Need help on international money transfer...

[likegoodwine]

... for a plot I am working on.
I would appreciate to receive advices from a knowledgeable person to help me with a plot that involves international money transfer. My own knowledge of money transfer is to go to a machine and take some money out of it
If somebody has some knowledge please write me a little message.
Thanks!
Likegoodwine

 

[CurtisElmore]

I Can't Help You, But...

Prepare for "Nigerian Prince" responses in 3... 2...

 

[annanova]

Neither Nigerian nor a prince... however, a little context might help in getting a proper answer.

Places like Western Union or most major banks do int'l money transfers all the time.

 

[i_would]

Not much sexy about international transfers at all. I'm involved in international trade, and it's about as routine as going to the ATM to get some cash out.

Basic options:
- transfer services like Western Union. In case of Western Union you go to their office, tell them you want to make a payment, the amount and the payout currency (usually local currency of who you remit to, but not necessarily), they charge you a commission (% of amount), you put down the cash (in your own currency), you get a number, and give that number to the other person who then can go to any Western Union office with that remittance number and receive the cash. Iirc this can be done largely anonymously. Money is available to the other party instantly. Other such remittance services likely work similar.

- telegraphic transfer, usually called T/T or sometimes SWIFT, through the banks. Can be done through e-banking or by filling in a form at your bank. Normally from a bank account (can be paid for in cash), always to another bank account. Bank charges a handling charged (fixed amount), intermediate bank and receiving bank usually also deduct charges. Depending on the banks it takes anywhere between a few hours and a week (most commonly a day) for the recipient to receive it.
A T/T is very much like making a transfer to a local account, except that it costs more and you need a few more bank codes (SWIFT code of receiving bank or an IBAN type account number). It is the most common method of making an international transfer.

Then there are plenty of more involved options like letters of credit, but that's mainly for larger amounts of money (in the tune of a couple hundred thousand USD).

 

[Dream_Operator]

You can also use Paypal.

 

[SevenSquared]

Or Neteller. Or any piece of software that allows P2P transfer of funds (such as sportsbooks or online poker software).

 

[colddiesel]

... for a plot I am working on.
I would appreciate to receive advices from a knowledgeable person to help me with a plot that involves international money transfer. My own knowledge of money transfer is to go to a machine and take some money out of it
If somebody has some knowledge please write me a little message.
Thanks!
Likegoodwine

Either:

1.Walk into a bank.
2 Ask'em how they do it.

OR:

Ask the uncertainly informed people on a Porn Board.

 

[elfin_odalisque]

likegoodwine (lovely moniker)

There are different levels of IMT. In the most basic, Western Union and other companies like them, allow a person to go to one of the company's agents, often a post office, fill in a form for the recipient and then pay either in cash or by bank card. The payer receives a reference to send to the payee who can claim the money from a local company agent in his own currency. Used primarily for Asian, African, East European families in the US or Western Europe to send money to families at home without bank accounts.

Most popular P2P IMT is bank-to-bank through internet banking. From your personal account you can transfer money immediately to any other world bank providing you have the recipient's details (IBAN and BIC - see below). There is usually a limit per transaction of between $15k to $20k but you can usually make one transaction per day. As was said, there are handling charges, usually about $25, charged by both the sending and receiving banks.

PayPal (used by e-bay), neteller and others are not banks but internet intermediaries and probably not appropriate for you. They are not secure and rarely used except for smallish amounts where a degree of confidentiality is wanted by both payer and payee. Lit and Amzon use PayPal for contest winners and royalties (not scouries).

Corporations can use the SWIFT or the Fed's Fedwire system to make real-time gross settlements, "RTGS". CHIPS is a system that provides net settlement on a periodic basis.

Basically, given the knowledge of the recipients IBAN (International Bank Account Number) and BIC (Bank Identifier Code), together with an agreement with the corporation's bank, any amount can be transferred in real-time to the recipients bank.

For writing a story, I'd just settle for IBAN and BIC to show you're up there.

Hope this of some help.

