Six Super Money Transfer Tips for Sending Remittances Overseas

Africa Money Transfers, Asia Money Transfers, Latin America Money Transfers, MoneyGram, Paypal, Remittance Services, Western Union No Responses »

May 152012

If you’re a foreigner living and working in the USA or some other Western country, and looking for ways to send money to your family back home, you’re in luck. Most Western nations have active and extensive money services markets. So there are plenty of options for sending money overseas, plus healthy competition among money transfer services means lower rates for you.

Here are six super tips for finding a money transfer service for overseas remittances. These tips are based loosely on an article by Investopedia, with my own thoughts added in.

1. Banks Are the Best Option

Citibank is a good example of an international bank with branches in many foreign nations. This can be a convenient and cheap way to transfer money to family members overseas.

The best and most cost effective choice for sending money to a family member or friend overseas, is an international bank with branches in both countries. You could have an account in the USA and grant access to the account to your family member overseas. Or your family member could set up an account, and you could simply deposit money in it. Either way, it will cost nothing at all, and the funds will typically be available the next business day.

2. Paypal is Quick and Affordable

If a bank account with an international bank is not an option, Paypal is not a bad second choice. Paypal’s money transfers are instant, and quite affordable (in fact, when sending money from one account in the U.S. to another, they are free).

3. Don’t Wait Until the Last Minute

Start comparison shopping well in advance of when you need to send the money. Talk to the banks about their rates for international wire transfers. Look at affordable options like Paypal and Xoom. Check out specialized remittance agencies that serve the part of the world to which you want to send your money. Find a service that is affordable and reliable.

The problem comes when people don’t do their research, and all of a sudden they have to send money right away. Then they go to one of the ubiquitous and well known money transfer agencies like Western Union or MoneyGram. Don’t get me wrong, these services are extremely reliable, and have agents in every country of the world. But they are not cheap! For example, a $500 Western Union transfer to Mexico will cost $14 if you visit an agent in person. If you send transfers every month, those fees add up.

For last minute transfers, Paypal would again be the cheapest option if it is available in both countries.

4. Send More Money, Less Often (Rather than Less Money, More Often)

It’s often cheaper to send larger amounts of money than smaller amounts (cheaper in terms of the percentage of your transfer amount that you pay in fees – not in total dollars).

For example, if you wanted to use Western Union to send $100 (American dollars) from Los Angeles, California, to Indonesia, it would cost you $15 in fees. If you wanted your recipient to pocket $100, you’d have to pay $115. Let’s say you walked into a Western Union shop every week for nine weeks, and every week you sent $100. You’d end up paying $135 in fees.

On the other hand, if you sent the $900 all at one go by Western Union, the fee would be only $68.

So it’s much cheaper to send large amounts. It pays therefore to plan ahead, save the money you need to send, and send it in a large lump sum.

5. Shop Around

It’s easy and affordable to send remittances to very popular destinations, like Mexico (from the US), or India or Pakistan (from the UK). But if you’re sending money to a more remote or less popular destination, you’ll have to do your homework to find an affordable, safe money transfer service. Shop around and compare rates.

6. Know Your Exchange Rates

Some remittance services earn a profit by converting currencies. They might charge a low transfer fee, but ding you on the exchange rate. Before making a money transfer, look up the current exchange rate. Many websites can give you this information. I personally like Yahoo Finance’s currency converter.

Once you’ve checked the current exchange rate, make sure the rate being charged by the money transfer agency, remittance service or bank is close to that.

Be smart with your money, do your homework, and find a service that works for you.

Sending money online through Wells Fargo Bank

Asia Money Transfers, Bank Wire Transfers, Latin America Money Transfers, Other Money Transfer Services No Responses »

Apr 052012

Wells Fargo ExpressSend – An Affordable Remittance Service for Wells Fargo Customers

Wells Fargo Bank has a service called ExpressSend that allows you to send money to your family and friends in Mexico, and 14 countries in Central America, the Caribbean, South America, and Asia. Customers with Wells Fargo checking accounts get a discount on the money transfer fees when sending money through ExpressSend.

You can use the Wells Fargo ExpressSend service at any Wells Fargo store location, online or through theWells Fargo Phone Bank^SM . If you want to fund the transfer with cash, you can do that only at Wells Fargo Banking stores, not through the Wells Fargo Phone Bank or online at wellsfargo.com.

