SENDING MONEY OVERSEAS

[deathbydalbhat 0]

If you are sending a large amount of money say over $100 then WU's 'Money in Minutes' available on their website only is cheaper than a normal WU wire transfer. I have sent up to $300 to Nepal for a flat fee of $10 and the transfer is almost instant. If you have a credit or debit card you have $$ withdrawn from your account online and then you will receive a confirmation email with a transaction ID number which you can forward to the recipient's email account, then they can go to any WU location with the number and their ID to pick up the money.

I also recommend Paypal - have never sent $$ to my Maya that way but have bought too much stuff on eBay from sellers in Nepal, India, UK, Australia, etc. and paid for all using Paypal. When you open an account you can get a debit card to use with the account. You do need to have a current checking account to open a Paypal account though, I believe.

Edited January 28, 2007 by deathbydalbhat

[Heartland 0]

I have sent money thru my bank to jordan. It took a month to get there.

I have sent thru western union and it cost an arm and leg.

I have given him an atm card and it costs 1.50

Wendy

[robacjd 1]

I wired money from my credit union directly into my fiancee's bank account in the Philippines. You will need to know:

Fiancee's Bank name; Fiancee's bank account number; Forex number from her bank, (some banks don't have a Forex number) and the fiancee's name and address. It only took 3 days for the money from my acccount to get put into hers. We opened a joint account. I would also suggest you open a dollar account in the same bank. Sometimes it is hard or nearly impossible to exchange pesos back into dollars. I have a substantial amount of pesos in her savings account, but they won't transfer the money back to my credit union and they won't change the pesos back into dollars to give to me. Don't use western Union if transfering money from the Philippines back to the US. They will charge you for the conversion of pesos to dollars and then charge you a large fee for the transfer. They will not give the money directly to you. They will send it to a Western Union near where you live. When you get back to the states, if the money isn't in your nearest Western Union Office, you will then have to deal with the Philippine Western Union AND the Western Union it was supposedly sent to in the US.

Some malls in the philippines will exchange dollars into pesos but won't change the pesos back into dollars

Also, if you open an ATM in the philippines for Us dollars, be prepared to pay a large fee for every withdrawl.

There are also Money Changers in the Philippines, but they charge a hefty fee also.

[Henia 11]

Other Western Union and money orders,

If you have a bank account, there are several ways to transfer money overseas through the banking system. Not all banks operate in the same way. Check with your local bank for details.

Sending a Check Abroad

• Check clearing can take from 4 - 6 weeks.
  
  
• Even though it's easy to issue a check, it may not be easy for the recipient to cash the check.
  
  
• The recipient will be charged a fee of about $50 for check processing.
  
  
• Some countries have less streamlined banking systems than others and may not honor foreign-drawn checks.
  
  

Foreign Drafts

• Depending on which city or town you live in, this can take from a few days to a week for the bank to prepare the draft.
  
  
• You mail the draft to the recipient.
  
  
• The money comes out of your account when the draft is prepared, not when the recipient gets it.
  
  
• There is a fee for this service of about $25.
  
  
• Since the draft is drawn on your bank to another (corresponding) bank, the recipient must have access to the corresponding bank.
  
  

Wire Transfers

• You don't have to be a customer of the bank to wire funds, but you have to pay cash.
  
  
• This is quicker than a Foreign Draft, since it is done almost immediately.
  
  
• The fee is about $65 for non-customers and about $40 for bank customers.
  
  
• The recipient must have access to the corresponding bank.
  
  

Or you can open a seperate checking account, ask for debit cards ...send one to your SO and keep one for yourself...add money to the account. Fees do apply here still.

Edited January 31, 2007 by Henia

[beameup 0]

Express Padala if she has an Equitable/PCI bank account

http://www.pcib.com/affiliates2003/express_padala/ep.htm

They can be found in most Filipino markets and elsewhere throughout the U.S. - $5 "only" service charge.

[Cali Gal CPA 0]

I've heard good things about OxForex (www.oxforex.com). I can't remember their basic charge (maybe 10-15 American dollars), but they say they offer the best exchange rates.

-Mary

I checked out http://www.oxforex.com/ and this website seems to be dead.

[chili74 0]

Great thread, thanks, everyone! I have been mulling over alternatives to Western union. Not sure which of these options will actually work for Russia but I'll look into the Paypal idea or getting an extra debit card.

[Dan J 277]

Try ikobo

[xoxo77 1]

HI, BESIDES WESTERN UNION, DOES ANY ONE KNOW HOW TO SEND MONEY OVERSEAS AND THE MONEY GO DIRECTLY INTO MY FIANCEE'S BANK ACCOUNT.

THANKS IN ADVANCE

OPEN ANOTHER

*CHECK CARD OR

* DEBIT CARD OR

*ATM CARD

IN YOUR EXISTING CREDIT UNION OR BANK.

THEN MAIL THE CARD THRU

*UPS OR

*DHL OR

* FEDEX.

THERE WILL BE NO FEE FOR WIRING A MONEY. NO HASSLE NO WORRIES.

THIS CARD SOULD WORK IN THE PHILIPPINES AS LONG AS YOU SEE A

*VISA OR

*CIRRUS OR

*PLUS OR

*STAR LOGO ON IT

XOOM/ LBC PADALA/ WU IS OK BUT WHY WOULD YOU PAY FOR WIRING A MONEY IF YOU DONT REALLY HAVE TO. YOU CAN DO THIS THRU YOUR BANK OR CREDIT UNION. THEY'D BE GLAD TO ASSIST YOU OPEN ONE.GO FOR IT, SOME DONT EVEN HAVE A MAINTAINING BALANCE.

THE BOTTOM LINE IS IT'S FREE TO WIRE THE MONEY.THAT'S IT.

[CountryBoy 0]

http://www.xoom.com

deposit into an account, decent exchange rates, decent fees, deposits quickly to account (email takes a while, but if you log into the account you see the money there right away)

pickup .. your SO can pick up the money in person from an associated bank with 2 forms of ID and a secret word (I think) .. very fast

EDIT: plus it is nice to have receipts that you are actually supporting your SO in their country when it comes to interview time .. can't get that with an ATM card

Edited May 7, 2007 by CountryBoy

[craze4travel 0]

I use XOOM... http://www.xoom.com

It's a great way to send money. It's fast, secure and reliable. You can pay with credit card, PayPal, or using your checking account.

So far I've used it 4 times, and it's worked great every time. After you send the money it's usually ready to be picked up in about 30 minutes or less.

Good luck!

[Russ_M 0]

I've been using this site for about a year works great: https://www.pnbrcionline.com/exec/pnb/wr.net.tss

[Nancy2015 2]

Wire transfer from one account to another. It's MUCH cheaper than Western Union and it takes only a few hours (it may take longer, depends on a bank).

[JelloShotGirl 0]

XOOM.COM excellent never any problems, very satisfied low fees

[Nikita2Charles 32]

One Option i think people might have mentioned it already. Look for a Bank that both of you can have access to. Open an account, so whenever you withdraw funds from those 2 countries there are no fees involved. Citibank has an option for Global Transfer for NRI you don't pay any fees so i am not sure for other countries, this is in case you want to move funds from one account here to another account overseas, but if it's the same account, no fees involved to free widrawal..