How to send money overseas

Your 20-year-old is backpacking through Europe and needs extra cash pronto - just one possible reason you may have to transfer money overseas. You could be buying goods from international sellers or have family living overseas you send money to. There are a number of ways you can do it.

Bank transfer

Your bank may give you the option of making an international payment straight from your transaction account. You will need the recipient's account information including the bank and branch address and bank SWIFT or IBAN (international bank account number) identification code.

You can generally do this using internet banking, phone banking or at a branch - although the latter two will generally be more expensive.

Fees vary but as an example ANZ charges $24 if you use internet banking and $32 if you send an international money transfer by visiting an ANZ branch, foreign exchange centre or use phone banking.

ANZ says funds are usually available in two to four working days.

Another way to transfer money from your account is using Travelex's service travelexmoneytransfer.com.au.

You will have to use BPAY to make the transaction and the recipient has to have an overseas-issued Visa credit, debit or prepaid card.

This service is fee-free and the maximum transaction amount is $USD2500.

International draft

This is a more traditional way to send money overseas and is essentially like sending a bank cheque that can be deposited at an overseas financial institution.

They can be issued in Australian dollars or in a foreign currency.

You can then send the cheque in the mail to the recipient, so obviously this is only a good option if they don't need the money urgently.

Expect to pay about $20-$30 for an international draft, and of course you'll have to pay postage.

Specialist money transfer service

You can use a specialist international money transfer service like Moneygram or Western Union, which is probably the best known.

You can transfer money online at westernunion.com.au or at one of its agent locations including newsagents, post office branches, retail foreign exchange outlets, banks and travel agencies.

It's possible to send the money within hours (depending on the time zone) and you don't need the recipient's account details.

They just need to go to an appropriate outlet and show proper identification (such as a driver's licence or passport) and they will be given the money.

Fees depend on what country you send the money to and how much.

For example, to send between $1 and $150 to the UK you'll pay $7.50, to send $150.01 to $500 you'll pay a $15 fee, to send $500.01 to $1000 will cost $20 and to send $1,000.01 to $10,000 you'll pay $30.

Currency broker

It might be worth using a specialist foreign exchange broker like OzForex, HiFx or WorldFirst, especially if you are sending large sums, because they will probably offer a better rate.

The fees are competitive - HiFX has no fees and with OzForex you'll pay $15 for transfers between $2000 and $10,000 and transfers over $10,000 are free.

PayPal

If you use Ebay you'll probably be familiar with PayPal - it's a popular way to pay for purchases - but you can also use PayPal to transfer money to someone overseas.

And you don't even need their account details - they just need to have a PayPal account as well.

The fees you'll be charged depend on whether the money is coming from your PayPal balance, a bank account or credit card as well as what country the recipient is in.

You can't send money for a personal transaction from some countries, including Germany or China.

Here are some of the main issues to consider when sending money overseas:

• What countries can the money be transferred to?
• What fees will you have to pay?
• Will the recipient be charged any fees, and if so how much?
• How long will it take for the money to be transferred?
• What is the exchange rate?
• Is there a minimum or maximum amount that can be transferred?

Get stories like this in our newsletters.