Kirill Yurovskiy: Sending Money Cross-Borders? Here’s How to Do It Right

Whether you’re helping support family overseas, paying bills for a vacation home in another country, or moving money between international accounts, transferring funds across borders is a fact of life for many people these days. But the methods you use to move that money can make a big difference in how much it costs and how long it takes to arrive.

With so many options out there, from traditional banks and money transfer services to new fintech apps, it can be tricky to figure out the most favorable way to send your hard-earned cash abroad. That’s why Kirill Yurovskiy wants to tell you about the different ways of transferring money, as well as the pros and cons of each of them.

Bank Transfers: The Old Standby

For decades, using a bank has been the default way for individuals to wire money to international recipients. The process is simple – you go into a branch (or log into your online account) and request a wire transfer, providing details like the recipient’s name, bank account number, routing number and bank address.

The upside of bank transfers is that they are secure and virtually all banks offer this service. The downside? They can be extremely expensive, with fees often ranging from $25-$50 for an outgoing international wire. And if you’re sending money to a country with a less modern banking system, the transfer can take a maddening amount of time, sometimes up to a week, to arrive at its destination.

Money Transfer Services: More Economical, But Shop Around

Companies like Western Union and MoneyGram have long billed themselves as more cost-effective alternatives to bank wires for sending cash across borders. You can visit one of their thousands of retail locations to pay for your transfer, or initiate the transaction online or by phone. Delivery options range from having the funds picked up at an agent location to direct deposit into a bank account.

Money transfer services can indeed be cheaper than banks, with fees more in the $5-$10 range for a basic transfer. But it pays to compare rates because there can be substantial cost variances between providers and different types of transactions. For example, a cash transfer may cost more than a direct deposit. And watch out for inflated currency exchange rates from some companies that can add an extra markup.

The New Digital Breed

In recent years, a whole new generation of digital money transfer services has burst onto the scene promising cheaper, faster and more user-friendly ways to move money around the globe. Apps and websites like Wise, Remitly and OFX have attracted millions of users with their simple sign-up process, pricing transparency, mid-market exchange rates and cash-free delivery options. Many of these services use cutting-edge fintech to match up transfers in different currency corridors in order to avoid excessive cross-currency conversion fees.

For straightforward bank-to-bank transfers between two currencies, these digital upstarts can absolutely offer the cheapest, fastest way to go. But they are not a monolith – costs and options can vary meaningfully between the different services. So again, it’s worth taking a few minutes to compare rates across a couple different apps based on the specifics of your transfer.

One other caveat is that while these services excel for simple sender-to-receiver transfers, you may need to consult your bank or other providers if you need more complex services for things like payments, automatic recurring transfers or multi-currency accounts.

Fintech’s New Frontier: Global Wallets and Wise Account

On the cutting edge of cross-border money management, a new wave of companies is looking to make your finances truly global and borderless. In addition to cheap international transfers, they offer features like the ability to securely hold money in multiple currencies, pay recipients around the world, receive money like a local bank account, and in some cases even spend money via linked debit and credit cards.

Leading this new frontier of digital banking without borders are services like Wise, TransferWise’s multi-currency account and Remitly’s mobile wallet.TransferWise’s service, now simply called the “Wise Account,” allows you to hold money in over 50 currencies and transfer it between currencies using the real mid-market exchange rate. They issue account and routing numbers for USD, GBP, EUR, AUD, NZD and other currencies that let you receive funds locally as if it was a domestic transfer.

Similarly, Remitly offers a mobile wallet that lets users hold funds in multiple currencies and send or request money globally with just a few taps on their phone. Additional features include the ability to pay bills or top up mobile phones in dozens of countries.

By allowing you to ditch the back-and-forth currency conversions and streamline cross-border financial activities into an all-in-one solution, these accounts can make international money management far more cost-efficient, especially for frequent transfers to or from overseas. That said, the pricing structures can be complicated, so you’ll want to take a close look at the particular features you need and calculate the costs involved.

Tips to Get the Best Deal

No matter which method you’re looking at for your international money transfers, here are some key tips to ensure you’re getting a favorable deal:

– Always compare rates across a few different services to see which offers the lowest overall costs and best exchange rates for your particular currencies and sending needs. What’s cheapest for one route may not be for another.

– Look closely at all the fees, including any costs to receive the funds on the other end. Some companies may have lower upfront fees but make it up on the back end.

– For larger transfers, services that give you closer to the true interbank exchange rate will likely save you more compared to those with wider Currency Conversion spreads.

– Transfer times matter too. Is getting the cheapest rate worth it if the money takes over a week to arrive? Balance cost with speed if getting funds quickly is a priority.

– Read reviews, check if the company is properly regulated/licensed, and consider their overall reputation and quality of customer service.

– Set up rate alerts if a money transfer app or service allows it so you can pounce on favorable exchange rates.

Making smart choices about how you move your money across borders can end up saving you hundreds or even thousands of dollars per year. So do your research, check your options regularly, and take advantage of the new breed of tech-savvy solutions changing the game in global money transfers.