How to make an international money transfer: send money safely and quickly

International money transfer is something millions of people around the world do every day. From the global company that pays international bills in Dubai to the family who wants to buy a house in Spain to the migrant worker who sends money to their loved ones, transferring funds is a common task for most people.

But this very task can also be daunting, and if not done wisely, it can be costly. Most people are unaware of the hidden fees that come with international transfers. When you use a bank, foreign exchange agent, or money transfer company to send money abroad, there are generally two costs involved. the most obvious is the cost of the service to transfer your funds and then there is the not-so-obvious cost of converting your money from one currency to another.

These service providers never convert your money based on the interbank exchange rate and make a profit by changing their currency at a lower exchange rate. the profit they make on the difference is generally known as the “margin.” This is common practice and a vital source of income for providers. However, be careful because they are not always so straightforward with this cost and frankly you could be incurring high costs without you knowing. Below you will find a list of the ways you can make a safe international money transfer.

Banks are the most common way to send money

They are large regulated financial institutions and are effective at transferring large funds due to their apparent security. Banks are used by large corporations, small businesses, and even individuals to make international transfers every day, and they remain the most common method of transferring money. However, banks are increasingly under scrutiny due to their hidden transfer fees and there are cheaper methods to accomplish this task, especially if the amount you are sending is not extremely large. Banks typically charge people between £ 20 and £ 50 per transfer and the costs generally increase as the amount of the transfer increases. To transfer money through a bank, visit a local branch and consult with a customer service advisor. Advise to do your homework first! Not all banks charge the same amount.

Forex brokers

Forex brokers act as intermediaries between the client and the banks, usually having relationships with a list of banks and trying to provide the most competitive rates for exchanging one currency for another. They deal primarily with currency exchange, but can transfer funds for a fee. However, it can take several days to open an account and the process is quite slow. Currency exchange services are beneficial when buying property abroad or for small businesses making international payments. When making international transfers above this amount, they offer competitive exchange rates above $ 5000 and generally do not charge for transfer services above this amount.

Money transfer providers

Although money transfer providers have the sane dual costs like banks and foreign exchange companies, they are much cheaper when making international transfers for less than $ 5000.

They typically use bank-to-bank transfers, although some provide additional methods of receipt, including cash payment branches. Providers like these have been around for a long time.

Online money transfer providers

But thanks to online money transfer providers on the Internet that allow users to make international transfers at almost zero cost and still make a profit.

They have different ways of doing this. Some providers have an average market rate that they use to reduce costs for users. Others coincide with those who want to exchange the same currency sets, which also helps limit costs related to currency conversion. In addition to this, transfer fees are as little as $ 1 and some eliminate the fee entirely.

Finally, they are usually regulated by the financial authorities of their country of origin and have secure methods of sending and receiving using the latest in financial technology. Some take two to three days to receive funds, but the number of providers promising same-day transfers is increasing. Lastly, sending money online has revolutionized the money transfer market as customers find the sending process via computer or mobile phone to be easy and fast compared to the hassles of visiting a local branch. .

Compare the money transfer market before sending money

Due to the Internet, the number of providers increases every year and providers compete to attract customers. When you Google about international money transfer today or anything related to sending money, the search engine brings you millions of pages listing provider after provider promising the same, low costs to transfer funds.

But, as seen in this article, not all providers are the same and it is better to shop around a bit. Not all providers ship to all countries, have same-day transfer policies, and obviously don’t offer the same price for a particular transfer.

Therefore, comparing the money transfer market is a smart thing to do and fortunately these days the comparison has reached this market. Money transfer comparison sites offer you a list of providers and a cost-based list of low change, ad transfer costs and provide more information on sending money. online.

But be careful, not all comparison sites are the same, and quotes are often approximate and not exact. Of the few currently, sendthatcash.com is the easiest to understand, giving users a quick way to compare between many companies offering different rates. It’s completely free to use and gets straight to the point. They have an informative results page and they examine all the companies they list to make sure they are safe.