 A fiend of mine needed to send money to India in an emergency situation and he hadn’t a clue how to go about this other than stick some cash in an envelope and post it over. Unfortunately, his valuable mail got lost in the post. Once I found out about this I helped him with wiring money from bank to bank. Safe, easy, and guaranteed.
A lot of migrants who live abroad have gone there in search of better prospects. When they do find them, they usually send money back home to meet the needs of their loved ones. Unfortunately however, a lot of these people send money in the mail. And a lot of times it is lost in transit, like my Indian friend above. Most migrants are unaware that there are easier and better ways to send money internationally. One of the best such methods happens to be wiring money.
Wiring money is not a new age thing to do. In fact, right from the days of carrier pigeons, money has been flowing across international borders. The GDP of several countries which have a large number of their citizens abroad is virtually dependent on the migrants wiring money to their dependants. Since the majority of the migrants have basic jobs, not many of them are conversant with banking and with wiring money. But it is a simple process that is convenient and fairly easy to execute.
Wiring money happens when you transfer money from your account to the account of another person in another bank. All one needs to do is to inform the bank of the need for wiring money, give them the account and other relevant details and request the wire. The details you may need to provide include: the name of the person you are wiring money to, their bank’s routing number and the bank account number. (All banks have a routing number and a specific branch number. If you don’t have this information, it would be best to contact the bank itself to find out.) Additionally, you may also have to provide their bank’s address and phone number. For local transactions, the banks usually charge a flat fee. (Citibank for instance, charges a flat fee of USD 20 for any wiring money transactions within the United States of America. But wiring money through your bank is not a speedy option. It can take upwards of five business days in order for the request to be processed and the money to reach the bank account of your family member or friend.
If time is of the essence and wiring money critically important, you can choose private wire transfer services like the Western Union Money Transfer. When you wire money through Western Union, you will be able to affect the transfer almost instantaneously. But the negative aspect is that there is no flat fee for wiring the money. Typically, service providers like Western Union charge a certain percentage of the total money being transferred. So, if you plan on wiring money to the tune of USD 1,000 you may have to pay a commission of nearly a 100 USD. As such, it is not really the ideal way of wiring money. But being instantaneous, it is tremendously useful in case of emergencies and the Western union transfer money option is a great service to fall back on in a crisis.
Wiring money can be an enriching experience, if done right! Nothing can be more gratifying than the thought that by wiring money to your friends/family, you are sharing the joy of working with them!
So, even if it’s not something you need to do right now, why now pick up a pamphlet from you local bank on the procedures of a bank wire transfer. This way, should you need to be wiring money in the future, you will be well prepared.
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