Sending and receiving money overseas has always been a challenge. Firstly, there is the issue of practically ensuring your money gets safely from one side of the world to the other. But beyond that, there are issues of currency, compatibility and cost to bear in mind, which can make it more difficult than you would think to find a workable solution. In practice, there are a number of methods that will allow you to transfer and receive money overseas. But each of these methods has its own benefits and drawbacks respectively, and you need to decide on the most important factors if you want to get the best result.
Internet payment services, such as PayPal, are among the most widely used solutions for sending money overseas. Unfortunately, this is an extremely inefficient way of sending your money, with substantial costs applicable. The more you send, the more you pay with these types of services, and they can only function successfully when both parties have a corresponding account – not to mention Internet access to receive and send the payments. For those sending to family members in remote or less affluent parts of the world, it cannot be taken as read that these types of services can be used effectively.
The same is true to a certain extent of online bank transfers, which are good when both parties have a bank account, the amount being sent is reasonably large, and you can afford to wait up to one week or more for the transfer to take place. Again, this is obviously far from suitable for a number of cases. Family members in your country of origin don’t want to be waiting for over a week to receive the funds you send, and similarly, you don’t want high costs eating into their money. There is another option, however, which enables money to be sent at a much lower cost, and much more effectively to people who may not have access to the Internet on a regular basis.
International money transfer services (or tjene penger hjemmefra in Norwegian) such as Trans-Fast exist to bridge this gap, and to make it easier for funds to be exchanged across borders in cash. This means your relatives can walk in to a payment point in their home country and collect the cash, in local currency, that you send to them today. This is a fast, efficient, affordable way to send money, which can help bypass all of the traditional hurdles associated with this type of problem. With these types of services, it can become much easier to send money and on a regular basis, making send-back type arrangements for family members elsewhere in the world a more viable option.
Sending and receiving money internationally is an important aspect of day-to-day life for many, both for personal and commercial reasons. Whatever the reason you are transacting money cross-border, international money transfer services remain the most cost-effective, fastest way to process the transaction. With several different companies operating these services across a global network, it is the most effective way to reach countries that might not otherwise be accessible through traditional financial channels.
