Last updated: 23rd Sep 2025
I love eToro. It has an excellent suite of copy trading tools, is not as complicated as Interactive Brokers, and gives you access to thousands of markets, including stocks, futures, crypto and ETFs.
But it has one huge problem.
The blasted 150bps currency conversion fee on USD deposits.
And because the entire platform operates in USD as a base currency, it charges me this fee on every single dollar you deposit.
Automatically.
It does the same again when I exit my positions, exchanging USD back into AUD.
It might not seem much until I pause to consider that I’m giving away $300 for every $5,000 I deposit.
That’s enough for a mad pair of Nikes if you live in Parramatta, cuz.
There is no way to avoid it.
Even when buying stocks on the ASX.
Which is pure madness – because I can buy Aussie stocks using AUD via almost any other platform (e.g., Selfwealth or Interactive Brokers).
There are zero practical reasons to convert AUD into USD – just to buy CBA or Fortescue shares.
The good news?
I finally discovered two hacks for dodging this fee.
- The first is best if you have a decent portfolio (more than US$250K).
- The second is best if you’re building up to that level. It’s sneaky. eToro knows about it, but they’re not thrilled that I’m sharing it with you. You’ll see why in a moment.
Method 1: Wanna Be A Baller.
The more I grow my eToro portfolio, the higher my eToro Club membership status becomes.
Higher status levels automatically unlock currency conversion fee discounts.
The highest threshold is Diamond, triggered at US$250K – and it comes with a 100% discount on the 150bps fee.
See below for other levels:
| eToro Club Level | Portfolio Size (US$) | Currency Conversion Discount |
|---|---|---|
| Bronze | 0 | 0% |
| Silver | 5,000 | 25% |
| Platinum | 25,000 | 50% |
| Diamond | 250,000 | 100% |
I’m in a fortunate position where I could dump US$250K into the account, and never have to pay the fee.
Plus, Diamond-level members get cool perks, like box seats at Sydney FC games and wine tastings.
And that would have triggered the maximum 150bps spread each time.
Which is why I’m so excited to share with you my second method. It works best when depositing modest sums of money.
Method 2: The Secret Revolut Hack.
Revolut is a fintech app that offers everything under the financial sun – savings accounts, loans, even access to the stock and crypto markets.
Do you see where I’m going with this?
Yes, Revolut can be used to swap AUD for USD – without paying a hefty 150bps spread.
If I was starting out, here’s how I’d bypass eToro’s currency exchange fee:
- Download the Revolut app.
- Create a Revolut account (Standard tier, $0/month fee. Takes 10 minutes).
- Send AUD to Revolut.
- Use Revolut to exchange AUD into USD.
- Deposit USD into eToro from Revolut (bank transfer method).
Revolut will charge you 0.15% (or a $1.80 flagfall, whichever is higher) for the pleasure of converting AUD into USD. Let me reiterate. That’s 0.15% versus eToro’s 1.5%.
That’s 10X less.
You’re welcome.
How does this work?
Revolut charges currency conversion at the interbank rate, which is the rate that banks use to trade with each other. It’s almost always the lowest rate possible.
It’s also much lower than rates offered by big Australian banks.
Important!
This is why using an Australian bank to swap AUD for USD doesn’t work. Their spreads are often worse than eToro’s
Let me illustrate with a real-time example. Here’s today’s screenshot from a live conversion preview in my eToro account:
Here’s the same in Revolut:
And just for fun, here’s the same from Westpac:
As you can see, Westpac gives me by far the least amount of USD for my AUD.
eToro does slightly better. And Revolut is miles ahead.
Is this too good to be true? Well, yes.
Because Revolut needs to make money, too.
Remember the 0.15% or $1.8 fee I mentioned? We must add that into the equation. Here’s how total fees stack up when depositing AU$1,000:
| Platform | Exchange Rate (23 Sep 2025) | Extra Fee | USD I Get | Effective Fee (AUD) vs Interbank Rate | Effective Fee (bps) vs Interbank Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revolut | 0.6580 | 0.15% or $1.8 flagfall | 657.00 | $1.80 | ~15 |
| eToro | 0.6444 | None | 664.40 | $19.12 | ~206 |
| Westpac | 0.6340 | None | 634.00 | $34.91 | ~365 |
You can see that eToro’s effective FX rate today is actually higher than the claimed 150bps, at 206bps.
And Westpac fleeces its customers completely, charging 365bps that translates to almost $35 for every AU$1,000 exchanged.
Before I wrap up, I’d like to share a couple of caveats.
First, Revolut has monthly transfer ceilings. The free plan, for example, has a $2,000/month cap.
If I was to regularly exceed the ceiling, I’d upgrade my Revolut plan (which lowers the 0.15% fee as low as 0.03% – but attracts an up to $28.99/month fee instead).
Second, Revolut’s flat rate only applies during business hours, Monday to Friday.
Outside of these hours, they’ll charge a 1% (on a Standard plan) or 0.5% (Plus plan) markup. Premium and Metal plans don’t attract a markup.
That’s it! Thank you for stopping by.
Steven
