The formula
Delivered_i = Amount − (Amount × Total%_i ÷ 100 + Flat_i)
The critical modelling choice is the percentage input: it must combine the explicit percentage fee AND the FX margin, or the comparison silently favours whoever hides more cost in the rate. Measure each provider’s margin with the FX Margin Calculator before filling this in.
The spread row (best minus worst) is the decision-weight indicator: a $345 spread on a monthly transfer is $4,140 a year — worth a provider change; a $12 spread is not. Let the spread size the effort.
How to use this calculator
- 1
Gather three real quotes
Same amount, same corridor, same day — quotes age quickly and cross-day comparisons mislead.
- 2
Compute each provider’s true percentage
Explicit percentage fee plus measured FX margin. This step is where honest comparisons are won or lost.
- 3
Enter flats and read the ranking
The delivered-amount ranking is the answer; the effective rates make it comparable across amounts.
- 4
Validate the winner
One real transfer through the leading provider, measured end-to-end, before moving recurring volume.
Making providers comparable when they price differently
Provider pricing structures are deliberately incomparable: one charges 0.5% with a 1.8% margin, another "zero fees" with a 2.6% margin, a third a flat $25 with a 1% margin. The landed-amount test neutralises the packaging — every structure collapses to what arrives. The discipline is refusing to compare until every provider’s number is a committed receive amount or a measured margin.
Quote-first providers make this easy by design: the receive amount is on the quote. For statement-based providers, reconstruct the number from your history: what you sent, what landed, same-day reference rate. An hour of reconstruction usually ends the debate.
Beyond price: the columns this calculator does not have
Delivered amount decides between otherwise-equal providers — but reliability, corridor coverage, compliance quality and support decide whether a provider belongs in the comparison at all. A provider that delivers $200 more but fails one payment in twenty costs more than it saves; a corridor the provider serves through fragile intermediaries will eventually cost you a shipment.
Weight the unpriced columns by consequence: for payroll, reliability dominates; for supplier deposits, documentation and verification dominate; for treasury rebalancing, rate quality dominates. Our comparison hub holds provider-by-provider breakdowns across these axes for the corridors African businesses actually use.
Common use cases
Provider selection
Rank three candidates on one real transfer profile before an RFP or migration.
Annual pricing review
Re-run your incumbent against two challengers yearly — pricing drifts, loyalty should not.
Corridor-by-corridor routing
Different providers win different corridors; build a routing table from repeated comparisons.
Negotiation preparation
Walk into a pricing conversation with the spread quantified — providers reprice for informed customers.
Automate this with the API
Ask the route optimizer for indicative route rankings by cost, speed or balance.
curl "https://keybs.io/api/v1/tools/routes?dest=CN&priority=cost" \ -H "x-api-key: YOUR_FREE_KEY"Free Tools API docs and key registration
Frequently asked questions
Why must FX margin be inside the percentage input?
Because most cross-border cost hides there. Comparing explicit fees alone ranks providers by how well they hide costs, not how little they charge. Measure each provider’s margin (FX Margin Calculator) and add it to their explicit percentage — then the comparison is real.
How do I compare a provider that commits the receive amount?
Easiest case: their delivered amount is on the quote. Back out the total cost (send amount minus delivered, in send-currency terms) and enter it as their inputs — or just compare their committed delivered amount against the calculator’s outputs for the others.
Should the same provider win every corridor?
Rarely. Liquidity and rail coverage differ by corridor, so effective pricing does too. Businesses with three or more active corridors usually end up with a routing table rather than a single provider — re-run this comparison per corridor and let each one pick its winner.
How often should I re-compare?
Annually as routine, immediately when volumes step up, corridors change, or your measured margin drifts. Pricing degradation on incumbent relationships is common precisely because most customers never re-measure.
What sample size makes a comparison trustworthy?
Quotes answer the pricing question in one pass; behaviour needs more. Before moving recurring volume, run two or three real transfers through the winner and measure delivered amounts, timing and documentation. Consistency across three payments is a reasonable bar for switching.
Where does KeyBS Pay sit in this comparison?
Enter it like any provider: request a quote, note the disclosed fee (from 1.5%, route-dependent) and committed receive amount, and let the landed-amount test judge. The comparison hub also publishes structured KeyBS Pay-vs-provider breakdowns for African corridors.
Corridors, tools and reading for this calculator
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Replace assumptions with a committed quote
Executable rate, disclosed fee, committed receive amount — before you pay anything.
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