International wire transfer?

Question

Which company should I use? I was thinking Moneygram but I have just been on hold for 2 hours and am reluctant to send a lot of money with a company that has such lousy customer service.

Any ideas?

I am sending the money to a family member as a gift.

Answer 1

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OH! Excuse me, I thought this said "international wife transfer..."

Frankly, they're all a bunch of lying crooks hell-bent on stealing all your money. Even if it does get through, they'll take about 10%, which is quite a bit. For that sort of money you ought to be getting free beer as you wait in line to even consider using their service.

Have you considered sending a check through registered mail? It's a federal offense to tamper with it, and registered mail assures you that you know every single person that the letter goes through. Each person signs for it, and each person in the postal system must have a top secret clearance to handle it. It costs a little more than a regular letter, but it's nothing compared to the price of wiring money.

Answer 2

I like the answer given that cautions you not to wire money to any source that is not very well trusted. Wire transfers are just like cash--once they are gone, they are gone. That said, unless you don't have a bank account, it is usually best to do a wire transfer from your bank. If you do have a bank account and they refuse to do the transfer based on the country you are wiring to (think Cuba or Nigeria here) it is likely you probably ought not to send the wire anyway.

Answer 3

If you are sending the money to someone you don't know, or just know from the Internet, be very careful - wire transfers are a very common scam these days, since once they pick up the money it's probably impossible to trace them.

Answer 4

Agree with the first two comments. Also, if you have an account with a Brokerage you should check with them -- they might do it free. We used Schwab to get vacation money over to our friend's account in UK.