9 ways to send money from the US to their homeland

From Western Union to little-known startup applications. ForumDaily gathered reliable options for how to send money from America to their homeland and figured out the pros and cons of each option.

1. Send a bank card

One of the easiest ways is to open an account in an American bank and send the card overseas. Photo depositphotos.com

One of the simplest and least expensive ways to transfer money is to open an account in an American bank and send a card overseas to the person to whom you plan to make transfers. Which US financial institution has the most favorable conditions for opening an account can be compared by studying banking sites.

The main thing is to inform the bank in advance that you will be using the card abroad. The disadvantage of this method of transfer is that if the card is lost or the ATM “eats” it, you will have to send it again, and while the letter is on the way, the money will not be available.

However, Olena Kolibabchuk from San Francisco is not embarrassed by such difficulties. Her mother lives in Kyiv, her younger sister studies in Milan. Olena is the main assistant in the family. It was much more convenient for her to make two bank cards and send them to Ukraine and Italy than to make transfers to her mother and sister every time. “Every month I put $500 into the account: half for my mother, half for my sister. They know what date to withdraw money, and my mother, like many people of her generation, also manages to save, and to be safe, the money is not in the nightstand, but in a dollar account,” Olena shares her experience.

Expenditure part: The sender bears no additional costs. When money is withdrawn abroad, the recipient pays. When opening a card at a bank, you need to clarify how much you will have to pay for withdrawing money from your account at an ATM abroad. This can be 3% or 10% of the amount - each bank sets its own prices for services.

2. Top up your mobile account and pay for a utility bill

Company founded by an immigrant in America UPAY.NET allows residents of the United States to pay for utilities, Internet and television, as well as replenish mobile accounts in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. In addition, through UPaynet from America, you can replenish mobile accounts in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Georgia. Interface and technical support UPAY.NET work around the clock in 4 languages ​​- English, Russian, Uzbek and Tajik.

Expenditure part: The recipient pays nothing. If through UPAY.NET deposit from the USA to the account of another client located in America, then there is no commission at all. Replenishment of accounts in other countries provides for 5-7% commission. If you enter promo code "forum", then the payment will be without commission (provided that you are using the service for the first time).

3. Transfer money from account to account

If the person you want to send money to has a bank account, you can simply transfer from account to account. If you plan to make such transfers frequently, take the time to find out whether there is a branch of an American bank in the country to which you are sending money. Then the operation will be less expensive - you will not have to pay a commission for transferring money from bank to bank.

Expenditure part: The recipient pays nothing. The fee for a wire transfer from a US bank is $35 and up. If you want to transfer $50-100, it is not rational to use this option.

4. Send via PayPal

For older parents, this money transfer option can be difficult, but if the person you are sending money to is friendly with modern technology, receive money through PayPal he can do it without difficulty. Using this service, you can send money to many places in the world, but the most popular destinations for Russian-speaking users, unfortunately, may not be available. The method is good for Europe, Israel, but, for example, in Russia the system works in a very truncated version. You can pay for services, but you cannot receive money from the United States. Difficulties arise in both Ukraine and Belarus: withdrawing money to a bank card is a whole science that is taught by word of mouth on the Internet.

Roman Volt, a student from California, tried to transfer PayPal money to his sister in Moscow and encountered difficulties: “I started making a transfer, it was in the “pending” status for a very long time, and it had to be canceled in the end. Then I found out that, despite the fact that Russians buy goods on Ebay through PayPal, they cannot receive money from the USA in this way.”

Expenditure part: The recipient does not pay anything. The sender will be charged additional fees for international payments from 0,4% to 1,5% depending on the country of destination.

5. Download Revolut

In the AppStore and PlayMarket, you can find a program called Revolut. By registering, you geteraser card MasterCard, issued by an English bank. The card is designed for three currency accounts - in dollars, euros and pounds.

After installation and registration, a virtual card with a CVV and PIN code is “issued”, which is immediately ready for use. If you don’t want to settle for a virtual one, order a real card to your home. When ordering, you can see the date of receipt. The card takes 15-20 days to Russia and Ukraine, 10-12 days to the USA.

If you do not want to go through the identity verification procedure (scanning your passport and your photo), then the annual limit on the amount is 700 pounds. If you pass verification, the limit rises to £30.

You can top up your card from a debit card or bank account, and manage your money from the mobile app. That is, you can transfer money from your American account to a Revolut card and, using the application, send money to any other account - either to the same Revolut user, or to another account of any bank.

Bogdan Tarasov from Florida has been helping his former neighbors who live in Moldova for several years: “We have been friends since childhood, they have a very difficult financial situation, but such help is not a burden to me. But it was always a shame that some amount had to be spent not on helping friends, but on a bank transfer. I found out about Revolut a year ago and ordered cards. They were sent directly to my home in envelopes. At first I sent small amounts, now I’m not afraid to transfer even $300. But, despite the fact that the startup has already proven itself and has worked for more than a year without complaints, I would not recommend keep a lot of money there, but only use the card for transfers.”

