Best international money transfer services

When living overseas, at some point you will use an international money transfer service, whether it´s for buying a house, repatriating your salary or pension back home, paying school tuition or launching a business.
The best international money transfer services are the ones that, of course, best suit your needs. Depending on why you´re sending money abroad and the amount to be sent, you have several options to choose from.

Banks, by definition are the most expensive in terms of exchange rates and fees charged. Plus, it takes longer to send the money through a bank (1-5 days) than through any other transfer service. So, we´ll leave them on the outside for this article.

To review the other options for choosing the best international money transfer services:

1. FX Brokers
   For larger sums, foreign exchange brokers are usually best way to transfer money overseas. FX brokers are specialized in international money transfers and can offer you personalized solutions and highly competitive exchange rates. They are faster, easier than any other services and do not charge you any fees.
   You just need to open an account with a FX broker, fund it directly from you credit card or bank account and indicate your broker how much money you want to send.
   Whether you need to make regular international transfers or one-off money transfers, choosing an FX broker can save you money!
2. Online Transfer Services
   Transferring money through an online transfer service requires for both you and the receiver to have a bank account or a credit card and Internet access. You set up an account on the company´s website, pay a small fee and do the transfer by yourself. What happens behind: after you move the money from your bank account to online transfer company´s bank account, the latter transfers your money through its own international network and funds the receiver´s account in the destination country.
   This fast and cheap alternative to send money abroad is recommended for small amounts of money.
3. Prepaid Cards
   Prepaid cards can be ordered online and operate like any credit or debit card. Once the funds are loaded onto the card, you can spend only the amount you have on the card. Prepaid cards can be used for traveling, online shopping, withdrawing cash from ATMs. They are recommended for small amount of money.
4. Money Transfer Operators (MTOs)
   Companies specialized in money transfers, MTOs (MoneyGram, Western Union, etc) have an international presence. They operate through agents and your money is sent fast worldwide. You just have to fill in a form, prove your identity with your ID and pay a fee.
   MTOs, though they send your money in matters of hours worldwide, they have expensive fees. Recommended for small one-off payments.
5. Peer-to-Peer Money Transfer
   An innovation in the international money transfer world, peer-to-peer money transfer platforms are more and more used for sending money overseas.
   Once you pay a small fee for using the platform, you trade directly with the receiver at a
   rate close to the international market. Transferwise and CurrencyFair are examples of such companies.