What do you need to consider when sending money overseas

Money transfer or remittance services have been a part of Malaysian life since the founding of our country, used by Malaysians to send and receive money to and from abroad and by expatriates to send money back home. The remittance industry is going through constant innovation and enhancement, coupled with digital banking and fintech have made remittance service available cheaper, faster and fairer. This benefits customers who now have a wealth of choice when looking for the best way to send money overseas.

Choosing the remittance service with the right mix of cost and service to best serve your needs can be a little overwhelming. The following are some of the most important factors you should consider.

Cost is a key factor when choosing a remittance service, especially if you’re making regular transfers. As customers, we’re always looking for the best deals we can find.

The first things we look for when sending money abroad is the exchange rate. Every remittance service provider uses different foreign exchange (FX) markups so it pays to shop around for the best rates. Some service providers, like CIMB, offer live FX rates that you can follow in real time using CIMB Clicks to potentially capture market opportunities.

Another cost factor to consider alongside FX rates are any transfer, receiving and cancellation charges. When choosing an FX service make sure they are upfront and transparent about any administrative charges you or the recipient may have to pay. “Zero transfer fees” is not an assurance that no other charges may be levied against you or the recipient. Some service providers may require a fee to be paid in order to collect the transferred fund. Make sure you know all the costs involved so that as much of your hard-earned money as possible is delivered to the recipient.

In addition to low transaction fees, CIMB SpeedSend delivers a full amount payout to the recipient with no overseas bank charges. Shop around. Find the best FX rates and the lowest transfer charges. Make sure there are no hidden charges and no receiving fees.

A second key factor to consider when choosing a remittance service is the time it will take to complete the transfer. If you’re making an emergency transfer to meet some unexpected need or transferring a payment with a tight deadline, then the speed of the transfer may be even more important that the cost.

CIMB SpeedSend provides instant transfers to UK, Hong Kong, India, Singapore, Indonesia, and to accounts held at CIMB Thai in Thailand. For most other countries, the transferred funds will be available via account crediting within two business days.

As an additional convenience, CIMB SpeedSend and FTT are available 24 hours a day, every day via CIMB Clicks and allows you to transfer up to RM50,000 per day. This allows larger expenses, like overseas tuition fees, to be paid through a single transfer rather than going through the inconvenience of multiple smaller transfers. Unlimited remittance transfers can be made at CIMB branches throughout Malaysia.

The final factors to evaluate when choosing a remittance service are security and reliability. As a sender, you want the assurance that that your service provider can be counted upon to deliver your money safely, on time and as intended to the recipient. You want them to be licensed and to know that they and your transfer are in full compliance with all regulations. At CIMB, we let our reputation and customers speak for us on this matter. CIMB Foreign Telegraphic Transfers (FTT) provides remittance services to more than 200 countries in over 25 currencies via the safe and secure SWIFT network.

Never let cost be the overriding determining factor when choosing a remittance service provider. Consider everything we have discussed here to make an informed choice that is best for your needs.

This article is brought to you by CIMB as part of our ongoing efforts to raise the level of financial literacy among Malaysians. Financial knowledge and understanding are key to making well-informed and meaningful financial decisions towards positively improving welfare and well-being of communities. This is one of our many efforts to achieve CIMB’s purpose of advancing customers and society.