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The area of international money transfers has been one of the most disrupted financial areas over the last few years - in a very good way. If you’ve ever tried to send money abroad before, you’ll know that the process is slow, the fees can be high, and the currency exchange you get can be pretty poor. Of course, these aren’t exactly desirable features for any form of money transfer. However, there is some good news on this front.
These days, there are many platforms that have streamlined the process. And not only have they made it quicker to send money abroad, but they have also made it more competitive in terms of fees and the actual exchange rates too. So if you are looking for the right platform to perform an international money transfer, you’ve come to the right place.
All of the best platforms and the main features to investigate are discussed throughout.
Best Money Transfer Providers
No matter where you are sending money from, and no matter where you are sending money to – it’s important to choose a platform that gives you the best deal. As mentioned previously, there is no shortage of platforms that facilitate international money transfers these days. But needless to say, they aren’t all what we would consider to be competitive or appealing. So what are these platforms and why are they so preferable for money transfers? Well, here is a list of our top three recommendations:
- TorFX - best for high value transfers
- XE - best for a wide range of transfers
- WorldRemit - best for remittance transfers
TorFX really is one of the best in the business. This platform is quite literally an award-winning site when it comes to international money transfers. TorFX has been awarded the ‘best money transfer’ site of the year a grand total of six times. Of course, this is pretty tough to ignore when assessing the quality of the site. And much like the other platforms discussed here, TorFX offers better transfer rates than mainstream banks, their fees are more competitive, and transfers are typically processed very quickly. To date, TorFX has opened and executed money transfers for more than 300,000 customers.
You’ve also got the added benefit of 24/7 customer support services - another area where TorFX has won awards.
With XE, you can send money abroad in 98 different currencies, spread throughout 130+ countries from around the globe. This in itself is pretty impressive, but XE delivers so much more than just a wealth of transfer options. Interestingly, XE doesn’t charge fees providing that you send more than the stated minimum, which varies from country to country. This already makes XE more competitive than others. And the fact that XE has been in the game for 25+ years helps to establish both authority and trust among current customers.
XE is very much a modern money transfer site too. They have a native app that you can download and send money from, and in terms of speed for your transfers, you will struggle to find much better.
Last but not least, WorldRemit is another fantastic platform for international money transfers. At the time of writing, WorldRemit lets you transfer money to more than 130 countries, and you can choose to do so from either the desktop site or the native app. This will naturally appeal to many customers, and WorldRemit even boasts that 95% of transfers are completed within just a few minutes. The currency rates are amazingly competitive too, and you will only be charged small fees, no matter what the value of your transfer is. On the subject of fees, WorldRemit welcomes new customers by removing any fees for your first three transfers.
How about that for an enticing sign up incentive?
>>> Sign up to WorldRemit here <<<
What Is an International Money Transfer Company?
To understand exactly what these companies do, you can gain a pretty good idea for the description. As you can see, these companies have been set up with the intention of making international money transfers easier, more cost-effective, and more accessible for all. These companies are nothing new, and many of them were created to solve a specific issue with sending money abroad. If customers use traditional banks, they are getting a terrible rate, the process is slow, and the fees are high. Naturally, this doesn’t exactly fill the customer with joy.
That’s where international money transfer companies enter the picture. Without getting too much into the complexity of how they are able to provide such a competitive service, we will simply say that they are often far more desirable than banks. Basically, that’s because they have managed to cancel out the negatives when sending money abroad and turn them into positives.
Of course, the companies then let you send money abroad to a number of different countries, with better exchange rates, and with quicker processing speeds.
As a reminder, here are the top international money transfer companies:
Best for high value transfers
Best for a wide range of transfers
Best for remittance transfers
How Does a Money Transfer Work?
After highlighting the top money transfer sites in the market right now, and explaining what these companies are able to provide, let’s now look at the specifics of sending money abroad, shall we? After all, once you’ve signed up with your chosen platform, you will no doubt be looking to send money abroad as soon as possible. For that reason, we’ve detailed the exact process right here:
- Pick a money transfer platform
- Open your new account
- Sign in and set up your international transfer
- Assess fees and confirm the transaction
- Send the required amount of money to cover the transfer
- Track the transfer to see when it is completed
As you can see, the process is actually very simple. When setting up your transfer, you will see how much money the recipient will get before you even confirm the transaction. At this moment, you’ll also be able to see what the fees will be. Only if you are happy to proceed should you then initiate the transfer, and you’ll need to transfer the exact amount of money to the account of the international money transfer provider.
The final part of the process is arguably one of the main advantages of sending money abroad with such companies. You can actually track the progress of your transfer, much like you could do if you sent a parcel abroad. This is another thing that banks don’t provide, which can lead to quite a bit of frustration.
