How to Send Money to South America
Though most countries have national banks with a couple branches in major U.S. metropolitan areas, the most common way to send money to South America is through a wire transfer company. The biggest, most convenient and widely available companies--and the companies with the highest commissions--are Western Union and MoneyGram. If the recipient has a bank account in a South American country, it is possible to transfer money directly into it from an account in the U.S., though the money will not be available until several days later.
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Things You'll Need
- ID
- Cash
- Security question
- Recipient's full name
- Recipient's location
- OR
- U.S. bank account
- SWIFT code of recipient's South American bank account
- Address and phone number of South American bank
Instructions
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Cash Wire Transfers
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1
Find a branch of a wire transfer company that also has a branch at the recipient's location. Some companies have online sending options (the recipient will still need to go to an office to receive the money), others require that you show up in person.
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2
Give the representative your full name, the amount of cash you wish to send, a security question that the recipient can answer. Send it to the branch in the recipient's city or town under the recipient's full name (must be exactly as it appears on the recipient's official identification).
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3
Pay the service fee and the money should be available at the recipient's location in 24 hours or less.
Bank Account Transfer
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4
Confirm with your bank and the recipient's bank that they provide an international money transfer service, and confirm what kind of data each bank requires for the transfer.
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5
Ask the recipient to give you their bank account number, name that the account is registered in, contact information for the bank (address and phone number, usually) and SWIFT code.
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6
Go to your local bank and request a transfer to this account for the amount you wish to send. Pay the service fee (if any--many bank transfers are free or considerably less than wire transfers). The money should appear in the recipient's account in three to four business days.
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1
Tips & Warnings
Double-check that all of the numbers and names are correct. Confirm with the recipient the name (and spelling!) on the identification they will use at the bank or cash transfer branch, as many companies will not release the money unless the name on someone's identification is exactly the same as the name stated in the transfer.
Resources
- Photo Credit fistful of dollars. image by Greg Carpenter from Fotolia.com