ExpressSend Transfer Fees

Mexico: $6.00 per transfer from your Wells Fargo account, $7.00 per transfer from cash

Central America:

Guatemala: From account $7.00 per transfer, From cash $9.00 per transfer
El Salvador : From account $8.00 per transfer, From cash $10.00 per transfer
Nicaragua: From account $8.00 per transfer, From cash $10.00 per transfer
Honduras : From account $7.00 per transfer, From cash $9.00 per transfer
Dominican Republic: From account $6.00 per transfer, From cash $9.00 per transfer

South America:

Colombia: From account $7.00 per transfer, From cash $9.00 per transfer
Argentina: From account $8.00 per transfer, From cash $10.00 per transfer
Bolivia: From account $8.00 per transfer, From cash $10.00 per transfer
Ecuador: From account $8.00 per transfer, From cash $10.00 per transfer
Peru: From account $8.00 per transfer, From cash $10.00 per transfer

Asia:

India: From account $5.00 per transfer, From cash $7.00 per transfer
Philippines: From account $5.00 per transfer, From cash $7.00 per transfer
Vietnam: From account $12.00 per transfer, From cash $14.00 per transfer
China: From account $12.00 per transfer, From cash $14.00 per transfer

Your beneficiary (the person you sent the money to) can easily access the money – either by cash pick-up or by having the funds deposited into an account at the receiving institution.

The “to-account” or the “to-cash” option may not be available at all Remittance Network Members or locations. When sending money to an account, Wells Fargo will need the beneficiary’s qualifying deposit account number at the Remittance Network Member.

Transferring Money Online Between Wells Fargo Accounts

Wells Fargo’s banking and investing services are integrated online, so you can transfer money between your various financial accounts quite easily.

To transfer funds online from your Wells Fargo bank account to your Wells Fargo brokerage account or vice versa, do the following:

Sign on to Wells Fargo Online^®.
Select the Transfers tab, then select Brokerage Transfers.
Choose whether the transfer is To Brokerage or From Brokerage.
Select the linked bank account for this transfer, the amount of the transfer, and the frequency of the transfer (make a one-time transfer, set up recurring transfers, or even plan a transfer for sometime in the future).
Click Continue, review your information, and you’re done.

Question from a reader: Starting a money transfer service to Gambia

Africa Money Transfers, Gambia Money Transfers, Remittance Services No Responses »

Feb 132012

Banjul, capital of the Gambia

I received the following inquiry from a reader:

sainabou badjie wrote:
I would like to know which bank to contact here in the USA to start a money transfer business in the Gambia with customers who receive their money in the Islamic bank locations.

Answer:

The sole Islamic bank operating in Gambia is the Arab Gambian Islamic Bank, with five branches in Gambia. However, I don’t think it makes much of a difference whether customers receive their money in an Islamic bank or not. I know that Gambia is majority Muslim and that Islamic law prohibits interest. But money transfer services do not normally involve any payment of interest.

Here are the money transfer services operating in Gambia. I’d suggest that you look into these services and see how they work, and who their USA partners are. Many of them are independent money transfer agencies and all you would have to do is register with them as an agent and meet their financial requirements and training requirements.

A money transfer service is a good business to start in the third world, as the barriers to entry are fairly low. One can start such a business with a minimal investment.

Gambia Money Transfer Companies

Western Union Money Transfer
The largest international network of all the money transfer companies with many agent bank collection points with online wire transfer services available to West Africa.

Moneygram
Send money to Gambia from 180 countries around the world. Moneygram have agents in Banjul & Kairaba Avenue.

Ria Financial Services
Send money transfers from the Americas, UK, Spain, France, Italy & Australia to The Gambia through the Arab Gambian Islamic Bank [AGIB].

Bakadies International
Money remittance services from Peckham (Hill St.), South East London and the Agora Shopping Centre, Rye Lane, to the West African countries of The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Ghana & Guinea.

Coinstar
It has a large international branch and agent network in over 120 countries in 65,000 service outlets from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. Their agent in Banjul & Serrekunda is the International Commercial Bank.

Gmex
With offices in Serrekunda, London & Birmingham. Claims it offers the better rates, with an easy way to transfer funds to Banjul. The recipient can apparently collect within 10 minutes.

Julakunda Express Gambia LLC
Julakunda is a registered, bonded, and licensed money transfer service for Gambians in the United States to their families and loved ones back home. They aim to provide a safe, reliable, and trusted service with a guaranteed next day delivery. Just call their main office Washington or one of their service agents.

Fundex
International money transfer services from the US States of Maryland & Virginia to Gambia. Fundex also makes it possible to send money from The Gambia to the US.

Gamdirect Money Services LLC
A US based service with branches in Seattle, Kentucky & Banjul.

