5 Cheap Ways to Send Money Internationally

If you need to send money overseas quickly, you will need to track the exchange rate and consider how much money you’re transferring. A small amount of money may be cheaper to send a no-fee service that transfers a slightly under the exchange rate. A large amount of money will probably be a better deal at the fair market rate with a slightly larger fee.

5 Cheap Ways to Send Money Internationally

PayPal

To send money to Great Britain and exchange dollars for pounds, you actually wind up paying both a small percentage and a very small fee of $5.00. However, with PayPal as your platform, the money is usable very quickly; if someone is in trouble or a bill is past due, pretty much everyone has PayPal so the money can be put to use fast.

Xoom

Xoom exchanges are serviced with a small percentage fee and no transfer fee, and the exchange deduction is quite small. However, the recipient will need to go and pick up the money; it’s not available via app. If your recipient doesn’t have a nearby bank that they can get to quickly, then your money transfer may not always be helpful. The money can take a couple of hours to arrive and be available for withdrawal.

TransferWise

One would think that slower transfers would be cheaper, but this is not necessarily the case. For example, to send a small amount of cash to Europe, TransferWise is currently both fast and cheap, while other services that move money to local banks can take up to 2 days to put the money in the account and charge a larger fee. If you need to make an app to app transfer, consider one of the international bank options.

WorldRemit

To send money efficiently via this service, do your best to be efficient and move large sums. The fees drop with this service the more you send, and you can put money into a bank for physical withdrawal or top up an app account. Additionally, this service, like a lot of international money transfer services, lets you make the first few transfers free. If you’re adventurous, you can do a lot of bouncing around as you determine the best deal for each money move.

Western Union

Western Union has been around for a long time and they have many outlets where your recipient can go and get their money. For example, if you need to make a money transfer to India, you can move money via your phone app to a bank outlet attached to the grocery store nearest your recipient. Western Union also allows you to move money via your credit or debit card, so if speed is of the essence, download this app.

If you regularly need to move money overseas and from one currency to another, it’s a good idea to have a couple of money transfer services lined up so you can check the rate and watch the fees. Try to keep transfers larger rather than smaller; it will save you leg work as well as fees.