The Best Ways to Send Money Abroad for Canadians

Wise is arguably the best way for Canadians to send money abroad. The company’s goal is to make international money transfers quick and easy with a low cost. And you could say that Wise has achieved this goal.

There are two fees charged by Wise. The first is charged to your payment option. The second is the general fee charged by wise. The amount for each depends on the amount of money you are sending and the currency you are converting to. Generally speaking, the total amount of fees are low. For example, Sending $100 CAD to a person in the United Kingdom has $1.58 CAD in total fees. If you have any questions about Wise’s fees, the amounts are displayed when you go to make a transfer.

Wise has five payment options:

• Direct debit
• Debit Card
• Credit Card
• Domestic wire transfer
• Bill payment

As mentioned earlier, each option has their own fees. Each payment option also affects the processing time for your transfer. Another factor that affects processing times is the currency that is being converted. Using the previous example, $100 CAD should arrive to the United Kingdom in 1 business day. Some transfers to developing countries can take 2 business days. As with their fees, Wise will display the amount the recipient gets along with the date the money should arrive.

A major positive about Wise is their transparency. The company lists all the important details about your transfer: fees, total amount send, and processing time. Wise also compares the pricing with its competitors. Sometimes, Wise will be in second or third place compared to other companies. This openness helps you find the best option for your global transfer. It will help you save money as well. The low fees are another positive to Wise. Lastly, the Wise website is easy to use; it simplifies the process of sending money abroad. One drawback to Wise is that processing times are not the greatest. Ideally you would want your money send in a few hours or minutes. But most Wise transfers take 1-2 business days. Another drawback is that Wise’s phone support has limited hours. You can only contact the support team on weekdays during regular business hours. This would not be ideal for someone who experiences and issue during the weekend. But even with these issues, Wise is still our pick for the best way for Canadians to send money abroad.

A close second behind Wise is Xoom. The service is actually part of the company PayPal. While PayPal is mostly used to buy products, Xoom allows users to send or receive money internationally. The service supports over 130 countries, and the nice thing is that the recipient does not need their own PayPal/Xoom account to receive money. You can send money directly to the person’s bank account, to a cash pickup location, or have the money send to their home. You can use either your PayPal balance, bank account or debit/credit card for your money transfer. There are minimum and maximum amounts your allowed to make for your transfer. The figure will be displayed as you enter in your information. Fees depend on the payment option you use and the delivery method. The following photo shows the fees for sending $200 CAD to Germany.

The time it takes Xoom to send your money depends on four things:

• Payment option used
• Amount sent
• Country money was sent to
• Any reviews by regulatory bodies

Therefore, your transfer could take minutes or several days to complete.

Just like Wise, Xoom is easy to use. All the information about your transfer is easily accessible, and the entire process only takes a few minutes to complete. Another positive is the fact that the recipient does not need their own account to receive money. This adds greater flexibility for both parties, sender and receiver. The one drawback to Xoom is that fee can be for card payments. For example, sending $1000 CAD to Germany has a fee of $21.49 CAD for debit/credit card.

Western Union has been around for a long time. Founded in 1851, Western Union pioneered advancements in the telegraphy industry. Probably their most well known advancement was the money wire transfer. Money transfers has now become the main service provided by Western Union.

You can either send money abroad digitally using Western Union’s website or app, or you can go to one of the many Western Union locations. About 200 countries are supported by Western Union. You can send money using your credit/debit card, bank account, or with cash (this for in-person transfers only). The receiver can either have the money send to their bank account, or they can pick it up themselves at a cash-pickup location. The minimum amount for a transfer is $1.00 CAD. The maximum amount you can send in one transfer is $7,500. Several factors affect processing times, fees, and rates. The following photo shows the fees, rates, and processing times for sending 100 CAD to the U.S.

As you can see, credit/debit card and cash in-store are both completed in minutes, but they have fees of $6.00 and $7.00 CAD. Bank account transfers have a lower fee ($5.00 CAD), but it takes 7-10 business days to complete. These figures would change if you changed the amount of money being sent and the location it was going to.

If you want fast transaction times, Western Union is a good option for sending money abroad. However, bank account transactions take longer than the other payment methods. It would be nice if each method had similar transfer times. Since Western Union’s minimum deposit limit is low, you are able to send small amounts of money. This useful if you only need to send a small amount of cash to someone internationally. Western Union’s fees are also high. Sending $100 CAD to Hong Kong has a fee between $5.00-$7.00 CAD. Compared to the other services on our guide, this figure is much higher.

The traditional way to send money abroad is through a bank account. Many Canadian banks have their own global money transfer service. All differ in terms of fees, minimum/maximum limits, processing times, and other details. Generally speaking, banks will offer attractive rates and competitive fees. These figures will depend on the account you use, the amount being sent, and the location the money is going to. Sometimes you will nee a premium account to send money abroad with your bank. Premium accounts can also give you lower fees. Some foreign banks operate in Canada. They will give you better rates, lower fees, and other benefits.

The following chart lists the details for international money transfers for the major Canadian banks:

Sending money abroad with a bank is seen as being more secure than other methods. And it is true that banks have security measures in place to protect your funds. For example, you and your recipient will have to provide information like name, address, bank account number, and a government ID to complete the transfer. You can also get lower fees and rates based on the account you use to send money abroad. The downside to this method is that processing times can take long. On average, your bank will send the money in 1-5 business days.