JFin Money Transfer
Send money remittances to Gambia from the UK or Scandinavia. JFin also operates a forex bureau dealing in all the major currencies worldwide.

Jarnor
Situated in Birmingham with the local collection point at Serrekunda.

Leigh Direct, LLC
Leigh Direct is licensed money service business operating in the state of Washington and Maryland. Their main activity is remittances between USA and The Gambia. They have agents’ offices in Seattle, Silver Spring (Maryland), Kanifing, Brikama, Basse, Farafenni, Soma, Bansang and Jareng.

Malam Money Transfers
Money remittances from London [UK] to The Gambia or Senegal.

Money Express Ltd.
Established by the Senegalese Group CHAKA and works in Banjul through the Arab Gambian Islamic Bank. Some countries covered includes Gambia, Sierra Leone, Ghana or other West African countries.

How to Find a SWIFT Code

Bank Wire Transfers, SWIFT Codes 1 Response »

Jan 122012

I’m still getting a lot of comments and messages from people asking me what the SWIFT code is for this bank or that bank. Rather than spend all my time looking up individual SWIFT codes, let me point you to the resources you can use to find the SWIFT code for any bank or financial institution.

First of all, if you have no idea what I’m talking about, you can read here to learn a little about SWIFT codes and their uses:

SWIFT Money Transfers

Secondly, see this short article on looking up SWIFT codes:

SWIFT Code Finder

As the second article says, you can look up SWIFT codes at Swift.com’s online lookup page here:

SWIFT online directories and downloads

Other ideas for finding an institution’s SWIFT code are:

Determine the institution’s name and address. Find out if the company is part of the Swift network. If the business is not part of Swift it won’t have a Swift code assigned.

Call the bank or financial institution for which you want the SWIFT code, and ask them. The best departments to contact will be the Trading, Wire Transfers or Securities Settlement areas of the company.

SWIFT Code Finder

Bank Wire Transfers, SWIFT Codes No Responses »

Nov 272011

Logo of the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, provider of SWIFT codes

I get a lot of messages and comments from people wanting the SWIFT code for particular banks around the world. Rather than spend my time looking up SWIFT codes for people, it would be easier to tell you how to look it up yourself.

SWIFT Code Finder

You can look up SWIFT codes at swift.com’s online lookup page here:

SWIFT online directories and downloads

You can also call the institution for which you want the SWIFT code, and ask them. They will be happy to provide you with that information.

A SWIFT code, also known as ISO 9362, is a unique identifier given to every financial institution around the world. These codes are used when transferring money between banks, and especially when conducting international wire transfers. They are also used for the exchange of messages between banks. They are sometimes included on bank statements. The easiest way to learn the SWIFT code of your bank is to ask them.

Opportunities Ahead for Western Union

Western Union No Responses »

Oct 052011

Millions of people use Western Union every day to send money to relatives, friends, or business associates. But how often do they consider investing in the company itself?

In fact Western Union is publicly traded. The stock symbol is WU and many financial analysts consider it to be a good investment at this time.

Western Union was founded in 1851 and was one of the original members of the Dow Jones Transportation Average in 1884. The company has survived all the economic rises and falls, and the introduction of every disruptive technology over the years.

Analyst Martin Grossi argues that Western Union is well positioned for continuing success at this time, for several reasons:

Remittances: immigration to the developed world continues apace; these people send remittances home to their families in the developing world. People in poorer nations often have no access to banking services. The only way for them to receive remittances is through a money transfer service like Western Union, MoneyGram, etc.

Size: the company’s large size creates an effective money-transfer network, and allows them to quickly expand into additional markets. Additionally, Western Union’s large size enables them to offer more affordable services than smaller operations.

Growth: the opportunity for growth is tremendous, especially in the massive (and barely penetrated) markets of India and China, which together contain almost half the world’s population, and have huge expat populations living abroad.

Technology: Western Union is currently focused on exploiting emerging technologies such as online payments, mobile-to-mobile payments, prepaid card services and micro-lending services. This bodes well for future growth.

Western Union is the leader in a market that will only continue to grow. They generate good cash flow, while reinvestment needs are small (a new agent doesn’t have to do much more than hang a sign in the window). The company is expanding their agent network, and making effective use of new technologies.

Indian Post Offices Will Offer MoneyGram Services

MoneyGram No Responses »

Sep 302011

Indian post office at the top of Chamundi Hill, Mysore. Indian post offices will begin offering MoneyGram services.

Indians living abroad now have a new and convenient way to send money to relatives at home – MoneyGram.