>>> Get started with XE here <<<
How to Choose the Best Money Transfer Provider
We’ve hammered home some of the main advantages of sending money abroad with these platforms. However, it’s important to also understand what to look for in terms of the potential pitfalls of these sites. After all, you need to ensure that the positives outweigh the negatives to guarantee a positive and valuable experience. So on that note, here are some of the key areas you need to address with international money transfer sites:
Security
To gain an idea of how secure a money transfer platform might be, there are actually a few subsections to look at. Firstly, and most importantly, you need to check that the platform is regulated by the relative authorities in your jurisdiction. Without proof of this, you should not continue to use the site. Secondly, it’s important to look at the customer reviews for any site. It goes without saying that these reviews should reflect the platform in a positive light.
And finally, you may want to look at what kind of security measures are used for the transactions themselves. This can typically be seen within the ‘FAQ’ or ‘About Us’ section for a platform.
Fees and Exchange Rates
When you send money abroad, there are two factors that have the potential to make or break the value that you get. As you can see, these two factors are fees and exchange rates. Now, international money transfer sites are typically far more competitive than banks in these areas. After all, that’s what they are there for! On the subject of fees, of course, the lower the fees, the less money you essentially need to burn to send money abroad. However, exchange rates must also be addressed alongside the associated fees.
The good thing about money transfer sites is that they offer a rate as close to the intermediary bank rate as possible. This means that your money is converted in the most competitive way possible. Then again, not all platforms offer the same exchange rates, which is why it’s worthwhile comparing some of the top providers to get the best deal.
Speed
If you were to send money abroad through a bank, it’s pretty common that the money wouldn’t be paid out for several business days. This can be problematic if the person you are sending money to needs it promptly. At the same time, it can be a little frustrating for both parties, including the sender and the receiver. Now, international transfer sites have managed to speed up this process quite dramatically. Instead of several business days to process transactions, these sites will execute the transfer in a matter of hours, or sometimes minutes.
As you can imagine, the quicker a site is able to execute your transfer request, the more appealing it becomes.
Transfer Options
It goes without saying that different people will want to send money to different countries, and they will want to do so for different reasons. And while you might sign up with the intention of sending money to one specific country, you just never know whether you will want to send funds to some other country in the future. For that reason, it’s important to register with sites that support as many countries and as many currencies as possible. This makes the site more extensive, and subsequently more competitive.
In terms of how the transfer is actually done, most international money transfer platforms execute the transaction via a bank transfer. However, there are other options that certain sites support, and these may also suit your preference.
Reputation
In order to ensure that you feel comfortable with sending money abroad via a specific platform, it helps to know that they have a great reputation. And if you are to gain a full picture as to the reputation of a site, you can look into a few areas. Performing a Google search to look at current and previous customer reviews is one of the most effective things you can do. But in addition to this, you can also look at a platform’s social media accounts, which is a very modern way of checking out how trustworthy a site is.
Finally, for a more personal touch, you could always check in with friends or family that may have used such platforms in the past.
For money transfer companies that tick all these boxes, we’d recommend:
Best for high value transfers
Best for a wide range of transfers
Best for remittance transfers
Final Thoughts
In the society we live in today, there is no reason to accept the painful fees and speeds of sending money abroad via banks. After all, money transfer platforms are widely available, both in terms of the number of them and how to access them - through desktop sites and mobile apps. And as you have hopefully gleaned from this review, it is definitely worthwhile to put in some research to find and sign up with the most competitive sites.
Doing this will ensure that your fees are reduced, that the money conversions are better, and that the transactions are processed as quickly as possible. So if you are ready to send money abroad through a trusted and competitive platform, we’d like to finish by referring you back to the recommended sites above.
FAQs
Is it safe to send money abroad with these platforms?
Absolutely. Each of the money transfer sites that we have recommended are regulated and have been in the business for a number of years. In addition to this, they are used by thousands if not millions of customers worldwide.
What is the most I can send abroad for a single transaction?
This can vary quite significantly from site to site. Of course, the maximums also vary based on what currency you are looking to send. With that said, the maximums are usually quite high indeed, often hitting the six and even the seven-figure range. So unless you were hoping to send significant sums of money abroad, you needn’t worry too much about this.
Must I verify my account after signing up?
Yes - all reputable platforms will require you to verify your details after you have set up a new account. There are two reasons for this really. One of them is to ensure that you are who you say you are, as sites are required to keep a log of transactions for all individuals. Secondly, money transfer sites need to ensure that they are doing everything possible to avoid the facilitation of money laundering.
Sure, this may seem a little sinister, and 99% of individuals are obviously not looking to use the sites for this reason. But it does happen, and for that reason, everyone needs to verify their account.
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