You may have just missed the cut off for sending Christmas presents internationally, but don’t fret, you can still make sure your loved ones know that you care by sending money instead.
Money in the post
For a small cost under £5.00 plus the cost of airmail you can use Royal Mail Airsure to send money with a Christmas card. You can pay a small insurance fee of £2.20 which will cover the contents of your letter up to £100.00. Check before sending that you are able to send money via post into a country. Some countries including Australia, New Zealand and India do not allow individuals to receive cash in the post. You can choose either to convert your sterling into your relative’s local currency beforehand or alternatively send sterling and get them to convert the cash. Please shop around for the best exchange rate and lowest fees or tell you family member to do so on receipt of the funds.
International Draft
This is essentially a cheque from a British high street bank made payable to your beneficiary in their local currency. There is a high cost attached to this method, depending on which bank you use there is likely to be a charge of £15-£30 for using this service plus a pretty uncompetitive exchange rate.
Bank Transfer
International bank transfers are a quick and reliable way of sending your money from A to B. You will need to know your beneficiaries bank details in order to pay the money from your account into theirs but the payment goes through relatively quickly and will be in their account on Christmas Day. As with the International draft you are likely to incur pretty hefty charges using this method.
Currency Broker International transfer
You can use a currency broker to make your international payment. International payments can be sent right up until the last few days before Christmas and will be sure to reach your beneficiary in plenty of time before Christmas day. However this may not be the most cost effective way if you are sending a small amount. You would definitely be offered a better exchange rate than the high street banks but because of the small amount the broker similar to the bank is likely to charge you a fee somewhere in the region of £10-15 for using their services. If you are looking to send over £500 this would be the best way of sending money abroad to a family member.
Online money transfer service
For small amounts of money sent to a friend or relative abroad at Christmas the best method of sending the money is via online money transfer services such as Moneybookers, Paypal or Western Union. These companies allow you to transfer money anywhere in the world at a comparitively low cost and competitive exchange rate. Check out our comparative tables to see how the rates offered compare. Always calculate exactly how much of the local currency you will be able to send on the exchange rate offered after any fees have been taken off. This will allow you to compare different companies and decide who is offering you the best deal. Make sure you do your comparisons at the same time as a slight movement in the exchange rate can skew your findings and make one company’s offer look better than another for the wrong reasons.
