Wishing Well and Honeymoon Fund Fees in Australia (2026)

"Free" sits on the front page of nearly every wishing well and honeymoon fund site in Australia, and it is rarely the whole story. A gift that arrives by card has cost somebody something: you, your guest, or the platform in the middle. So the useful question is not whether there is a fee. It is where the fee sits, and who ends up paying it.

This guide lays out every fee you can meet when guests give you money for your wedding, using each provider's own Australian pricing page as published on 28 September 2026. It runs one A$5,000 fund through bank transfer, card, PayPal and a crowdfunding page so you can see the dollar difference side by side, then finishes with the questions to put to any platform before you sign up. If you are still deciding whether to ask for cash at all, start with our wedding wishing well guide and come back here once the answer is yes.

Where a fee can hide

Money given through a wishing well can be charged at three points. A platform that is free at one of them can still charge at another, which is why two "free" sites can leave you with different amounts.

Setup. A price to open the page or to switch on features. Some platforms charge nothing to start and sell an upgrade; others sell a one-off package up front. EasyRegistry is free to create and share, with an optional Premium upgrade that costs a one-off A$39 per registry.

Per gift. A processing fee on each payment. This is where almost all of the cost in a wishing well lives. A bank transfer to your account carries no platform fee, because the platform never touches the money. Card and PayPal payments always carry one, because the card networks and PayPal charge whoever receives the payment.

Payout. Moving money from the platform to your bank account. On Stripe's standard Australian pricing, a standard payout is free and an Instant Payout costs 1.5% of the amount, with a minimum of A$0.50. Payout is also where time can be the cost rather than money: Hitchd's pricing page says the first payout of card contributions is held for 10 business days to clear.

Add all three together before you compare two platforms. A site with no setup price and a high per-gift fee can cost you more across a 120-guest wedding than a site with a small flat price and low processing.

"Free" means free to you, not free to everyone

When a wishing well platform calls itself free, it usually means one of three things.

1. Free to create, free on bank transfer, and card payments cost the couple a processing fee. This is how EasyRegistry works. Cash, bank transfer and Revolut gifts are received free on every plan. Card and PayPal payments come with Premium, and the fee on those is Stripe's or PayPal's, taken from the gift, not an EasyRegistry charge.
2. Free to the couple because the guest pays. The platform adds its fee to each guest's payment, so you receive the full amount the guest chose and your guests see an extra line at checkout.
3. Free to create, with a percentage taken from every gift. The page costs nothing, and a fee comes off each contribution before it reaches you.

None of these is a trick. They are three different answers to one question: who pays the card fee? The only thing to be wary of is a site that says "no fees" without telling you which of the three it means.

What the processors charge in Australia

Nearly every wishing well platform takes card payments through a processor such as Stripe or PayPal, and their published rates set the floor for what a card gift costs.

Stripe. As published on 28 September 2026, Stripe's standard Australian pricing is 1.7% plus A$0.30 for a domestic card and 3.5% plus A$0.30 for an international card, with a further 2% when a currency conversion is needed. Those fees include GST. Stripe has announced lower pricing from 1 October 2026 for domestic cards and from 1 April 2027 for international cards, so check its Australian pricing page for the rate on the day you set up.

PayPal. PayPal sorts payments into two kinds, and the difference matters. A personal payment is one a guest sends from the Friends and Family tab of Send Money. Inside Australia it costs nothing when the guest pays from their PayPal balance or a linked Australian bank account; if any part of it is funded by a card, the guest pays 2.60% plus a fixed A$0.30. Receiving a personal payment is free. Almost everything else is a commercial transaction, including money you ask for with Request Money, and that costs the person receiving it 2.90% plus A$0.30 in Australia, plus 1.00% when it comes from overseas. A PayPal checkout button on a gift page is not a Friends and Family payment, so expect the commercial rate. For using PayPal, PayID, Beem or GoFundMe on their own, without a registry, see our comparison of the DIY routes.

Bank transfer. Osko sends bank transfers between participating banks in under a minute, 24 hours a day, including weekends. A PayID lets a guest pay to your mobile number or email address instead of typing in a BSB and account number. The money goes straight from the guest's bank to yours, so a platform that shows your bank or PayID details adds nothing to it. Whether the guest's own bank charges for the transfer depends on their account, and some business accounts carry a per-payment fee.

The worked example: A$5,000 from 50 guests

Here is one fund run through each route. Fifty guests each give A$100, which was the median contribution to a wedding registry on EasyRegistry in August 2026. Every fee below is as published on 28 September 2026.

Three notes on that table.

• On EasyRegistry, card and PayPal payments need Premium, a one-off A$39 after a free trial of up to 14 days. An all-card fund there costs A$100 in Stripe fees plus A$39, so A$139 in total: A$4,900 is paid out from the gifts, and A$4,861 is what is left after the separate Premium price.
• Hitchd's pricing page also lists a one-time purchase for the platform, which the table leaves out.
• Overseas cards cost more on Stripe and PayPal. Hitchd's pricing page says its 4.98% covers global transactions, so there the fee is the same for an overseas guest. Through Stripe, A$100 on a UK card costs A$3.80, or A$5.80 when the payment is converted from pounds. Through a PayPal checkout, an overseas payment costs 3.90% plus A$0.30, which is A$4.20.

Real funds are a mix, and the mix is where the saving is. Say 30 of those 50 guests pay by bank transfer and 20 by domestic card on EasyRegistry. The card fees come to A$40, so A$4,960 is paid out from the gifts; add A$39 for Premium and your total cost is A$79, leaving A$4,921. Every guest who picks transfer over card saves you A$2.00 at September 2026 rates. That is small enough that there is no need to make anyone feel guilty for tapping a card. Just make the transfer option easy to find, and say on the page that it is there.

