than the fee difference between providers ever will.

• Compare live quotes on Wise and Revolut for your exact amount before sending, since fees shift with currency pair and amount

• Set up a SEPA-compatible euro account as soon as you arrive to receive scholarship or family transfers free

• Avoid your bank's own currency conversion tool for anything beyond a small amount, since the built-in rate is rarely competitive

• Split large transfers if a free monthly allowance resets each month, rather than sending everything at once