Who Need to Transfer Money
Money transfer is one of those services where you only think about when you need it. Then, most of us end up going to the bank first and beat ourselves up after paying the hefty fees. Then you probably think “it’s ok I’m only doing it this time” and you realise after that you actually need it more than you think.
While some of us may never leave our home country or have family living abroad, the world is becoming so globalised that it’s really common for people to need to send money overseas from time to time. Here are the 4 types of people who need it the most, and how you can find alternatives to using a money transfer service other than going to a bank:
The Expatriate Money Transfer
If you’ve made a move to work overseas, you would most likely continue to keep a bank account at home either to use the money in it when you are back home or use it to pay for some of the ongoing bills and loans you need to service.
Using a bank transfer service from the bank can be really costly:
- Cable charges: $20
- Handling Commission: $10-$15
- Agent Bank Fees: where applicable
Just with the minimal charges, each round of transfer costs at least $30. So imagine if you need to do it monthly; you’ll be wasting something like $360 a year! So maybe you prefer not to send money regularly, but prefer to do it once but send a larger amount of money, you should definitely consider a service like World First.
The service charges no fees – yes you saw that right – as long as you transfer a minimum amount of S$2000. There are 121 types of currencies supported and it is authorised by the MAS as well.
Those who are on sabbatical or long-term travellers
So maybe you’ve decided to take the year off work and go travel the world. Well, that doesn’t mean you withdraw all your cash and bring it with you, because you know that’s a sure-fire way to expose yourself to the risk of being robbed of all your money on the road. So what do you do?
Obviously, you keep your account here to continue paying whatever bills you have here – best to put them on GIRO so you do not miss any bill payments and suffer penalties, but you probably need to find a way to transfer money to yourself when you are overseas. But wait, how do you do that if you do not have or want to open an account overseas?
Well, this can be tricky because many of the money transfer services require a bank account for you to send money. There are, however, a few options available but the fees are usually quite high. Three brands that offer money transfer services for cash pick-ups include Moneygram, Western Union and World Remit.
Those with dependents overseas
Perhaps you needed to leave home to work overseas, or you have kids studying abroad where they’ll need you to send money regularly over. For such cases, you may want to seek out a Currency Exchange Provider like TORFX which also offers money transfer. This is because such providers are usually great at giving you the most competitive exchange rates so that you can minimise exchange rate losses.
Businesses which need to pay or receive money to or from abroad
With businesses becoming increasingly globalised and international, there might come a time where you need to pay a freelancer which you have engaged online but living overseas. Using a freelancer from another country has its clear advantage – charges may be cheaper due to lower labour costs, and you definitely want to keep it that way without paying extra fees due to the money transfer.
One solution for this is the borderless account with Transferwise, which allows international business to make fast money transfers to over 50 countries, hold up to 27 currencies balances and receive money for free.
With these options, you no longer need to use expensive bank transfer or subject yourself to the terrible exchange rate given by Paypal. Start exploring your money transfer options now using out comparison guide!
Compare Money Transfer Deals
If you are still unsure on which money transfer provider is best for you, then compare the best fund transfer deals and providers with us at EnjoyCompare.
