Money transfer
There are over 3 million of us living in the diaspora. Each year, we send millions of US dollars to our families and friends back home. Some also make transfers to other countries for various purposes. Food, school fees, hospital or doctor bills, burial, wedding, purchase of property, etc. Occasionally, we are lucky enough to find greener pastures elsewhere, and we may thus want to move our cash over there.
There are many money transfer businesses out there. New ones promising great deals have emerged. Unfortunately, a number of them are rip offs. Don’t just use a service because they tell you they have the ‘best rates’ or that they ‘don’t charge a fee’. First, compare them with the others. Rip-offs have no place here. If they survive by ripping you off – don’t support them. We have seen some atrocious exchange rates offered by some diaspora businesses, despite some offering so called “no fee” transfers. Your regular bank can transfer money overseas, but this is often costly. Even if they offer you free transfers, the exchange rate tends to be poor.
If you plan to send a large sum of money, or to make small or large regular transfers, use CO Currency Online, or HIFX. You get better rates than what your bank offers: you can save thousands of dollars!. There are no hidden charges or transfer fees, and if you like the rate offered, you can fix it before it goes and enjoy the benefits for months to come:
- Zero fees structure
- Secure
- 24 hour online transfer system
- Fast payments worldwide
- No hidden charges or transfer fees
- Secure
- 24 hour online transfer system
- Fast payments worldwide
Others
Moneybookers: Instant, low-cost and secure. Just € 0.50 fee.
Western Union: To save money, go to an agent and use the next day (alternative) service – it is much cheaper. Money will be available next day (rather than in minutes). In fact, the immediate service doesn’t always provide cash on the same day in Zimbabwe – sometimes the receiver is advised to come back the following day! The Western Union online service is just as expensive as their same day service (including the telephone transfers).
Western Union is better than some of the services we have used often, eg ExpressLinks. Read the detailed review HERE.
