With so many people moving from their home country to find work, there are as many that are looking to find ways to send money to their family back home. For many countries, these remittances are a big part of their GDP and rely heavily on them.
Yet, the people receiving the money could stand to get more of the actual transfer. The problem is that fees take a fair chunk of the money being sent. Which is bad for the person sending the money, the one receiving it and even the country that relies on this money going into circulation.
The only ones making out are the banks charging the high fees to begin with.
There are ways to avoid these big fees, so with the help of this guide, you should be able to make sure your family gets as much of the money being sent as possible.
Content List
1 – Send cryptocurrency
The least expensive and also one of the easiest ways to send money anywhere is to use cryptocurrency. One of the biggest perks of cryptocurrency like bitcoin is that it is a borderless currency. People use it all over the world so you can send it to somebody who will keep it as bitcoin and spend it out of their digital wallet, or they can use it in exchange for the local currency.
Since there is no bank involved to do this, there are very few fees involved. And it only takes a matter of minutes to a bitcoin wallet in Bangladesh as an example.
You just need to open your own digital wallet and ask your recipient to do the same, then you can send them the money directly. Another benefit is that the value can grow while it is in their wallet so they not only get more of the money due to low fees but also in the value of the coins themselves.
2 – Bank to bank transfer
If you plan on sending money often then it pays off to have a bank with ACH capabilities. This is the ability to send cash from one bank account to another. Often the money can be sent easily using the bank’s online account and picking the account to transfer your money to.
It is also possible to do this at the bank itself. No matter how you send the money, the fees are generally pretty low. Where you will definitely encounter some fees, however, is on the currency exchange. Often this is where banks make their money and don’t give you the best exchange rate and they keep the difference.
3 – Prepaid debit card
You can either send a prepaid debit card to your recipient or give it to them yourself when you travel there. Once they have it, then you can load the account from wherever you are. Usually, you can use your bank account and add money online. It is quick and easy and the fees are generally very low. In some cases there may be no fee from the bank and only a fee for using the ATM of the recipient.