TRANSFER MONEY OVERSEAS

Many immigrants send some of their earnings to relatives and friends in their home countries. There are several ways to transfer money overseas, and different types of companies can help you with this task.

A common but high cost way of sending money to another country is to use money transfer companies such as MoneyGram or Western Union. These companies do not have their own branches, but transfer money through agents in storefronts, convenience markets or check cashers. Typically, the fee for money transfers increases with the amount of money you sending.

You can explore other lower-cost options to send money overseas:

• Money orders, available at banks and post offices;
• Banking services, such as checks, debit cards, electronic transfers and rechargeable stored value cards;
• Special low cost wire transfers available at the post office and selected banks. (Watch out: It can be very expensive to wire money from a U.S. bank if the bank does not offer a special program to help immigrants send money overseas.)