In this digital age, it seems like banking firms are trying to “nickel and dime” customers to death. All those fees charged by banks do add-up, at the end of the month.

If you have kids or relatives, or even friends that you love, sometimes things do happen that requires you send money right-away.

Most people will run to the local western union affiliate office, or the closest bank, but those choices might not be the best way to send money for less.

Lately, one can also send money online through some of the reputable sites with less fees, than what your bank would charge you.

In any transaction that involves sending money online, your main concern should be the fees charged, and how long it would take the recipient to receive the money.

As we look at the best and cheapest ways to send money, you’ll see that the amount you’re sending, and to what destination, plays a great role in the fees charged, and the delivery time.

Here Are Some of the Most Common Ways to Send Money

✔ Using Your Local Bank

Of all the financial places you can use to send money fast, your bank might be the most expensive, and sometimes the slowest, depending on the funds recipients location.

If the recipient has an account in the same bank, the transfer is done within the same business day, usually.

To transfer the funds, you’ll need the account number for the recipients bank, and also the routing number.

This is quite an easy process, if the person receiving the money is based in the same country as the sender.

The higher fees, and funds transmission delays, arises if your recipient is located outside the country.

In fact most times, the bank would charge you a fee for sending the money, while the receiving bank would also charge a fee to the recipient, for handling the transaction.

For outside the country money transfer that involves exchange of currency, the banks would also make a small profit from the exchange rate.

You should only use a bank to send money, if the person expecting the funds can wait, and does not mind paying the small handling fee involved with the money transfer.

✔ You Can Use Money Transfer Agents

Money transfer agents would include western union, Moneygram, Xoom, and Xpress Money. Lets take a closer look at each one.

✔ Western Union – This is the most recognizable and widely accepted means of sending money with cash at the many thousands of agents, or online through their well fortified website.

When you look at all the money transfer places you can use, western union probably charges more fees than the rest of them.

But they do have much more locations world-wide, than any other money transfer system. In fact, I am yet to find a country whereby you would not find a western union agent.

You can also conduct your money transfer online if you have a credit or debit card, but you’ll be paying a lot more fees, especially if you’re using a credit card.

By using a credit card to send money online through western union, you’ll also be charged cash advance fee by your issuing bank, and that can add up pretty quickly.

By using western union money transfer, make sure you have the exact spelling of the recipients name, and the city where the funds will be collected from.

You can designate a special pass-code that would only be known to the recipient, before the fund is released. The code will be in addition to the special tracking number given to you by western union.

Using western union to transfer money, ensures the funds is available for withdrawal immediately, even in foreign countries.

I have used them many times, and I can testify to the incredible fastness of the availability of the wired funds.

All you need to give the recipient is the tracking number, and any special code you created for the funds to be released. Your recipient would also be needing a valid identification card to collect the wired funds.

Western union has over 500,000 agents worldwide, and they have one of the best reputation for delivering the wired funds with less fuss and red-tape.

The fees charged may be higher, but they do perform admirably, and that is why millions of people use them every year.

✔ Moneygram – This is also a popular firm that helps millions of people send money every year.

While they have less agents as compared to western union, the fees charged can sometimes be less by a few bucks, depending on how much you’re sending.

Moneygram was established in 1940, and has its headquarters in Dallas, Texas. You can send cash through the thousands of agents in your local area, or you can use the services online, by using your debit or credit card.

After some bad publicity a few years back, Moneygram has tightened the security requirements for sending and receiving money.

If you check you recipients location, and they have a Moneygram agent, you should find out about the fees. If lower than western union, you should definitely use them.

✔ Xoom – this is more of an online company that helps you wire money easily for less fee. The company thrives on been one of the most secure methods of sending money online safely.

You’re only encouraged to send money to people you know, not for goods or services you purchased. You’ll find helpful, the fee calculation tool embedded on their website.

You know exactly how much you’ll be charged, before you even commence the money wire transfer online.

For those seeking how to send money online safely, Xoom is one of the best at transferring funds online quickly, and with less headache.

Do know that your first time using the service, will involve much questions to establish your identity. Make sure your credit or debit card billing address match what you inputted on the site, and your computer’s IP address would also be noted.

So, if you have any type of software blocking establishing your true location, you might have a problem concluding your money transfer online using Xoom.

✔ Xpress Money – This is a fast growing money transfer company with about 170,000 agents, in over 150 countries worldwide.

This company prides itself on been among the few that offers door to door services to recipients, depending on the country and city.

This company has been around for about 14 years, and growing rapidly in this lucrative business.

You can send money online using your computer, but from our test, we found their site to be extremely slow, so you need to keep your cool as the pages load.

A good feature they have, is the fact that the transferred funds can be collected almost anywhere, and not tied to any particular country or location.

Xpress Money do have competitive rates, and in some countries they offer the best online funds transfer fees.

The network of physical agents you can use to send cash is also growing, and you should be seeing a few in your local area soon, based on the email response we got from the company’s director of operations.

✔ What About Paypal?

This online company was a genius idea, and it’s probably the best known company used by websites doing businesses online. Even Walmart, accepts payments through Paypal.

For this to work, both the sender and recipient must have a Paypal account. The money sent is available instantaneously, and can be viewed in your account in just minutes, regardless of location.

You’re not charged any fees as the sender, but the recipient will have to pay some percentage of the sent funds as fee. You can also send the funds as gift, which totally eliminates all fees charged.

To avoid any fees when sending the money online as gift through Paypal, you’ll need to use your linked bank account, not any debit or credit card.

The limitation to how much you can send this way, is based on if you have a verified paypal account or not. With verification comes a certain threshold that would be assigned to your account, as the sending limit.

As Paypal rule, each transaction amount is limited to $10,000. This company is trusted by millions of people, and it’s probably one of the best ways to pay for most of your online purchases, especially if your merchant is a participant.

So if you’re looking for how to send money online with no fees, you should open a Paypal account, and ask your recipient to do the same. The only limitation is that verification takes a few days to be completed.

So if you’re seeking one of the cheapest ways to send money, you can checkout the money transfer systems we reviewed above.

For those seeking immediate funds availability, Western union might be the best way to go.

Moneygram, and Xpress Money are also worthy of your consideration, because they offer less fees, but with fewer agents worldwide.

Xoom is a viable cheap way to send money online, but be ready to navigate all the security features established to prevent fraud.

The amount you intend to send, and your recipient’s location will help determine how you can send money the cheapest way. For those sending ten thousand dollars or more, I would urge you to use your local bank.