The disadvantages of the system, according to Bogdan, are that you cannot find out the balance at an ATM, and an account statement can be obtained only by making a request by e-mail to the support service.

Bogdan Tarasov entrusted money transfers to a startup and did not regret it. Photos from the personal archive

Expenditure part: Neither the recipient nor the sender pays anything. That’s why Revolut is called the “card revolution” - the company does not charge fees for conversion transactions and makes it possible to withdraw cash from ATMs for free. If you are wondering what the catch is and how Revolut lives, the answer is simple: they live off the interest they receive from MasterCard from each transaction.

6. Send via TransferWise

Another startup founded by two Estonians Taavet Hinrikus and Kristo Kaarmann in 2011, TransferWise allows you to save some money on sending money abroad. On the official Online said that transfers from the United States usually arrive within one business day. For a long time, the Ukrainian hryvnia was not connected to the service, but for a year now, TransferWise operates in both Ukraine and Russia. To receive a transfer, you need to enter the details of your own bank card, and within a working day (and in practice - within half an hour) the amount will be credited.

Expenditure part: The recipient pays nothing. Your expenses are a commission in favor of TransferWise - 3% of the amount. There is no need to pay a bank commission when transferring money to a card using TransferWise.

7. Transfer via Western Union

This is one of the most trouble-free and simple options. If your friends or relatives do not have the opportunity to open bank accounts, then choose the simplest Western Union transfer option. But it is worth considering that simplicity costs money. The cost of the transfer depends not only on the amount you want to send, but also on the speed.

You can send money not only from the company's office, but also without getting up from the couch. On Online You can make a translation online.

If the person you want to send money to does not live in the USA (and most importantly, uses a phone number not registered in the USA), you can make the transfer via Viber. To transfer money, you need to have a Western Union profile, or set it up when transferring money. The subscriber to whom you sent the money will receive a message about the transaction. All technical details are described on Online technical support for viber.

You can get acquainted with all rates at the official Online. It will be useful to explore the nuances. For example, it is important to correctly write the name of the recipient so that it is completely identical to the name indicated in the documents that he will present at the local branch of Western Union. The company has developed an index of correspondences of Latin and Cyrillic.

Expenditure part: The recipient of the money does not pay anything. If you send, for example, $500 to Russia, you will have to pay a commission of $50 if you want the money to be delivered within a minute, and $25 for a transfer within 3-4 business days. And if you send $200, then the price of an immediate transfer is $18, and a 3-4-day transfer is $12. Sending the same amount to Ukraine costs $15 in case of an urgent transfer and $10 if the money can be received in 3-4 days. A convenient calculator will immediately show all your costs and the amount that a person will receive as a result of the conversion.

8. Send via MoneyGram

MoneyGram works on the same system as Western Union, but has more sparing rates. True, and service points at MoneyGram smaller than that of a competitor, but in case you want to make a transfer Online Training: For those who prefer the flexibility of learning from a distance or cannot make it to our Sofia location, we offer comprehensive online courses., it does not matter. The principle is the same: you need to know the name of the recipient, the recipient needs to know the name of the sender. Sending money via MoneyGram, you get a check with a money transfer control number. The number must be reported to the person to whom the money is intended. Presenting an identity card and calling the number indicated on the check, the person receives a transfer from you.

How long will the money go to a particular country can be found at Online companies. For example, in France you can receive money the next day, in Kenya - in a minute. In Russia and Ukraine, which are more relevant to us, 10 minutes after sending.

Expenditure part: The recipient of the money does not pay anything. If you send $500, you will have to pay a commission of $32. And if you send $200, then $20. You can find out the amount of the surcharge using calculator.

Consider the expenditure part and decide on the method of transferring money depending on the amount. Compare: the bank will charge you an average of $ 45 for transferring any amount to any account abroad during the working day, you can send $ 35 abroad to MoneyGram for $ 3000 and in the same urgent order WesternUnion - only $500.

9. Make a transfer through RIA

Ria is not as popular as Western Union or MoneyGram, but quite trustworthy. Firstly, because the company is not a newbie. She's on the market since 1987. Secondly, the company is large - the third largest money transfer operator in the world. The list includes 149 countries with which this operator works. To make a transfer, you must go to a bank branch that services Ria money transfers. You can find out where the closest one to you is in a special section on the company website. You can also make an online translation at the official Online.

Expenditure part: Depending on whether you send money from a credit or debit card, the expense part will also change. For example, if you want to send $ 500 to Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Israel, then it will cost you $ 20 from a credit card, $ 8 from a debit card and $ 5 from a bank account. And if you decide to send $ 200, then pay $ 12 from a credit card, $ 8 from a debit card and $ 5 from a bank account.

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