The globe is becoming more interdependent than in times past, and with that comes more people working and studying abroad. So when someone needs to send money to Europe, it can cause some confusion determining the best way.
The first thing to look into when transferring funds is the cost. No matter how much you wire, you will be charged a fee depending on the amount. The most cost-effective way to transfer larger amounts is through a bank’s transfer service. Though all banks charge for this service, it is a flat rate, typically between $35 and $45. And if you are planning on transferring money to Europe you don’t have to worry about conversion rates since the bank receiving the money automatically converts the funds at the exchange rate for that day.
Using a bank is the most secure way to transfer funds to Europe, with the only downside being that the sender must have a bank account in the originating country, and the recipient is required to have an account where the funds can be sent. The problem here is that many people do not have a bank account, but this is when you would turn to a location-based service.
With these companies, you simply pay a fee, hand over the amount you would like wire, and create a password or secret code. The recipient then goes to the location nearest them and gives their name and the code in order to get the money. The downside of this alternative is that you are limited in how much you can send. The amount depends on the company, but usually transfers are capped at $2,000.00. And just as with banks, the cash is converted once it gets to its destination, but you will see the fee for converting the funds is higher than at a bank.
Thanks to the internet, new services are popping up everywhere, allowing people to transfer money to Europe right from the comfort of their living room. It is services like these that are rewriting the rules on how people move funds around the world, and it is rapidly becoming a building block of global e-commerce. Some services even expanded to allow customers to wire money from a credit card or bank account to one of their hundreds of locations.
This rapid globalization we are experiencing is bringing e-commerce right to our doorstep, and someday soon it won’t matter where you are – you will be able to transfer money in the blink of an eye.
