Transferring money to friends, family members and vendors overseas has never been easier than it is today in the digital age of the internet. There are all kinds of ways to send money from a bank account without verification, a variety of fees to go along with each one as well as a variety of differences.
The fact of the matter is that if you’re in the United States or abroad you can send money to anyone via online services or traditional methods. The method you choose can vary in terms of speed, the pre-qualifications that exist, and how the recipient can withdraw money.
Bank Wires
A bank wire is perhaps an overarching method of sending money overseas and worldwide to which many people turn. All that’s required for a bank wire is a checking account at a bank in your home country.
The recipient also needs to have a checking account. The entire process of using bank wires to send money overseas varies according to each bank and country’s regulations. In general, however, you can expect to wait up to 7 business days or more for the recipient to receive his money in his bank account.
Fees also vary; some smaller banks and credit unions don’t charge for international bank wires while many banks do charge.
Money Wire Transfers
Yet another method in which you can send money overseas is through money wire transfer services. The two major carriers and providers of money transfer wires are Western Union and Moneygram.
These two services allow you to take cash to a drop-off or money wire office in your home country and fill out a simple form with your and the recipient’s name and contact information.
When using these services to send money overseas, money is available to the recipient in a matter of hours, depending on the international location to which the money is being transferred.
Online Payment Services
Two types of online money services allow you to send money overseas. The first is online services like PayPal, AlertPay, and PerfectMoney. When you sign up for these services, both you and the recipient must have the same type of online account with the payment transfer service.
When you transfer money overseas to another individual, the money stays in the recipient’s online account until he moves it to his bank account or withdraws it in some other manner.
The second type of online service allows you to send money via the Internet but requires the overseas recipient to sign up. The recipient either receives a pre-paid debit card to withdraw the cash from an ATM or makes purchases or transfers the money out to a bank account. Examples of these online services include iKobo and Obopay.
As you can see, you can send money overseas in multiple ways. The internet has certainly revolutionized the way that money can be transferred, but you still have traditional methods–like the bank wire–that allow you to easily send money overseas from one person to another.
One of the cheapest methods to send money from the US abroad is a Fee-Free bank wire transfer. This is one of the most convenient ways to send money if you have family members living overseas and you send them money regularly. It gives you the flexibility to send cash whenever you want fast and cheap. It’s suitable if you transfer money on regular basis to people staying in one country.
How does this work?
A lot of banks allow you to transfer money abroad fee-free to linked banks. Usually, it works when the bank has versions of the same company in other countries, after all, most banks don’t work only in one country.
If both you and the recipient open accounts in the same bank you can send money cheaply between the two accounts, even if they are in different countries they are fee-free.
There are two different ways of making this work. The first one, the most convenient way, is with the banks that allow you to send money to anyone having an account in the same bank, no matter in which country, it’s still without a Fee.
Unfortunately, another group of banks requires both the UK and the foreign account to be in your name.
Sending money from the US to anyone without a Fee.
Because it’s a Bank, the exchange rates are usually very good, there are no extra loads, and of course – you have no fees. This option is comparable to moving the cash directly to another country, there is no cheaper option existing.
It feels more like moving money than an international transfer. The money arrives within 5-10 minutes in the recipient’s account and you can send money from the US to the almost whole world this way, depending on the bank.
CitiBank
CitiBank offers a fee-free money transfer service that works for 23 mainstream countries. You can send money from the US to the UK, Germany, Australia, Spain, China, etc. The best part – if you open Citibank Access Account you won’t pay monthly fees.
There is the best account option available it’s worth opening one just for sending money from the US to another country. If you have another – better account in CitiBank you can easily move money from it to this one when you need to send them abroad.
After opening your Access Account the only thing left is to ask the recipient to open one CitiBank account in his/her country and you are ready to send money from the US virtually free of charge. Note that not all countries have fee-free banking as in the United States.
Send money from the US with a Bank transfer
When you want to send money usually your first choice is a Bank transfer. It’s safe, reliable, and immediate. Banks are one of the most used services when it comes to sending money. But are they the best method? It’s true – they are a secure, trustworthy, and reliable method of sending money, but when we talk that wire transfers are instantaneous… well, it’s a myth.
Pros
Safety
Both the sender and the recipient in a bank wire transfer must be identified by the bank. It is hard, even impossible, to get money anonymously, so it is hard to pull off a scam. There is no option for some unauthorized person to take the money you send, instead of the real recipient. The payments are certain – the money can be sent only if the sender has available funds for the transfer. Also, it is hard for the sender to pull the money back after they are sent.
Reliability
The bank transfer system is reliable, there is no question about this. It must be reliable, most of the important and large transfers are made by bank wire transfer. It is the most reliable method for sending money.
Accessibility
There was a time when you must go to the bank to send money. Now you can do a wire transfer not only in person but also over the phone or on the Internet. To send money with a bank transfer is as easy as every other electronic payment system.
Cons
Speed
Everybody thinks that bank wire transfers are fast. Well, they are not. Yes, it’s true, transferred funds are considered ‘cleared’ immediately when received, but in fact, it takes a while for the receiving bank to show the proceeds in the recipient’s account, usually 3 to 5 days. So if you send money with a bank transfer recipient will receive them after a few days.
Working time
Many banks send out wires at certain times of the day, no matter when you ordered the transfer. If you miss the deadline when you send money, even by five minutes, it will delay receipt for a day before the transfer proceeds.
Procedures
There are certain steps you need to take when you send money by bank, like knowing and writing the recipient’s bank details. It is possible for You or the clerk in the bank to mess up the numbers and the money gets lost.
It is rare, but it happens once in a while. Also, most banks require notice before they withdraw a larger sum of money, which is complicating and delaying the process for the recipient.
When to use Bank Transfer to send money?
If you want to send a larger sum of money the bank wire transfer is the best option because of its reliability and safety. Also if the recipient has a lot of time and the money is not urgent then the bank is also a good method.
But have in mind – sending money from the US abroad is usually costly, the US banks take a big slice of your money in fees, taxes, and exchange rates. Check your’s bank fee before sending, every bank has different tax rates.