If you need to send money to a relative living overseas, you’re certainly not the only person. Each year, millions of Americans send money to friends, relatives, and other people they know abroad. And today, the number of options available before you for sending that money is greater than ever before. Here are some of the top ways you can send money to family overseas:

Banks

Your first option will be to simply go to your bank to send the money by using a wire transfer. This method is reliable, but it’s also slow and costly. Some banks will charge a significant percentage of the amount you’re sending as a fee, or they may charge a flat rate of anywhere from $25 to $100 depending on the bank you’re using.

In addition, the transaction can take multiple business days in order to complete, so it may be up to a full week before your recipient gets the money. Bank wire transfers work, but if time and money are issues then it’s not the best choice.

Remittance Services

Back in the day, you’d have to walk into the business establishment of a remittance service to send money to someone overseas much as you would a bank.

But now, you can easily send money to a family member overseas in just a matter of minutes either online or through an app. All you’ll need to do is create an account, link your bank account, select the currencies that are to be converted, and then insert the name, address, and banking information of your recipient. At that point, there’s nothing stopping you from sending the funds.

Pre-Paid Debit Cards

A pre-paid debit card is a debit card loaded with a pre-determined amount of money. The card can then be used as a normal debit card to make purchases like any normal debit card until the amount of money in the account has been expended.

Pre-paid debit cards work, but they can also be expensive. In addition to paying a $20 or so fee to open the card, whoever you send the card to will also have to pay a small percentage fee for each transaction they make.

Credit Card

Yes, you can even send money to someone overseas by using your credit cards. Granted, it largely depends on the policies of the creditor you are using, but it can be done. Many creditors will allow it but may have different rules regarding it; for instance, some creditors will charge it as a cash advantage, while others may charge it as a purchase.

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Building Societies

While there are often hidden charges when it comes to sending money around via a Building Society it can often work out cheaper as well. When in doubt always pop into your local branch on the high street or give them a call.

Online Currency Brokers

If you do plan to use an Online Currency Broker you should be asking yourself what their transfer fees are as well as their own exchange rate as some firms can have different prices. When it comes to using these services it is always best to shop around.

Post Offices

There are hundreds of post offices all over the UK and many other postal services that will do the same thing. This can be especially useful if you mostly deal in cash as a quick pop into the post office can turn that cash digital in an instant and available in another country the next.

Cold Hard Cash

This method isn’t as crazy as you might think and a well wrapped and tracked parcel can easily be followed until its point of destination. This isn’t much use for someone who is travelling around, but for those who plan to stay in one hotel or area for a short while it can be more useful than you think.

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Social Media

You can send money via social media? Yes, you can! OK, so not Twitter or Facebook, but Chinese social media app Wechat can do just that! While it is only good for sending money to China it is still a good method that is worth a mention.

Via Hotels

While only a few hotels offer money transference through their own tills some do indeed offer just that. Even if the hotel doesn’t offer this service if you ask them they might be able to point you in the right direction.

Sending Money To Family Overseas

Each of these methods have their own pros and cons, and some are faster or cheaper than others. It’s really up to you to research the different options available before you to find the option that will be as speedy and inexpensive as you need it to be.