There are a variety of different ways you can send money to somebody (or to yourself) overseas: you can send a money order, use an online payment service, or set up an account with a money remittance service such as Remitly.

Opting for any of the mentioned options is a sound choice, particularly the money transfer service. However, when dealing with an unusually large sum of money, arguably the most effective option is an international bank wire transfer.

This preference is straightforward: banks typically allow much higher limits for money transfers. These limits can range from ten to fifty thousand dollars, or for established customers, up to two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.

International bank wire transfers heavily rely on payment processing to facilitate the transaction. When you initiate a transfer, the payment processor acts as a mediator, ensuring the secure transfer of funds from your account to the recipient’s bank account. They manage the necessary documentation, compliance checks, and currency conversions, streamlining the process efficiently.

It is essential to keep in mind, not every payment gateway includes a payment processor, and some may lack them entirely. Therefore, it’s crucial to verify that the chosen payment gateway includes a payment processor. If not, you might need to use a third-party processor to finalize the transfer. Many banks provide both types of payment gateways and processors. To find the most suitable one for your needs, research and compare various options.

Here are the top things you need to know about sending an international bank wire transfer:

You Can Do A Wire Transfer Online or In Person

Many people have the misconception that wire transfers can either only be done in person at their bank and not online.

This is simply not true and international wire transfers are easier today in 2018 than they ever have been before. You can just login to your bank account and plug in the required information to complete the transfer. Speaking of information…

You’ll Only Need Limited Information To Complete The Transfer

Completing an international wire transfer at your bank will probably be easier than you may have initially suspected, because there’s only a limited amount of information that you need.

You’ll specifically need the full name of your recipient, their branch number, their bank account number, and then the transit number. Simple, right?

You’ll Have To Pay A Large Flat Fee

An international bank transfer is not something that can be done for free, or even for cheap, unfortunately. So while it may be simple and straightforward, it’s still not inexpensive.

Almost always, banks will charge a large flat fee. This is in contrast to a small percentage fee that money remittance services will often charges. For example, whereas remittance services may charge a fee of 1% to 4% or so of the sum you’re sending, banks will just charge a flat rate of $40 to $80.

To put this into perspective, if you’re only sending $500 for instance, you may only have to pay $5-15 for fees with a remittance service versus $50 or so with a bank.

Besides, there are other

You’ll Also Need To Pay Part of the Exchange Rate

Both bank wire transfers and money remittance services will charge you a margin of the exchange rate in order to convert the currencies.

Typically, the margin of the exchange rate you’ll be charged will be anywhere from 1-5%. The exchange rate is always shifting on an almost never ending basis, as in multiple times per day.

Furthermore, the exchange rate may differ significantly between banks. Your best bet would be to contact your bank to find out what their current exchange rate is for the type of currency you need to convert your money into.

Your bank will then either give you a guaranteed exchange rate or an estimated one. Hopefully you’ll get the guaranteed rate so you’ll know exactly the amount you’ll have to pay.

You’ll Need To Be Patient

One of the significant downsides to sending money internationally using a bank wire transfer is the amount of money will take a long amount of time to transfer over. You’ll need to practice patience.

Bank transfers should, at minimum, take around five or so business days to transfer internationally. Sometimes they may even take longer.

In contrast to this, money remittance services can typically complete transferring the funds in only one to two business days. Again, the advantage to using a wire transfer lies in your ability to send large sums versus cost savings or speed.

Sending An International Wire Transfer

All in all, these are the top things you will need to know about sending an international wire transfer.

It may not be the overall best option for sending money overseas due to its high cost and slower transfer times, but if you have an unusually large sum of money to send, it’s one of the very few options that you’ll have available to you.