Guest pays, couple pays, or split

Once a card is involved, a platform has three ways to handle the fee, and each looks different from the guest's side.

The couple pays. The fee comes off each gift. The guest gives A$100, their card is charged A$100, and a little less lands with you. Guests never see a fee. This is how EasyRegistry handles card payments: guests are not charged a fee, and Stripe's processing fee is deducted from the gift.

The guest pays. The fee is added on top, so the guest's card is charged more than the gift. On Hitchd, if the couple chooses to have guests cover its 4.98% card fee, a A$100 gift costs the guest A$104.98, and you receive the full A$100. Some guests will not mind. Others will notice that giving you A$100 cost them more than A$100, and that is a slightly odd feeling at a wedding.

Split. Half each. Hitchd offers this too, at 2.49% to the couple and 2.49% to the guest.

Our view: for a wedding gift, absorb the fee. On a domestic card through Stripe it was A$2.00 on a A$100 gift in September 2026, and nobody at your wedding has to see a surcharge. If you would rather keep every dollar, put the bank transfer option first and let guests choose.

How the pricing models compare

Only platforms that publish their fees are included here. Each figure is as published on 28 September 2026.

The DIY routes in the last row cost the least and do the least. There is no gift list, no named items, no record of messages beyond whatever the guest types into their banking app, and your bank or PayPal details go to everyone on the guest list. For a small wedding that can be fine. For a big one, a registry that records every gift makes the thank-you cards far easier, and our comparison of wedding registries in Australia walks through what else to weigh. If some guests would still rather buy a real present, a hybrid wedding registry puts a short list of items next to the fund on one page.

Questions to ask before you sign up

Put these seven questions to any wishing well or honeymoon fund platform. A good one answers all of them on its pricing or FAQ page.

1. If a guest gives A$100 by card, how much reaches my bank account?
2. Does the guest pay anything on top, and will they see it at checkout?
3. Can guests pay by bank transfer or PayID, and is that gift still recorded on my list?
4. Is there a setup or upgrade price, and when does it fall due?
5. How and when is the money paid out, and does a faster payout cost extra?
6. What happens with an overseas card: which currency is the guest charged in, and who pays for the conversion?
7. Can I see every gift with the guest's name and any message they left, so the thank-you cards are easy?

Here are EasyRegistry's answers, from its own pricing page and FAQ.

1. A$100 less Stripe's processing fee, which was A$2.00 on a domestic card in September 2026.
2. No. Guests are not charged a fee on card payments.
3. Yes. Bank transfer is on every plan, guests see your bank or PayID details when they choose it, the gift goes straight into your account, and it sits in your list of contributions with the rest.
4. Creating and sharing a registry is free. Premium, which adds card and PayPal payments, is a one-off A$39. The free trial ends after 14 days, when the first gift payment arrives or a week before your event, whichever comes first.
5. Card payments reach your bank account through Stripe. The FAQ describes a manual or regular payout that you choose, and also says card funds are transferred when you close your registry, so check your payout setting if timing matters. Bank transfers land in your account straight away.
6. The guest can pay in more than ten currencies and is charged in the one they pick, so they pay no conversion fee; Stripe's fee comes off the Australian dollar amount.
7. Yes, on every plan, with an Excel download of the list on Premium.

Whichever platform you choose, the wording you use to point guests to it matters as much as the fees. Our guide on how to ask for cash as a wedding gift has lines that mention the transfer option without making it sound like an invoice.

Common questions

Is there a truly free wedding wishing well in Australia?

Yes, as long as your guests pay by bank transfer or cash. Creating an EasyRegistry wishing well is free, and gifts by bank transfer, cash or Revolut are received free on every plan. The moment a guest pays by card, somebody pays a processing fee, on any platform.

Which costs less for a wishing well, Stripe or PayPal?

On the published Australian rates in September 2026, a domestic card through Stripe (1.7% plus A$0.30) costs less than a PayPal commercial payment (2.90% plus A$0.30): A$2.00 against A$3.20 on a A$100 gift. EasyRegistry's FAQ makes the same point, that card payments through Stripe usually work out cheaper than PayPal.

How much of our fund will go on fees?

It depends almost entirely on how many guests pay by card. If half your guests pay by bank transfer and half by domestic card, the Stripe fees on a A$5,000 fund come to about A$50, or 1% of the total, at September 2026 rates. An all-card fund on the same rates costs A$100 before any platform price.

Can overseas guests avoid the fees?

Not easily. Osko and PayID run between participating banks in Australia's payment system, so a guest banking overseas will usually give by card or PayPal. Through Stripe an international card costs 3.5% plus A$0.30, plus 2% when the payment is converted. On EasyRegistry the guest is charged in their own currency and the fees come off the gift.

Do we pay tax on wishing well money?

Not on gifts from family and friends. The ATO lists gifts on special occasions, such as cash birthday presents and gifts from relatives given out of love, among the amounts you do not include as income. A gift is only taxable if it is really payment for work or part of a business-like activity.

Do we need a Premium plan to run a wishing well?

No. A wishing well that takes bank transfers, cash and Revolut works on EasyRegistry's free plan, and you can see the full list of contributions there. Premium is only needed if you want guests to be able to pay by card or PayPal.

Ready to set one up? With EasyRegistry you can create a wishing well or honeymoon fund for free, take bank transfers with no EasyRegistry fee, and switch on card and PayPal payments for a one-off A$39 if your guests want them. Start your wishing well and put the link on your invitations the day they go out.