Transferring Cash

It seems like every week I see new and less expensive ways to send money overseas to the Philippines. The days of getting taken to the cleaners by Western Union are over for me. Yes, they have been around a long time and I have never had any problem sending money with them. But to send $300 and be charged $29 (with my discount card) just gives me the feeling I am getting screwed. They are charging me 10% for what? For the lady at the grocery store to spend 5 minutes pushing a few buttons and giving me a receipt? Sorry, I am not going to pay that fee anymore.

Do yourself a favor and do a search for "cash transfer" and "money gram" and you will find a lot of other choices now. There are up and coming companies begging for your business and they will charge you half the price of Western Union in many cases. Money Grams is a type of cash transfer becoming very popular, and today when I did a search I saw I a company that will send my same $300 to the Philippines same day service for and $18 fee.

That is 6% and I can swallow paying that a lot easier than what Western Union charges. You do need to be careful and make sure you know how long it will take for the money to get to your loved one. The company you choose should make it very clear on how much the fee is and how long it will take depending on what service you choose. Also, if you choose a money gram or a cash transfer make there is a convenient pick up location in the country and city where you are sending the money.

I also checked out bank wire transfers once by sending one. I was charged $40 and the payment was not instant. Banks in the Philippines are only open a few hours a day and it took a couple days for my mother in law to get her money. However, if I was sending a large amount of money (like a couple thousand dollars) I would probably use the bank wire transfer for security purposes. Plus, with very large amounts of money the wire transfer amount should not be any higher. My bank charged $40 no matter how much I sent.

If you are in no big hurry then probably the cheapest way to send money would be an international money order. You should be able to get one through a bank with no problem. I have never send money this way but if you plan ahead it should be the cheapest way to send money overseas.

There are more options for sending money overseas than I have listed, but they are more situation specific and confusing to most people. Which ever option you choose I hope you find some helpful information here. (Patrick 11/12/05)