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Close to 5 million Colombians reside abroad, so how to send money to Colombia is a necessity and a common and growing practice.
According to figures from the Bank of the Republic of Colombia in 2018, remittance payments were received in that country in the order of 5.6 billion dollars.
The largest amount of money transfers to Colombia comes from the United States, Spain is a very distant second, followed by Chile, Canada and the United Kingdom, according to information from the Viventa.co Startup.
The options of how to send money to Colombia are varied, the providers of this service are diverse and not to mention the variations in the charges and commissions that they apply, which can be a matter of concern.
However, so that you stop being overwhelmed, today we categorize in a simple way the different options of how to send money to Colombia in 2020.
Ways to send money to Colombia 2023
The Timedoctor.com domain compared some fourteen alternatives to send money to Colombia from the United States and indicate that the average costs for every USD 1,000 in shipments can range from USD 15 to USD 85 and this will depend on:
- The exchange rate to the local currency (Colombian pesos or $COL)
- Commissions charged and other hidden or implicit charges
- If the cash can be made available directly or only in electronic format.
- The urgency of the shipment or time to process the transfer.
And although there are various options to send money to Colombia, the most common methods can be summarized in three.
The typical international bank transfer or draft, contracting the services of a money transfer company such as Western Union and the services offered by online payment processors.
Let’s see some details and providers of each category indicated above.
Sending money to Colombia by international bank transfer
The most conservative and safest way to send money to Colombia is through an international bank transfer or ” International Wire Transfer”.
The main banks in the United States such as Wells Fargo, CITIBANK, Morgan Chase and Bank of America, provide the international bank transfer service to send money to Colombia.
For international transfers, both the sender and the beneficiary must have a bank account and in the particular case of direct international money transfers, it is not mandatory that the beneficiary have an account in Colombia.
Viventa.co assures that banks charge a fixed fee that ranges from USD 25 to USD 85, therefore, it will only be convenient if the amount of money sent is significant.
In money it will be available in the correspondent bank in Colombia in a period between 2 to 5 days.
Send money to Colombia with remittance and shipping companies
Another important range of possibilities to send money to Colombia is represented by specialized transfer and money order companies, which can send both amounts in cash and electronic transfers.
Companies like MoneyGram, Ria Money Transfer or Western Union, specialize in cash transfers.
While others like Sharemoney, TransferWise, Remitly, WorldRemit and Xoom, focus their business model on sending money via online transfer.
The first ones charge between 4% to 6.5% of the transaction including the commission and other implicit costs. The latter charge for electronic money transfers to Colombia between 1.5% and up to 6% of the transfer.
Generally, it is a faster and simpler process than the service offered by banks and in the case of the online service, it can be instantaneous.
However, the fees can be higher than those of banks and its use will be convenient to send or transfer money to Colombia in small amounts.
How to send money to Colombia with online platforms?
A third category of how to send money to Colombia is represented by online platforms and prepaid cards.
The first option is made up of platforms such as PayPal, Payza, Payonner, Payeer and Skrill.
With these services you only need to create an account on the website associating your email, linking a payment method and confirming your identity; Likewise, the beneficiary must have an account to receive the funds.
In the case of Payza, Payoneer and Payeer, it is possible to request a prepaid card with which you can make purchases and withdraw from ATMs.
Commissions can vary between 3% and up to 6%. The money can be available instantly or in a period of no more than 2 days.