India has one of the largest networks of post offices in the world – not surprising for the world’s second most populous country. In a real coup for MoneyGram, Indian post offices will begin offering MoneyGram services.

This will be a huge boon to the thirty million Indians who live abroad and send remittances home. Much of India’s population lives in rural towns and villages, where banks have only a 5% presence. In the past it has been difficult for Indians abroad to send money to relatives in small villages.

Not that MoneyGram has yet penetrated that market. While India has over 150,000 post offices – ! – the MoneyGram alliance will initially be rolled out in 100 post offices only, in the Indian regions of Delhi, Punjab and Tamil Nadu. If successful, the alliance will be extended to 5,000 post offices in the next three years.

India’s minister of communications and information technology, Shri Kapil Sibal, commenced the start of the agreement by making the first money transfer, from the UAE to Delhi. Sibal noted that 50% of Indians do not have a bank account.

Harsh Lambah, MoneyGram senior regional director for South Asia, said: “MoneyGram’s teaming with India Post reaffirms the company’s commitment to serving its hundreds of thousands of customers in the world’s largest remittance market, and the value MoneyGram brings India Post’s business and customers. Bringing India Post, one of the world’s largest postal services, to our network is very exciting.”

MoneyGram has over 200,000 agent locations all in more than 190 nations. To find a MoneyGram location, use their agent finder here.

MoneyGram Location Finder

New Western Union Service for International Students

Money Transfer News, Western Union No Responses »

Sep 212011

Western Union has announced that they are teaming up with a company called TouchNet to offer a new payment service for international students. Students will have to options:

1. They will be able to pay their tuition fees in local currency directly from their bank accounts.

2. They can pay their fees in cash at participating Western Union offices around the world.

There are millions of students studying in foreign countries, and Western Union is looking to make the tuition payment process easier for them, and of course make a profit in the process.

Western Union, whose stock symbol is WU, has been expanding aggressively into a number of new markets, and offering new products. Their stock peaked at $22 per share in March 2011, and is currently trading at $16.

New U.S. Consumer Bureau Will Study Money Transfer Rates

Money Transfer News, Remittance Services No Responses »

Jul 222011

A new government bureau has been formed to study money transfer services

A new U.S. consumer agency called the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been formed to put a spotlight on the wire transfers, or remittances, that companies such as Western Union and MoneyGram offer as a way for consumers to get cash to relatives in the Caribbean, Latin America and other foreign countries.

Public interest groups have expressed concern that the money transfer market has been insufficiently monitored, and as a result immigrants and others who use these services have been forced to pay excessive fees in many cases.

The new consumer bureau will examine the remittances market and implement ules that require companies to disclose information about fees and the exchange rate before the consumer pays for the wire transfer. Also, the disclosures will now be required to be in English and in each of the foreign languages the remittance transfer provider uses to market its services.

“International money transfers can be a vital link to family members and friends abroad,” said White House adviser Elizabeth Warren in a statement Wednesday. “Information about exchange rates has the potential to help remittance senders make smarter choices about which services best meet their needs.”

The World Bank estimates that the total volume of remittance transfers to developing countries reached $325 billion last year and that the U.S. is the largest remittance-sending country in the world. The majority of remittances from the U.S. are sent to the Caribbean and Latin America, according to the Federal Reserve.

Residents of the United States are the largest senders of international money remittances per year. The majority of remittances from the U.S. are sent to the Caribbean and Latin America.

Western Union Launches Prepaid Cards in the Philippines

Remittance Services, Western Union No Responses »

Jun 032011

Western Union prepaid MasterCard

Remittances to the Philippines from overseas Filipinos are one of the primary income sources in that nation.

(By the way, I always thought it was funny that the country is called the Philippines with a “Ph” and two p’s in the middle, while the people are Filipinos with an “F” and only one p. Isn’t life confusing enough already?)

So anyway, money transfer services are always looking for new ways to capitalize on large markets like that. Western Union has announced that they will begin offering a couple of new services in the Philippines.

Patricia Z. Riingen, a senior vice president at Western Union, said in an interview that the financial service firm was looking at opportunities in new channels like prepaid cards and bank account-based money transfers (ABMT).

“Prepaid represents a significant opportunity in the Philippines, offering added convenience to receive and spend money to the ‘unbanked’ population, including seafarers,” Riingen said.

This prepaid card will allow the recipient to withdraw money from ATMs, or to use the card like a credit card. The sender can “load” the card with additional credit remotely, through any Western Union agent.

I think this is an interesting concept. It might work well for those who have relatives in the Philippines who do not own bank accounts or credit cards. It depends on how versatile the Western Union prepaid cards is.

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