Seeking advice from the collective

[philsey]

The wife and I want to send a reasonable sum of money to a Priest/Friend in a small city in NE India. His only suggestion is to use WU, which is pretty expensive... looking for secure alternatives.

Anyone?

 

[KidVermicious]

Paypal?

 

[bofa]

Does it need to be electronic/instant? If so, you can go to your bank and they will wire money, usually for free or a small fee.

Otherwise, would a gift card work?

 

[CXS]

I'd go with the wire transfer directly to the recipients bank for security. Gift cards, PayPal, etc may lack the security you want/need in India but wire transfers are very secure.

 

[RunninInGA]

I'd go with the wire transfer directly to the recipients bank for security. Gift cards, PayPal, etc may lack the security you want/need in India but wire transfers are very secure.

This is true. Even if there's a fee, it's the safest, most secure way to exchange money with international recipients.

 

[ddnww]

Not sure bout your bank, but chase will let you send person to person transfer for free on your phone. Just with their phone number.

 

[eddiebx]

Bank wire transfer will be by far the safest. I am not sure if this would be an option for you but...see if you can find a bank near you that also has a branch in India near your friend, then inquire about transferring that way. I believe this is the cheapest way to do a transfer because it stays within the same bank, so to speak; it's what my parents did when they sent $ to relatives overseas.

Or just send it my way and buy me a round trip ticket to India, I could use a vacation

 

[CookieRoe]

Western union is very expensive...........

I use XOOM.com. Been using it for a few years, never had a problem. I believe they charge $5 for every $3K (or something like that). I love it because it gives me the following options:

1) What bank (in respective country)
2) What currency

Receiving party doesn't need to have a bank account, only the "transaction ID" and a valid ID card (that country's legal ID). Wired money is usually ready for pick up in 20 minutes. Very simple to use for sender/receiver.

Not sure if they work with Indian banks. Hope this helps.