Many companies have discovered the benefits of outsourcing some processes to companies abroad or hiring freelancers from other countries.
In such instances, international monetary transfers become very important. If you have employees in different parts of the world, you probably know that sending money to them can cost you a lot. For example, you have to pay up to 85 dollars to send 1,000 dollars from the US to Serbia.
What transfer methods do we use at Time Doctor?
We have a remote team with people in 19 different countries around the world. The two transfer methods we use the most are:
- Payoneer – very convenient for sending and receiving. They are also one of the few methods that works to receive money in almost every country and the receiver can get their money on a debit card and withdraw from an ATM. They also have an option for direct transfer to the receiver’s bank account. They also have a $50 bonus if you receive more than $100 through this method.
- Wise, formerly Transferwise – very low cost and also a convenient method for transfers to most countries.
To make money transfers work for you and to reduce costs for sending money to Serbia, take a look at the tables below. All you need to know about charges, hidden conversion costs and percentage fees that money transfer services charge you is listed in the charts.
Pay attention to the notes after every chart to make sure that you’ve chosen the right service.
| Transfer Method | Receiving Currency Option | Stated fees to send $1000 USD | Hidden currency conversion cost | Total cost | Time for the transfer to arrive | |
| Ria Money Transfer (slow) | Euro | $5 | $22 | $27 | 3-5 days | |
| Payoneer | Serbian Dinar | $9 | $19 | $28 | 3-5 days | |
| Ria Money Transfer (fast) | Euro | $15 | $22 | $37 | In minutes | |
| MoneyGram | Euro | $25 | $33 | $58 | 3-5 days | |
| Western Union | Serbian Dinar | $20 | $35 | $55 | (Bank) 3-5 days (Credit Card) in minutes | |
| Wire Transfer | Serbian Dinar | $25 – 55 | $10 – 30 | $35 – 85 | 3-5 days | |
Notes regarding this table:
- Most methods will only allow you to send money in Euros. If you send money in Euros there will be an additional fee for the recipient to convert the money to Serbian Dinar’s.
- This fee will likely be at least 1% but will depend on currency exchange dealer that is used.
- US transfers that are in Euros were converted from US dollars.
- The lowest cost way to use Payoneer is if the company sending the money has a company account with Payoneer. This is usually only available for companies sending money to multiple people and only for the US. There is a direct way to send money on Payoneer where the sender uses their credit card to send the money however the cost is higher.
| Transfer Method | Receiving Currency Option | From the US | From the UK | From Canada | From Western Europe | From Australia |
| Global Web Pay | USD | Not available | 2.6% | Not available | Not available | Not available |
| Xendpay | EUR | Not available | Not available | 2.3% | Not available | 2.4% |
| Payoneer | EUR | 2.8% | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available |
| Azimo | USD/EUR | Not available | 1.8% USD | Not available | 0.12% EUR | Not available |
| Small World FS | EUR | Not available | 3.6% | Not available | 0% | Not available |
| Ria Money Transfer | EUR | 2.7% | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available |
| Wire transfer | RSD | 2.5 – 5.5% | 2 – 4.5% | 2.5 – 5.5% | 2 – 4.5% | 3 – 6.5% |
| MoneyGram | USD | 5.8% | 3.9% | 7.5% | 0.5% | 10.1% |
| Western Union | USD | 7.5% | 4.5% | 6.5% | 2.8% | 5.6% |
Notes regarding this table:
- If you’re not sure what I mean by “hidden currency conversion” check out our explanation in this article.
- This fee will likely be at least 1% but will depend on currency exchange dealer that is used.
- US transfers that are in Euros were converted from US dollars.
- Western Union Service in the UK for sending money to Serbia: Bank account usually take 3-5 days while Credit/Debit card take minutes.
Other articles that might interest you:
Transferring Money with Wise (formerly TransferWise)
How to Send Money to Romania at a Much Better Exchange Rate than your Bank
How to Send Money to Your Offshore Workers in Ukraine
3 Ways to Send Money to Bulgaria that are Cheaper than using a Bank
Rob Rawson is a co-founder of Time Doctor which is software to improve work productivity and help keep track of what your team is working on, even when working remotely.