There are a variety of fees that may be associated with sending money to someone, whether it is to a family member in another country or to a friend in the same city. These fees can make it difficult for people to send and receive money, especially in countries like Lebanon, where the economy is heavily reliant on expat remittances.
In this blog we will cover the various types of fees associated with money transfers, how to minimize these fees, and introduce you to Purpl, the fastest and cheapest way to send money to Lebanon.
Types of Fees for Money Transfers
Let’s examine the different types of fees when you send money to someone. These fees include:
- Exchange rate fees: These are the fees for converting one currency to another. For example, when you send money from France to Lebanon, you’ll pay a fee to change Euros to US dollars (Lebanon is now a fully dollarized economy).
- Transfer fees: These fees are charged by the institution or service that helps you send the money. For example, a bank will charge a fee for moving money from one account to another (known as SWIFT), or a money transfer service may charge a fee for sending money to someone. To send money to Lebanon, the average transfer fee can range between a few USDs to 45USD per transfer.
- Receiving fees: These fees are charged by the institution or service that receives the money. For example, a bank in the recipient’s country may charge a fee for depositing the money into the recipient’s account, or a money transfer service may charge a fee for cashing out the money. When you receive money in Lebanon, it has now become common to have a 1 to 2% cash out fee.
It’s important to note that these fees vary depending on the institution or service you use, and can also vary depending on the amount of money you are sending and the location of the recipient. You can find more details about things to consider when sending money to Lebanon in this blog.
How to minimize Fees associated With Money Transfers
Here are a few tips to help you minimize the fees when making a money transfer:
- Compare rates: Shop around and compare the rates and fees offered by different institutions and services. You may find that one institution or service has lower fees or a better exchange rate than the other.
- Use a service with low or no fees: Consider using services such as Remitly and Paysend, which often offer low-cost or no-cost money transfers to Lebanon, along with better exchange rates than banks.
- Send a large amount: When sending money, consider sending a larger amount at once if the institution or service charges a flat fee for the transfer regardless of the amount being sent. This can be more cost-effective than making multiple smaller transfers.
Purpl: revolutionizing Money Transfers to Lebanon
Purpl’s mission is to democratize money transfers to Lebanon and to enable financial inclusion. We do this by partnering with international digital remittance providers and local cash-out partners to provide low fees for the senders and zero cash out fees for the recipient.
As the first Lebanese remittance and cash-out aggregator, Purpl makes it easy to send money to Lebanon through our partners and to receive money in Lebanon on the Purpl app.
Additionally, we are working hard to enable our users to top up their Purpl wallet with cash, send money to another Purpl user, and even use our network of merchant partners to make payments.
Read our article “What Did Our Early Adopters Have To Say About Purpl?” to get more insights on how customer experience is at the heart of what we do.
Stay tuned!
Written by: Rim Ghandour
