If you regularly send money abroad and haven’t made a digital transfer before, you’re missing out.

Sending money online from your smartphone, tablet or laptop makes international transfers really simple. Millions of people around the world have ditched traditional methods like high-street banks, money transfer locations and post offices in favour of online transfers.

But are digital transfers right for you?

To help you decide whether to make the switch this winter, this blog will take you through some of the pros and cons of sending money online, so that you know exactly how you can benefit from switching to digital.

Pros:

You won’t have any human contact

The global pandemic is dragging on longer than anyone would have liked, and there’s still a high risk of transmission if you aren’t very careful with your social contact! By travelling to a bank or money transfer store, you run the risk of contracting the virus and putting yourself and your family in danger. By switching to digital transfers, you can do everything with zero human contact, keeping everyone around you safe and healthy!

You can save yourself lots of money

When you send money abroad, you want to find the cheapest method possible so that you don’t waste your hard-earned cash on high commission, hidden fees and poor exchange rates. Banks often charge much higher fees than online methods, so you should take a look at how much you could save by going online. Plus, with online platforms you can use a money transfer calculator so you know up-front how much your recipient will receive. This will mean that you can avoid any nasty surprises!

Your money could arrive much faster

By the time you’ve got ready, left the house, travelled to your bank or local money transfer location and queued up, you will have spent a lot of time on your international transfer already. So when the cashier tells you that your money will arrive in three days’ time, you may well feel annoyed! Bank processing times are often slow, but sending money online is usually very quick, and your money should arrive within a few minutes of being sent!

You don’t need to leave the house

When it’s cold and rainy outside, the last thing you want to be doing is putting on your hat, gloves and coat and travelling to the bank to send money abroad. With digital money transfers, this chore can become a thing of the past! If you send money to your loved ones online, you can stay connected with them from the sofa, and you don't even need to change out of your pyjamas!

Cons: 

You need a smartphone, tablet or laptop

To send money online, you first need the tech to let you do this. So if you don’t have a smartphone, laptop or tablet, this could be tricky. You’ll also need to be able to add your bank or card details to make the transaction. So if you have all of these ready to go, then you shouldn’t have any problem sending money digitally!

You won’t have the help of a cashier to guide you through the process

If you’re an expat who is new to international transfers, you may need the help of a cashier to guide you through the process. You can find this help if you go in-branch to a bank, post office or money transfer location, although you may have to pay extra commission for the privilege. Although you’ll have to do the transfer yourself if you choose an online platform, you will still be able to get help from FAQ pages which can take you through each step of the process, and you’ll be able to speak to a support team to help you out with any problems you might have.

Online money transfers with Paysend

Paysend is an online money transfer service that lets you send money to over 100 countries worldwide from your smartphone or laptop, via our app or website. This means that you don’t have to physically go in-branch to your bank to send the money, and so you can send money from home this winter.

Plus, Paysend can be much cheaper and faster than your bank because we only charge a low, flat fee of £1, €1.5 or $2 to send money, no matter how much you want to send, and 75% of our transfers arrive in 20 seconds or less. Head to our homepage where you’ll find a handy tool to let you know how much your recipient will receive if you choose Paysend for your international money transfers!

Signing up with Paysend and sending money is really easy! Download the Paysend app from the App Store or Google Play to get started!

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