For EUR transfers within EU, the SEPA CT is the equivalent of a wire transfer and has pretty much replaced them. The fully loaded cost of processing such a tran

For EUR transfers within EU, the SEPA CT is the equivalent of a wire transfer and has pretty much replaced them. The fully loaded cost of processing such a transfer by a bank is in the ballpark of 0.01-0.02 EUR if I recall correctly, depending on the economies of scale they can get; so for private persons some banks/some markets offer them for free and some banks/markets charge something like 0.30 EUR, it depends on the level of competition for general services, how much they can earn on other services from that customer, etc. As for most services, the price is not really determined by costs but by the competition and plausible alternatives. There is some intrinsic cost for a 'true' wire transfer, but (1) it's not due to the benefits/guarantees that the customer gets, but due to legacy/compatibility issues requiring a not-that-scalable process, lack of international cooperation, and the inefficiencies of bilateral settlements (or, often, a chain of bilateral settlements) vs a centralized bulk settlement system; and (2) it's not in line with the prices charged. $30 for a wire transfer is a reasonable market price in many markets, but the fully loaded cost for a wire transfer (assuming a electronically initiated proper payment without any missing information so it gets 'straight-through processing') that I recall is something comparable to $2, the rest is profit - the market for this service is simply not competitive (people choose their banks based on other factors, not the level of rare fees like this) so that's a revenue stream that nobody wants to let go without a good reason.