Get More from Life After 50: How to Save on Money Transfers Abroad

Living your life to the fullest is a must like many women over 50, and this will often involve sending money abroad. The problem here is that making international currency transfers can be rather expensive. If you don’t want to lose your money, you should look into alternatives to traditional banks for your money transfers.

Why You Might Need to Transfer Money Abroad

If you’ve never needed to send money abroad before you might be confused as to why you should bother with this at all. However, the world is going global and today there are many reasons why you might need this kind of service. For example, you might need money when traveling, especially if you love to do this in style. A luxury hotel at some tropical island might charge quite a hefty sum, which you’ll have to transfer from your bank account.

You might also decide to move abroad, at which point you’ll have to move your fortune as well. And don’t forget about rerouting your pension to the new bank in a foreign country.

If your children decide to move abroad, you will also need to learn how to send them money without overpaying. The same goes for situations when you send money as gifts to various family members across the globe.

Finally, you might get savvy with your money and invest in overseas properties. That’s a smart investment decision right now and you definitely should consider it.

International Money Transfer Costs from the EU, UK, and USA Banks

Regardless of why you need to send money abroad, going to a bank will make it obvious that such transfers are expensive. They might cost you from $35 in Bank of America to 1-1.25% for EU banks.

But don’t be fooled by those fees the bank shows on the surface. In reality, this transfer will cost much more. That’s because banks have very high currency exchange markups. All fees and charges included, you might be losing over 2% of the transfer amount. If you need to send the money to some developing countries, that number can climb up to exorbitant 7-10%!

The cost of your transfer will depend on the bank, currency exchange rate and markup, destination, and amount of money you are sending.

Alternatives to Expensive Bank Wire Transfers

The good news is that today, you have options other than banks for making international money transfers. FX brokers offer a great solution to this problem as they are much cheaper. Also, they offer faster transfers. But not all of these companies can be trusted. Therefore, it’s important that you check out a comparison of the alternatives. Focus on reliability instead of the fee. All these services are affordable, so you will definitely get a better deal than banks offer with any of the companies.

Online money transfer companies operate as a third-party in a transaction. They can make the transfer cheaper because they don’t truly move money across the border. You just transfer the money to the company’s account in your country. Then, they send an equivalent to the recipient from their account in the destination country.

Because of this, you need to be extra careful when choosing the FX transfer provider. Take your time researching and comparing the options so you can find the most trustworthy companies. It’s usually safest to use the services of industry leaders. Some of them are TransferWise, WorldFirst, Moneycorp, and Currencies Direct.

What’s the Best Money Transfer Company for Women Over 50?

The most important factor to consider when choosing a money transfer company is the safety of your funds. That’s why you should only work with companies that are licensed and regulated by a relevant financial authority. For example, TransferWise, which is based in the UK, is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

You should find out what are the relevant authorities in your country and check the list of companies approved by them.

Some of the companies might also be a friendlier choice for women over 50, in particular. This is the case for those who aren’t tech-savvy. The majority of these companies operate online-only, so using their services might be a challenge. However, Moneycorp and OFX can allow you to arrange a transfer by phone. They also have multiple offices worldwide.

However, remember that despite their aim to work globally, money transfer companies today are limited in their reach. Therefore, you should check which currencies the company accepts and the countries it works with. Depending on where you need to make the transfer, your options might be few.

But don’t despair if you need to deal with exotic currencies and remote locations. Money transfer companies develop extremely fast. Increasing their reach is a priority for these businesses. Therefore, they open new offices and add new currencies all the time. Monitor the companies you trust to see when they will make it to the location you are interested in.

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