PS: To add, some currency exchange companies, like Travelex, offer a system where you buy an amount of foreign currency at point of sale that is put on a VISA debit card that you can convert to cash using ATMs in the country you visit.

 

[likegoodwine]

Thanks

Thanks all for your comments. It will help.
Likegoodwine

 

[i_would]

I'm glad there are no limits of like US$15-20k and one remittance a day on T/T remittances or I'd run into them all the time... afaik there is no limit other than the content of your bank account.

 

[elfin_odalisque]

I'm glad there are no limits of like US$15-20k and one remittance a day on T/T remittances or I'd run into them all the time... afaik there is no limit other than the content of your bank account.

T/t transfers (telegraphic or telex transfers) went out with the ark. CHAPS and SWIFT have taken their place and are used for international transfers. The limits I quoted are pretty standard for automated personal accounts. Higher amounts can be sent but usually require personal intervention by the bank.

Corporations often agree a totally different set of limits and authorities with their banks and SWIFT/CHAPS deal with this.

With internet banking, the controls the banks set on automated payments are primarily to stop someone emptying your personal/corporate account without your knowledge. The balance in the account is not the governing factor in automated transfer limits.

Clearly, transfer limits vary widely between personal and corporate clients, as does the security. The daily limit (whatever it is) applies to a single payee account, not all transfers, and can be sorted with an authorizing phone call.

 

[Bramblethorn]

I'm glad there are no limits of like US$15-20k and one remittance a day on T/T remittances or I'd run into them all the time... afaik there is no limit other than the content of your bank account.

However, depending on the country, there might be reporting requirements - large currency transfers are of interest to law enforcement for more reasons than one. Only likely to be an issue if the characters are up to something shady.

 

[MattblackUK]

Travellers Cheques or Checks.

Buy the currency you need, put them in the post and the person in the other country pays them into their bank.

 

[i_would]

T/t transfers (telegraphic or telex transfers) went out with the ark. CHAPS and SWIFT have taken their place and are used for international transfers.

In daily life I hear T/T all the time (even when talking to bank people they use that term), while SWIFT is used rarely, other than "I need your bank's SWIFT code to do the T/T". CHAPS I hear even less.

Of course there is no telex involved any more, yet the name hasn't changed - it's about the service, not the underlying technology. Even my company e-banking uses "telegraphic transfer". Similarly we always talk about "telex release" of a shipment while nowadays it's done by e-mail, and before that probably by fax.

 

[Dream_Operator]

However, depending on the country, there might be reporting requirements - large currency transfers are of interest to law enforcement for more reasons than one. Only likely to be an issue if the characters are up to something shady.

Yes, it depends on who you are, and also your relationship with the local bank\banker. I did the expat thing in your country (Australia), Bramblethorn, and because the Aussie Dollar kept going up, I waited to transfer the funds back to my US account until just before I left.

At first, the teller at the local NAB branch raised eyebrows about the size of the transfer, but one call to my (and my company's) personal banker cleared that up.

I did have to fill out a declaration form because the amount was over AUD $10K, but the funds were in my US account by the time I got back.

 

[soflabbwlvr]

Most people I know bundle the cash by wrapping stacks of bills in plastic shrink wrap, then packaging the bundles inside containers containing locally produced aromatic commodities. The packages are then shipped through ordinary cargo services, and picked up at the destination by unsuspecting mules. The mules deliver the cargo to a warehouse, where the recipient's agents take possession and transport the cash to the ultimate recipient.

 

[sr71plt]

Most people I know bundle the cash by wrapping stacks of bills in plastic shrink wrap, then packaging the bundles inside containers containing locally produced aromatic commodities. The packages are then shipped through ordinary cargo services, and picked up at the destination by unsuspecting mules. The mules deliver the cargo to a warehouse, where the recipient's agents take possession and transport the cash to the ultimate recipient.

Isn't that when the cash is in the form of recreational drugs?

 

[soflabbwlvr]

Isn't that when the cash is in the form of recreational drugs?

It's the same in reverse. Cash moves from North to South, while certain powdery forms of cash move South to North.

 

[gwenrider]

worldcore

Nothing can help about.