Gone are the days where we have to rely only on traditional methods to transfer money abroad. Simply using your bank to transfer money is easy. The problem is it is expensive. Fortunately there are now many great alternatives that can save you money.
The key is to choose the right option for your needs!
This starts with the amount you wish to send because different services tend to do better based on the amount you send.
Before we give you some examples of different affordable services it’s worth mentioning why people are using these services in the first place.
Reasons people send money abroad:
- Buying a property internationally
- Selling a property abroad
- Overseas mortgage payments
- Paying for a wedding or major event abroad
- Funding student fees for relatives studying abroad
- Helping family or friends living or travelling abroad
- To pay international suppliers to your business
You could be living abroad yourself, you could have family and friends overseas or you could be planning on emigrating. Either way, sending money abroad would mean a currency exchange into an overseas account.
Use The Right Service For Your Needs
In general:
- paying for your money transfer via a wire transfer is cheaper than using a credit card.
- sending money to a bank or mobile money account is cheaper than sending money to a cash pick-up location.
- using a normal transfer speed (1-2 days) will be cheaper than opting for an instant money transfer.
How Money Transfer Companies Reduce 3rd Party Bank Fees
Reducing 3rd party bank fees depends a lot on the network the transfer companies have developed.
For example, if the money transfer company has a bank account in that country (in the local currency) this means that sending money (to fund the transaction) is usually inexpensive or free.
Some Ways to Fund the Transfer: SWIFT, Domestic Wire Transfers (USA) SEPA Bank Transfer, SOFORT (EUR), Direct Debit, Local Bank Transfer, Bill Payment, Wire Transfer (Canada), POLi, BPay, Credit and Debit Cards (Worldwide), Digital Wallet.
The cost of sending money abroad is based on several factors such as:
- How much money you want to transfer abroad
- The current exchange rate
- Additional money transfer fees
- Money transfer fees can vary depending on which company or app you’re using, and which country you’re sending money to.
Here are some services you can try when you want to transfer money cheaper.
Jeton Wallet
If both you and the recipient have a Jetonl account apart from being extremely convenient and practically instantaneous Jeton is also very cheap. This is because even through Jeton charges a currency conversion fees on the interbank exchange rate and fixed fees on top of that – the fixed fees tend to be quite small making it a winner for many people in this category.
Jeton is mobile-optimized and you can send money abroad using their online money transfer service or the Jeton app on your smartphone or tablet. Jeton provides its services in +100 countries.
You might like – “How to Send Money via Jeton”.
Wise
Wise, formerly known as TransferWise, is another great money transfer service. They focus on making bank transfers more affordable than traditional banks by charging low and transparent transfer fees and converting money at the true mid-market exchange rate. In other words, there’s zero markup on the exchange rate. (As a comparison, banks usually give customers an above-market rate, the margin is part of their fees, and in general, they are not transparent about this.)
Remitly
Remitly is an online international money transfer service allowing people in the U.S., Canada, the Eurozone, Australia, and the U.K. to send money to over 85+ countries around the world. As a digital alternative to traditional money transfer services, Remitly makes money transfers fast, secure and relatively inexpensive.
