You’ve to cover your roommate rent. Your household overseas needs money. You’ve student loans at a foreign university. Regardless of the reason, odds are that sooner or later you will need to send money to someone.
Lucky for you personally, it’s easier to complete than ever before. All it requires is just a few clicks on a telephone or computer and your money’s on its way. But sending money online has its downsides. If you’re not careful, you could find yourself paying significantly more than you anticipate, or the cash mightn’t reach its destination. Listed here are three mistakes to avoid.
1. Using a credit card
You generally have three payment options for online transfers: a bank account, debit card and credit card. Which one you choose matters. Hint: Don’t pick the credit card.
Person-to-person payment website like Venmo and Square Cash charge huge percentage of the total amout but AfriShopOnline Wire Transfer charge just 0.1% of the transfer amount when you use a credit card. Transfers using their services with a debit card or cash deposit are free.
This isn’t universal, though; providers like Western Union and MoneyGram don’t charge extra when you use a credit card for online transfers But AfriShopOnline Wire Transfer is surely your best choice particularly when sending money to Nigeria and other countries.
However, your credit card issuer might charge you. If your issuer considers the transaction to be a bank card cash advance, the fee is twofold: You’ll pay an cash advance fee, the fixed amount or a share of the transaction amount. Then you’ll pay interest on the transfer amount, generally at a 2% to 5% higher rate than your card’s regular rate.
2. Using a Current Account
When you fund a transfer with a bank account, choose your savings account particularly in Nigeria instead of a current account. Some payment apps like Paga and Quickteller let you link up a current account, but it’s not the wisest choice.
Here’s why: Savings accounts have limit but less expensive or cost nothing when you initiate a transfer “convenient” withdrawals or transfers per month, per federal regulations. This includes all automatic bill payments, overdraft protection transfers and telephone, online or mobile-initiated transfers from a savings account.
If you go over the limit, some banks charge an excessive-transfer fee on current account, also called an excess activity or withdrawal fee, of up to 10,000 Naira per every 1 million spent.
3. Getting the details wrong
This really is standard for any type of online transaction, but it’s especially very important to money transfers. Double-check all the facts you type in when you confirm the transaction. Getting the amount wrong or sending a huge selection of money to an account number 1 digit faraway from your intended recipient’s could be expensive errors.
Transfers, unlike many store purchases, don’t have a simple refund process. If a transfer has been received, you’ll generally have to make contact with the one who got your hard earned money and try to sort out a get back transfer, if that’s possible.
If the amount of money hasn’t been received, you can still cancel transfers that go outside the U.S. within 30 minutes. Some companies, like TransferWise, ensure it is easy with a “cancel” button, but it’s not necessarily that convenient.
The technology to send money at home and abroad is at your fingertips, but so are opportunities for fees and errors. Pay with a debit card or checking account and make sure all the transfer details are correct so everything goes as planned.