The globe is becoming more connected than in times past, and with that we can expect to see more people working and studying abroad. So when someone wants to transfer funds to Europe, it can be stressful determining the best form to use.
The first thing to look into when transferring funds is the cost. No matter how much you wire, you will be charged a fee depending on the amount. The most cost-efficient way to wire larger amounts is through a bank’s transfer service. Though all banks charge for this service, it is a flat rate, typically between $35 and $45. And if you are planning on transferring money to Europe you don’t have to worry about conversion rates since the bank receiving the money automatically converts the funds at the exchange rate for that day.
Using a bank is the most sheltered way to send funds to Europe, with the only downside being that the sender must have a bank account in the originating country, and the recipient must have an account where the funds can be sent. The problem here is that many people do not have a bank account, but this is when you would use a location-based service.
With these companies, you simply pay a fee, hand over the amount you would like transferred, and create a password or secret code. The recipient then goes to the location nearest them and hands over their name and the code in order to retrieve the money. The downside of this method is that you are limited in how much you can wire. The amount depends on the company, but usually the maximum you may send is $2,000.00. And just as with banks, the cash is converted once it arrives at its destination, but you will see the fee for converting the funds is less favorable than you would find at a bank.
Thanks to the internet, new services are blossoming all across the world, allowing people to transfer funds to Europe right from the comfort of their living room. It is services like these that are rewriting the rules on how people wire money around the world, and it is rapidly becoming a massive building block of global e-commerce. Some services even expanded to allow consumers to wire money from a credit card or bank account to one of their hundreds of locations.
This rapid globalization we are bearing witness to is bringing e-commerce right to our doorstep, and one day it won’t matter where you are – you will be able to wire money in the blink of an eye.

