We sometimes need to send money abroad, either to a friend or for a business purpose. Anyone who has tried transferring money overseas knows it is not as simple as it sounds. A host of factors such as the time it takes for the recipient to receive money, service fees, and exchange rates often surface when sending money abroad. Here is a list of the best ways to transfer money overseas.
Online Payment Services
Online payment platforms are the convenient option to transfer money abroad as we can transact from our home on a computer in only a couple of minutes. Online payment platforms are secure and ubiquitous to use. With online payment services such as Skrill or Paypal, users don’t have to worry about any extra or hidden costs outside the initial exchange rate or service fee. Online payment platforms make transferring money abroad, not only a convenient process but safe and quick as well. With Paypal, for example, users can exchange over 20 different currencies and send money to over 200 countries. Users just need the mobile number or email address of the recipient to send money via online payment platforms. These platforms let their users preview the exchange and conversion rates before a transaction completes.
Money Transfer Operators
These are companies with physical locations and specializing in transferring money for a client from one place to another. Some can even transfer funds across borders. It is a quick and convenient way of moving money from one country to another. Money transfer operators offer both at street locations and online services through their branches, which are scattered all over the world. Transferring money overseas with money transfer operators can be done either offline or online. Money transfer operators are ideal for recipients with no online payment accounts, which not everyone has. Money transfer operators are as efficient and fast as online payment services. MoneyGram and Western Union are the two widely known money transfer operators. Western Union is an international money transfer service with over 4,000 physical locations around the world. With a Western Union app, we can transfer funds through mobile and online banking, at a physical location, and via an online website. The recipient can receive money at either a Western Union location or directly to their bank account. Western Union has a toll free phone number that clients can call to set up an account.
MoneyGram works the same as Western Union, and it allows users to transfer funds anywhere across the world. With MoneyGram, we can transfer funds to the recipient’s mobile wallet, bank account, or have them pick the funds personally at a physical location. MoneyGram has over 300,000 pickup points around the world.
Money Orders
While there are a lot of alternatives for money orders in today’s financial market, money orders are at sometimes the convenient way to transfer funds to a friend or family abroad. A money order refers to funds prepaid at a post office or bank and written to a specified recipient, who could be a business or individual. Though money orders can be done online, only a few reputable companies offer online money order services. We recommend those that choose money order to do it either at a post office or bank personally. With a money order, the sender pays for the specified amount in advance, but the recipient is guaranteed to receive the money since the sender already prepaid it. Money orders are best suited for scenarios where the recipient needs to be insured. Most businesses prefer a money order over other funds transfer avenues because the money is guaranteed. For example, a vendor who doesn’t accept online payment and money transfer operator may ask a customer to send a money order for a service or products.
International or Bank Wire Transfer
A bank wire is another option worth pursuing when sending money abroad. Senders can do it online or at a physical store. It is an electronic money transfer method, where both the sender and the recipient should have a bank account. The sender needs specific details of the recipient, including bank account number, branch name, full name, and transit number. Whether transferring funds online or via a physical store, there is a form that the sender has to fill out. Bank wire transfer works well for someone interested in depositing money directly into the account of the recipient. Bank wire is a preferable money transfer route for business partners who want to transfer money to each other. It is the simplest and safest way to get money from one bank account to another. Though it is the best way to transfer funds from a local bank account to an overseas bank account, its rates are high.
Peer to Peer Currency Exchange Agencies
Currency exchange markets are a reliable method of transferring funds abroad. Given enough time, peer to peer currency exchange agencies offer the best rates of transferring funds abroad. We refer it to as the most technical way of getting around ridiculous overseas money transfer rates. Peer 2 peer currency exchange agencies let traders set their market service and currency exchange rates and match them up with their desired rate.
Foreign Exchange
Foreign exchange is an ideal option for sending funds abroad. With foreign exchange brokers, traders can save a lot on exchange rates. We rate foreign exchange as the second cheapest way to transfer currencies overseas. International exchanges are almost 5% less expensive than online payment services and wire or bank transfer. We recommend foreign exchange brokers due to their exchange rates and the ability to transfer large sums of money. With foreign exchange brokers, traders have a lot of currency conversion options at their disposal. FX also let traders set a price so that they can get a notification when a currency hits a specific rate. Traders can also use one of the services of a foreign exchange broker to set up recurring payments to an overseas source. However, the cost at foreign exchange brokers come at convenience. Users have to first set up an account before transferring funds into their FX account.
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