Money Orders
Money orders are payment documents of a predetermined amount of money. Because they are prepaid, money orders are more trusted in foreign banks than personal checks, as they are guaranteed not to bounce. Almost all foreign banks and merchants will cash a money order. The United States Postal Service (USPS) issues money orders, as do most banks and financial institutions. Keep in mind that these money order services do not transfer the money to your recipient. It is your responsibility to send the money order in the mail.
United States Postal Service money orders
The United States Postal Service (USPS) authorizes money orders valued at up to $700 and delivers to 30 countries in the world. Click here for a list of countries the USPS provides money order services.
The fee for a USPS money order is $3.45 USD. Once you have purchased your money order, you are responsible for sending it by regular mail. You can send the money order through the U.S. Postal Service, or any other international mail delivery service.
Although each money order is limited to a value of $700 USD, you can purchase multiple orders—the daily maximum is $10,000. The recipient of your money order can cash it in the foreign country's post office, or at any major bank.
Bank-issued money orders
Banks and financial institutions also issue money orders. Generally, banks offer money orders valued at up to $1,000 USD, and charge a fee ranging from $5-10 per order.
Cash Transfers
If speed is important to you, a cash transfer may be the best option. The four most highly trusted cash transfer organizations are Western Union, Moneygram, Xoom, and PayPal. Others, not yet covered here, but may be worth a look are iKobo, Coinstar, and MoneyBookers.
Be aware that the lowest fee does not always make for the cheapst options. That is the total cost of sending money includes BOTH the fee AND the exchange rate of the currency. Remember too that the person receiving the cash may have to pay an additional fee on receipt, especially if they use an automated teller machine (ATM).
The time required to receive the money can be anywhere from 5-10 minutes to 7 days for electronic transfers via a bank. Of course, money transfers are dependent on the postal service in the destination country. Above all, remember to keep your transaction reciept in case the person you sent the money to does not receive the cash.
Mondato has nice tool the allows you to find the best way to send money home.
What is Western Union?
Western Union is widely regarded as the best and most reliable cash transfer service in the world. Western Union is a private entity and is not affiliated with any government or financial institution.
You do not need to have an account with Western Union to transfer money to someone overseas. There are several ways to send money using Western Union. You can visit a local Western Union office, make a transfer online or transfer money over the phone.
Recipients can pick up their money within 30 minutes of your transfer at the nearest Western Union office. There are over 310,000 Western Union locations in over 200 countries worldwide. The service charge for transfers varies depending on the intended destination, but it is typically about 10% of the transfer amount.
What is MoneyGram?
Moneygram is another trusted international money transfer service, though not as widely used as Western Union. Moneygram offers similar service options as Western Union. It has 152,000 agent locations in 180 countries.
What is Xoom?
Xoom (pronounced "zoom") is a newer global money transfer service that competes with MoneyGram and Western Union. They claim to be 80% cheaper than the leading services, so they are definitely worth a try. They support cash pickup at your location, direct deposit into a bank account, or cash delivery to your recipient's home in over 40 countries.
They have two service levels: a "Value Service" paid from a U.S. bank account, or a more expensive "Standard Service" paid from a credit card or PayPal.
- Find the Xoom location nearest you.
- How Xoom works.
- Compare Xoom fees to Western Union fees.
- For Xoom customer service, call 877-815-1531 (in the US) or 415-281-0725 (outside the US).
What is PayPal?
Paypal is an e-commerce payment system allows you to send money overseas using a credit cards or debit card. Keep in mind that Paypal is an online service—it does not have office locations around the world like Western Union and Moneygram.
To use Paypal, set up an account for free, and follow the instructions for entering your credit or debit card information. If the recipient of your money wants the funds sent to a bank account, follow the instructions on the Paypal website for entering the recipient's bank account information.
Sending money using PayPal is free for the sender but not for the recipient. PayPal charges the recipient approximately 2-4% of the transferred amount, but the fee varies from country to country.
Banking Transfers
If you have a bank account or access to a bank, you can send money abroad using foreign drafts, wire transfers or personal checks. Banking transfers are a very secure way to send money abroad.
What are foreign drafts?
Foreign drafts are similar to money orders. If you want to send someone a foreign draft, the recipient must have access to the same bank at which you fill out the draft. The service charge is typically around $25. It usually takes a bank about one week to process your order. Once the bank gives you the foreign draft, you are responsible for sending by mail.
What are wire transfers?
A wire transfer is an exchange of money from your bank account to someone else's bank account. Wire transfers are considered the safest and fastest method of transferring money to another person. You don't have to be a member of a bank to request a wire transfer. The recipient can pick up the money at the corresponding bank in the recipient's country. Wire transfer fees typically range from $40 to 75.
Sending personal checks
Sending personal checks abroad is a simple ways to send money abroad, but the recipient of your check may have trouble cashing it in a foreign country. Foreign-drawn checks can take as long as 6 weeks to clear in many overseas banks. And some banks may refuse to honor personal checks at all. The service fee for cashing a foreign-drawn check is usually about $50, though it can be more in some countries.
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