People experienced with sending money abroad know that using bank wires isn’t always the best ways to transfer money. This is especially true for smaller countries with fewer alternatives for money transfers or exotic currencies.
For instance, if you have to send money to Bolivia from Canada, Australia or Western Europe, you have to know that popular services like Payoneer or Ria Money Transfer are unavailable. In addition, your bank can have really unfavorable conditions for the transaction – high charges and hidden exchange rate fees.
Wondering what to do? Check out our charts about money sending to Bolivia and the five methods for money transfers that are less expensive than using international bank money transfers.
Note:
- Take a look at our “hidden currency exchange fees” article to acquaint yourself with the most common ways in which money transfer service providers charge their clients a lot.
- Estimated fees vary from bank to bank.
| Table 1 – Sending $1000 from the US to Bolivia | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transfer Method | Stated fees to send $1000 USD | Hidden currency conversion cost | Total cost | Time for the transfer to arrive | ||
| Ria Money Transfer (slow) | $5 | $4 | $9 | 3-5 days | ||
| XE Trade | $0 | $14 | $14 | 3-5 days | ||
| Western Union (slow) | $8 | $7 | $15 | 3-5 days | ||
| Ria Money Transfer (fast) | $15 | $4 | $19 | Minutes | ||
| Lucky money | $5 | $20 | $25 | 3-5 days* | ||
| Western Union (fast) | $20 | $7 | $27 | Minutes | ||
| Payoneer | $3 | $28 | $31 | 3-5 days | ||
| Moneygram (slow) | $25 | $9 | $34 | 3-5 days | ||
| Xoom (slow) | $12 | $23 | $35 | 3-5 days | ||
| Xoom (fast) | $37 | $23 | $60 | Minutes | ||
| Moneygram (fast) | $81 | $9 | $90 | Minutes | ||
| Wire transfer | $25-55 | $10-30 | $35-85 | 3-5 days | ||
Note:
- Lucky money sends the amount “In Minutes” after your bank account is verified and you commit to being a regular user.
| Table 2: Sending Money from Different Countries to Bolivia. Total Cost in Percentages, including the HIDDEN Currency Exchange Fees | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transfer Method | From the US | From the UK | From Canada | From Western Europe | From Australia | |
| Azimo | Not available | 0.8% | Not available | 0.7% | Not available | |
| Ria Money Transfer | 0.9% | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | |
| XE Trade | 1.4% | 1.6% | 1.6% | 1.2% | 2.5% | |
| Exchange4free | Not available | 2.4% | 2.5% | 2.2% | 2.3% | |
| Small World FS | Not available | 2.4% | Not available | 1.6% | Not available | |
| Western Union | 1.5% | 3.3% | 8.1% | 5.2% | 9.6% | |
| Lucky money | 2.5% | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | |
| Payoneer | 3.1% | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | |
| Moneygram | 3.4% | 8.9% | 8.9% | 7.8% | 10.4% | |
| Xoom | 3.5% | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | |
| Wire transfer | 2.5-5.5% | 2-4.5% | 2.5-5.5% | 2-4.5% | 3-6.5% | |
Other articles that might interest you:
Transferring Money with TransferWise
What’s the Cheapest Way to Send Money to Colombia?
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.