There are various ways through which money can be transferred without physically moving the cash from one place to another.
Foreign Exchange Providers
Foreign Exchange providers/brokers transfer large amounts of money – to purchase property, business, a regular payment for individual and tailored services and solutions. You have to open an account and fund it via a savings account or credit card. With a company like this, you can make special arrangement for individual needs.
Operators
They offer money transfer services and can send money to different countries. You do not need to open an account. You will need to give them information about yourself before you send the money. Some companies offer online money transfer services and are developing mobile apps – Western Union, MoneyGram, Chequepoint, and Coinstar.
Banks/Credit Unions
All banks offer money transfer services; you need to have an account or apply for one. It is also necessary that the person who receives the money should have a bank account. Banks are not expensive but take longer to transfer your money. They offer more security and also open doors to various other financial products such as loans, mortgages, and savings accounts.
Online
Money transfers can be sent by online services, often for a small fee, but you need a bank account or credit card and access to the internet, e-mail, register your details online to transfer the money. The person receiving the money may need a bank account and access to the internet, an e-mail address, but it is not always required.
Prepaid cards
Prepaid cards are now considered an alternative to traditional methods when a small amount of foreign currency is required. This card has many benefits. You have to top up your card if you have one. These cards are available in select shops or can be ordered online. They can be used for travel money, online purchases, and sending money overseas. They can be used at ATMs for withdrawals.
Peer-to-peer
Peer to peer allows the sender and receiver to set their own rate and trade with each other, thus cutting out the bank fees and exchange rate margins.
Bank
Banks can be a great help if you want to just transfer money from one account to another account in the same institution for free. They also have wire transfer to other bank accounts, county, state, and country. All you need is to get the other account number and the bank’s routing number.
You can transfer money overseas through your bank, but you need to have a lot of information, like name, address, account number, branch details, and various other codes about the financial institution of the recipient bank.
E-Transfers
Some institutions allow you to transfer money online to another individual; it’s like paying a bill online. You require account holder’s name and numbers and bank routing number. For international accounts, you need SWIFT or IBAN. This is a practical method for transferring money on a regular basis you can set the frequency of the payment. E-transfer is less expensive.
PayPal
PayPal is very economical for transferring money. Individuals transfer funds electronically from one account to another. For transfer, there is no fee, but the recipient is charged a fee to en-cash the payment. International transaction costs more.
Western Union/MoneyGram
The Western Union and MoneyGram offer similar services that of transferring money to the different state, city and country. They charge according to the speed of transfer, location it is being sent to, amount of money being sent. If it is an international transfer, there is a charge of the exchange rate. Although they don’t have a competitive exchange rate, they are convenient and dependable.
Cash
This is the old method of transferring cash and very practical. When you have enough time on your hands, you can withdraw the cash take it to the other bank and account and deposit it there in the receiver’s account. It is free.
Checks
Writing a check and depositing it into another account, handing it to an individual or sending it by mail is another choice. Sending checks internationally is difficult, often causes delays until the bank can verify details. There is a fee to cash an American dollar check and have to cover the exchange rate fee. It is a common method of money transfer.
Bank Drafts, Money Orders, and Cashier’s Checks
In this new age transferring money by cash, check, draft or money order is like following a very age-old method. They are less popular even if it means transferring money between accounts, state and even different countries. They are still very viable and inexpensive options.
You can buy the bank draft and money order in the currency you need to send the money in. It won’t be very expensive if bought at the post office or financial institution. Money order is used for small amounts; the cost of bank draft is higher, the money transfers take more time, but these transfers are economical than wire services and can be traced.
Email Transfers
Some financial institutions offer email transfer through electronic check function. Email is used to initiate a transfer and to inform the sender and receiver that funds have been sent and available respectively. A bank account number is not required, but security question is asked to identify the receiver. There is a small cost for the transfer, receiving funds is free. It is fast and reliable.
Wire transfer
This is an electronic transfer from one person to another, one account to another or cash transfer to a cash office. There are a variety of options depending on the urgency, importance, and volume of the transfer. These include Federal Reserve –FedWire, real-time gross settlement system–RTGS
The bottom line is that you need to shop around, research various options to get the best deal for money transfers. Before making a transfer, check the fees, exchange rate, and compare it to others. It is not easy to get information from these companies. Calculate the fees and exchange rate.
