Moneygram.....Is this OK ?

ipri

Hi...my daughter is in Japan...has been told that money transfers to UK can be done quickly via "Moneygram" ..is this a reputable site...? thanks

Probi

Why not use paypal?

pcombo

paypal sucks .

Yes moneygram is "reputable" u can go to post office and send it if u dont trust the website.

Plxply

I've used Moneygram many times before, just remember to never use it for purchases or anything like that as it offers no protection. But it's fine to send money to friends and family.

heloid

It will work but they will rip you off in the process.

ipri

heloid wrote: »

It will work but they will rip you off in the process.

How will that happen?

heloid

With very very poor exchange rates. You pay for the convenience much like you do buying something from a high street shop instead of Amazon.
Foreign exchange companies make money from transactions in a few ways but the main ones are:
1. Not charging a fee but giving you a poorer exchange rate (they make the difference between the interbank and your rate which can be quite high). These can be better for small amounts though.
2. Giving your an exchange rate close to the interbank rate but having a fixed charge (£10-£20). These generally work out better than the above when transferring high amounts (i.e. house deposits).

Most highstreet/travel shops like money gram/travelex/moneybookers/etc do no. 1 because they lure in customers with the "no charge/fee" line. People don't realise overall it costs them more to send the same amount of money. Their rates are generally really really bad though. If you look at the travel money guide on this site it says to avoid them and use an ATM card.

If you plan on sending a regular amount specialist forex brokers will always give you a better deal (but slower, they transfer money to a bank account internationally which takes time)
These are my recommendations but no matter what google them and look for complaints or bad opinions. I only send money every 4 months or so, a lot can go wrong in this period of time.
https://www.hifx.co.uk have been great for me sending money back to New Zealand at amounts between £250-£2000. They're quite big and have a good reputation. The only system makes it very easy, just like internet banking transfers.
For amounts above I get a slightly better deal from https://www.currencyindex.co.uk because they charge a flat fee and give a pretty good exchange rate.

Hope this helps.

baby_frogmella

Also HSBC Global Access online transfers (between HSBC accounts anywhere in the world) offer brilliant exchange rates usually no more than 0.1% from interbank rates. Cost is fixed at around £5 per transfer irrespective of amount.