While maintaining inflated cash flow as their top priority, more and more businesses nowadays are leaning towards accepting payments online. As we aim to grow our sales with lesser boundaries, targeting global audiences, it is important to have a system that caters to the needs and convenience of our customers worldwide. Fortunately, there is an expanding selection of platforms and services to make money transfer from one online account to another in a cheaper, faster and more hassle-free way. 

Not only do money transferring platforms help companies save time and resources, but it also helps your customers purchase your products without the hassle of excessive costs and additional efforts that usually transpire in the traditional physical transactions or payments via bank to bank. 

The concept of this is sending and receiving of money instantaneously by transferring data that represents a cash amount. Typically, the sending and receiving parties  would only require a cell phone number and email address. An online money transfer platform then executes the transaction at a small fee from a secure web-based platform. When the transaction is completed, you get a notification from the service provider.

Through online money transferring, your business can provide your customers with an option to pay from a variety of online payment providers making invoicing a lot easier. Not to mention that it also helps in reducing papers that will be printed to be used as an invoice.

Advantages of online money transferring platforms for businesses

Online money transfers in general hold a lot of benefits for all types of users. It is safe, fast and secure, and allows you to make transactions round the clock with its 24/7 service. Not to mention, most of the platforms available today are designed to be accessible and user-friendly to save us the trouble of navigating through it. 

Here are some advantages of online money transfer services particularly for your business:

•  Hassle-free sending of salary to your employees

By using an online money transfer service, you can save yourself the hassle of physically giving your staff and employees their salaries. This will also save you the additional fees by sending their wages via bank to bank transfer which usually costs more.

• Instant Payments

It goes beyond geographical restrictions and allows your customers to make a purchase without physical presence. It provides automated notification of the transaction that makes them assured of the item they purchased.

• Quick and easy set up

You can start selling the moment you implement the option to receive online payments. There are many providers nowadays that even offer set up plans that charge you zero and very low transaction rates.

• Ideal for global merchants

It allows merchants to instantly receive payments with no risk of bounced cheques and other associated fees since it is built to be incredibly secure and credible with regards to this matter.

• Builds more trust in customers

Nowadays customers have more trust in businesses that accept payment online through their site as it offers fraud protection and secures their money should there be circumstances where they don’t receive their purchased product.

• Great for subscription-based services

If your business offers products and services that require recurring payments, online payments may be suitable for you. You don’t have to send them payment reminders every time as you can automatically collect payments with each end of the subscription term. 

• Credit card purchases

Customers can use their credit cards with ease when they run out of balance in their accounts. It can break down the payment into several installments.

• Puts you in a competitive edge

Receiving online payments can improve your business’ reputation, allowing you to gain more trust from your customers.

• Makes you thrive on impulse buyers

Since the transaction is quick and easy, and one can pay via credit cards or through an account linked to their banks, buyers are more likely to grab a deal in your site, if there is an online payment system in place.

• More sales with last-minute offers

If you can receive online payment on your site, a customer can grab a deal even at the last minute, which will eventually increase your sales.

 

How does a money transfer work?

Choose a money transfer provider: You should be able to select money transferring services based on the competitiveness of their transaction fee, exchange rates, their security and their availability in you and your target audience’s region. 

Create an account: Create an account on your chosen transfer provider’s website or app. Most of them are free and would only charge you for the transfer fee and not for the account. However, there are some that will require you to pay a deposit fee upon sign up. You’ll need to submit your bank details and form of ID to verify your account. There are also other money transfer providers that require you to submit certain documents such as billing statements or social security for verification purposes as you set up your account. 

Set up the transfer: Select the destination you are sending to and enter the recipient’s contact information and bank account details, in addition to the amount that you are sending. 

Double check fees and confirm: At this point, your customers should be able to double-check the fees that will be sent and see an estimated transfer speed for delivery of the funds. Once they are satisfied with the payment details and have confirmed all the information is correct, you can initiate the transfer.

Track the transfer: Once the transfer has been initiated, most of the popular online money transfer providers will provide you an option to track the progress of the transfer so you know exactly when it will be delivered to your account. 

Best online money transfer platforms

These services aren’t one size fits all. Depending on the service fee, exchange rates, amount threshold, sending duration, whether you’re sending money domestically or internationally and what country you’re sending to, the best service can vary. 

Wise

Wise is one of the best ones in the industry because of how accessible and convenient it is for all types of users. It has about 8 million users worldwide and rates 4.6 out of 5 in Trustpilot. They are a money transfer company that focuses on bank-to-bank transfers with a service charge that is much cheaper than banks. One of their biggest highlight points is how transparent they are with their fees and exchange rates. With a big focus on zero hidden fees, it makes transactions so much easier. Wise confirms the exact amount of money that will reach the recipient before the transfer is made. 

