What remittance providers you should NOT use

For many immigrants such as myself, remittance is part of the life living overseas. We work hard here and send a bit of help back home whenever we can. In normal times, such assistance is a nice touch. In times like this when many parts of the world such as Vietnam are in strict lockdown because of Covid, it becomes even more critical and appreciated. In times like this, it matters more which remittance providers we entrust with our money to family and loved ones. In this post, I’ll tell you which ones I’d use myself, what I’d not and why.

When it comes to choosing a provider through which I can send money back home, these are the main selection criteria:

Are they reliable? This is money we’re talking about. Of course, we want it to be safe and secure. Luckily, the most popular services on the market have a good reliable track record. If not, they wouldn’t service in this business.
How long will it take for money to be deposited? Nowadays, it takes much less time for recipients to see money show up in their bank accounts than it did just a few years ago. A transfer can arrive at the receiving account in a few hours or within a day. My experience is that the top providers can transfer funds at pretty much the same speed.
How much does it cost in total? This is THE deciding factor. Influencing the net amount that recipients receive are the fees and the exchange rate. The best way to evaluate different services is to look at the final amount that will be credited to the destination account.

I conducted two experiments in which I looked at what would happen if I transferred $1,000 to Vietnam and India using the most inexpensive method through 6 select providers: Xoom/PayPal, Money Gram, World Remite, Ulink Remit, Western Union and Wise. Here are the results:

	$1,000 from the U.S to Vietnam	$1,000 from the U.S to India
Wise	22,544,180 VND	72,450 INR
Money Gram	22,537,350 VND	72,663 INR
Ulink Remit	22,226,000 VND	72,565 INR
World Remit	22,140,076 VND	71,930 INR
Xoom/PayPal	22,348,000 VND	72,034 INR
Western Union	22,468,068 VND	72,606 INR

Figure 1 – Net amount received when $1,000 is sent to Vietnam & India using different remittance services

In both cases, Wise, Western Union and Money Gram are very competitive. Ulink Remit should be considered if the destination is India. Both World Remit and PayPal should not be considered. I don’t know about the value of a few Rupees in India, but if I have to lose a couple of thousand Vietnam Dongs on every $1,000 sent back home, I’ll be put off. Personally for me, Western Union, Wise and Money Gram will be the go-to services to send money to Vietnam. What is yours?