What is an International Money Transfer?

An international money transfer is a method of sending money from one country to another. It is typically conducted by tourists or students in one country who need money from a friend or relative in another country. With an expanding world of freelance workers, who are contractors that complete work for a business or individual from their homes, international money transfer is also used to pay freelancers who live in a country other than the country where the client resides. This practice is discouraged, however, as an international money transfer is intended to be for personal use.

Completing an international money transfer is simple, and the money can be in the hands of the recipient within in a matter of minutes. To conduct an international money transfer, the sender must visit a Western Union location. These offices are available in 185 different locations, for a total of over 100,000 locations to select from.

Once at Western Union, the sender must fill out a “To send money” form. After filling out this form, the sender gives the Western Union employee the amount of money that is to be sent, plus an additional fee for conducting an international money transfer. The sender then receives a Money Transfer Control Number, which is located on the receipt.

The sender can then call or email the recipient to provide him or her with the number associated with the international money transfer. Care must be taken when emailing the information, however, as the email can be hacked into and the hacker can use the number and attempt to take the money. This task is somewhat difficult, however, as the recipient must complete a “To receive money” form and present proper identification before the money is released.

The recipient of an international money transfer may pick up the money from another Western Union office. In some countries, however, other pick up points have been designated. The most common alternative pick up points for international money transfer transactions are at post offices. For those individuals who regularly complete international money transfer transactions, some of these pick up points provide special identity cards in order to make the process even faster.