To use it, all you need is to create an account by providing some personal details which includes your email, phone number, bank account or credit card information. Wise is free and only requires an initial $25 deposit.  You will be able to transfer money and see the estimated transfer time, once you enter the payment amount and currency. They charge you a transaction fee which usually lies in the region of 0.5%.

Paypal

PayPal beats so many other money transfer apps because of its accessibility and choice of payment methods. Funds are received instantly into a recipient’s PayPal account, and can be transferred to their bank account as soon as the next day. Another selling point of PayPal is that if your customer doesn’t want to link their bank account, they can use their PayPal balance to send directly to your business’ Paypal account. This platform is accepted as a method of payment at 75% of online merchants.

PayPal account holders can send money through the app, or online via a web browser. Although the sign up is free, all recipients should have Paypal accounts. PayPal’s international transfers come with big fees, so it’s best for sending money within the U.S. Sending money domestically to friends and family via a PayPal balance or linked bank account is free. International transfers are subject to transaction and funding fees, plus a fixed fee for sending in other currencies.

XE

XE is one of our top picks as the most trusted and reliable money transfer service that offers very low fees for overseas remittances. It offers their services to over 170 countries and is known to use enterprise-grade security to ensure a safe and secure money transferring transaction. 

To sign up for an account, you are required to provide some personal details and once the account is approved, your customers can set up the transfer of their payment based on the amount to be transferred, the currency and your business’ account details.  

One thing to keep in mind is that XE only supports payments via online banking. It does not charge a transfer fee and instead applies a small mark-up on the exchange rate. This margin will reduce as the amount of the transfer increases. Most money transfer with XE can be completed within the same day.

Payoneer

Payoneer is an excellent money transfer service provider in 200 countries and 150 currencies. With its easy-to-use platform to send money internationally, it focuses more on businesses and freelancers. Some of their esteemed clients who use the platform for mass payments are big names such as Airbnb, Upwork, Google and Amazon. 

It provides customizable invoices and allows you to request payments for your customers. Although their fee structure is quite complex as there is a different fee for different types of payment modes, they don't charge anything for making payments from one Payoneer account to another. 

To receive funds, you can send another user a payment request and Payoneer will send them details relevant to their purchase including the payment options. You will receive the payment in your Payoneer account within a few days. 

Remitly

Remitly offers transfers from 17 countries to over 50 receiving countries worldwide. It has over 140,000 agent locations allowing cash pickups for fast transfers. It is known for its competitive fees and convenient mobile app. It offers a range of payment options which includes bank deposits and cash pickups.

Once your account is approved, you can send money across the world by bank account, debit card and credit card, which can all be selected on the Remitly website. Their fees and exchange rates are determined by how you’re paying for your transfer, your currencies and the amount that will be sent. 

OFX

With more than two decades of experience in money transferring services, OFX has made its name worldwide with bank accounts in over 155 countries offering over 55 currencies. They take pride in its 24/7 customer service, very affordable fees and great markups in exchange rates. However, you need to be aware that the minimum amount for transfer is $1,000 which means it might not be the best option for users wanting to send smaller amounts.

OFX does not charge a flat rate for transfer fees and exchange rates are applied to each transfer depending on the amount and the currencies used. It typically takes 1-5 days for a transfer in OFX to be completed.

Currencies Direct

With Currencies Direct, you can make transfers to over 200 countries in 60 currencies. The company does not charge transaction fees and earn its revenues through exchange rates mark up. This is a huge contrast to banks that mostly charge for almost every service they offer. 

However, a few points to be aware of is that Currencies Direct have a $100 minimum thresholds for money transfers. This may inconvenience some clients who are paying for small purchases. Also, the only way to send money on this platform is through bank transfers to the business’ account.

A typical transfer with Currencies Direct may take between 24 to 48 hours to get recipients.

World Remit

Providing money transfers in more than 90 currencies in 150 countries across the world, World Remit is one of the most well-known names in the business. It is trusted by over two million users worldwide. They offer a variety of ways to send money internationally which includes bank deposits, cash pickups and even mobile money. They can process payment  transactions within a matter of minutes with very low fees and transparent exchange rates.

The process is pretty simple. All you need to do is submit a form of your personal details which include a proof of your address for verification purposes. Once your account is approved, the user can immediately start transferring money.

A delivery fee may be charged between $3.99 and $24.99 depending on the country, currency and delivery option.

Instarem

Instarem supports international payments for small businesses as they introduce a hassle-free way for people to send money from different countries and in different currencies. It has an established presence in the US, UK, Europe and Asia.  However, despite serving 55+ plus countries,it does not provide money transfer in Africa or the Mid-East.

 

It can complete the payment transaction faster in 1-2 days which is a lot faster than its competitors. The percentage fees InstaReM charges its clients range between 0.25% and 1% making transfers extremely affordable. As for transparency, it shows you the fees they charge for the transaction. In this way, you are left with no doubt for any hidden charges. The only charges you should inquire from the sending and receiving banks are bank processing fees and landing fees.