Western Union Fees

Since most of you coming searching for Western Union Fees or Rates or Charges, I have added this link on the top. Go to the section Western Union Fees Calculator, or else continue reading this entire post to find out if Western Union is really good for you as compared to Moneygram or other alternatives. Remember that Western Union is a very trusted money transfer service and although it is free from fraud, it is always better if one is aware of some negative reviews too.

Western Union Money Transfer Overview

Western Union Money Transfer is a fast an reliable remittance service to send money abroad to your friends relatives or any other person. Money Sent by Western Union Money Transfer is available for pick up at an agent location, i.e. the person to whom you send money will have to personally collect it from a Western Union Location. Western Union has over 300,000 locations or branches world wide, so it is quite likely that a convenient agent location is available for you. Click on Western Union Locations to find out the most convenient agent location for you. Or continue reading for more on how to transfer money using Western Union, what are the exchange rates and fees charged by Western Union, is Western Union really better than other alternatives like Moneygram etc., and many more related things.

What you will find in this post (Click on the link to read more about that topic)

• How to find Western Union Exchange Rates and Fees?
• How to send money using Western Union?
• Send Money Online using a Credit Card using Western Union.
• Western Union Tracking Status Link
• Find Convenient Western Union Agent Locations or Branches.
  
• Pros and Cons of sending money by Western union

Western Union Alternatives: What is better- Western Union or MoneyGram?

Western Union and MoneyGram function in much the same way, but Western Union is a much bigger money transfer service with nearly 3 times more agent locations than MoneyGram. As far as fees and charges are concerned, there is no clear answer as to which is more cheaper, Western Union or Moneygram. Read my posts on Western Union versus Moneygram or Best Options to send money overseas to find out more about other alternatives to Western Union like Bank wire-transfer, Xoom, Ikobo, etc.

How to send money using Western Union?

• Go to an Western Union Agent Location. Pay the agent the money that you want to send overseas. You will also choose a Western Union agent location from where the receiver will collect his/her money.
  
• The person to whom you are sending money by Western Union goes to the chosen agent location from where he/she can pick up the money by simply showing an identity card.

I also remember seeing an Advertisement saying you can send money directly to a Bank using Western Union Money Transfer. Please check Western Union website for more about this possibility.

Using Western Union to Send Money using Debit / Credit Card

You can also send money online using Western Union by a Visa or Mastercard Debit or Credit card if you are located in one of the countries listed below. If your country is appears in this list, this click on that link below, then click on "Money Transfer" tab on the top right, and then finally click on "Price service" to find out more about Western Union Exchange Rates and fees to Send Money online using credit card.

Australia Austria Canada France Germany Ireland Italy Netherlands New Zealand Norway Spain Sweden United Kingdom United States

Western Union Money Transfer Tracking Status

You can also track the status of your money sent by Western Union by click on the following link : Western Union Money Transfer Tracking Status

Western Union Money Transfer Agent Locations

Go to Western Union Locations.

Pros and Cons of Sending Money by Western Union

There are two clear advantages of transferring money by Western Union.

1. Trusted Money Transfer Service. I remember that once i even paid some fees to the U.S. Government for a visa using Western Union. This will give you an idea of how trusted Western Union Money Transfer Service is. Your Money is safe with Western Union.
2. Quickest Method of Money transfer- This method of Global Money Transfer where the person you are sending money to collects cash from an agent location is sometimes called Cash Transfer method. This is the fastest method of sending money because usually the money you send is available for pick up within a couple a hours (or even minutes?). This beats even the speed of Bank Wire Transfer.
   

However, there is one disadvantage of of sending money by Western Union - High Fees. Depending on which country you are sending money to, for e.g. Philippines, India, etc. there maybe some cheaper or even *free* money transfer or remittance services. Thus unless you want to send money quickly, you can try some of the other cheaper services (listed on the right column of this page).

Western Union Exchange Rates and Fees Calculator

The Fees charged by Western Union depend on the amount of money you are sending and also on the locations between which you want to transfer money. To find out Western Union Rates and Fees go to estimate price if you are located in United States, or do the following.

1. Go to Western Union Homepage and choose your country.
2. Then click on Estimate Price (top middle of the page).
   
3. Unfortunately for some countries, this Estimate Price button is not available. In this case, the only way known to find price/rates, is to locate western union agents near you by clicking on "Find an Agent" button on the top and then call that agent to find out about the exchange rates and fees.
   

Articles on Western Union Money Transfer Western Union Rates, Fees, Locations. Comparison of Western Union and MoneyGram How to Send Money using Western Union? Western Union Philippines Articles on Money Transfer Send Money Overseas or Abroad: The most popular and best ways to send money to your home country. Xoom Money Transfer Review Ikobo Visa - A new way to send money abroad where you send a re-loadable visa card to the beneficiary. MoneyGram Money Transfer and Money Order service. Online Remittance to India SBI Remittance Review - My most preferred method of sending remitting money to India. Good exchange rates. Remit2India Options to Send money to India Send Money to India by Paypal HDFC QuickRemit

External Links

Western Union Money Transfer - A trusted way to send money where beneficiary collects cash from a Western Union location.

MoneyGram - International Money Transfer and Money Order. You send money, beneficiary collects cash from a chosen MoneyGram agent or location.

iKobo - Send Money Worldwide Money Transfer by ATM Card. Useful for those who have to send money frequently. Check foreign exchange rates on the homepage of iKobo.

Xoom Money Transfer - Online Remittance from United States to various other countries. Xoom Fees are around $8 per transaction.

Send Money to India

ICICI Remit to India Online Money Transfer to India. ICICI Exchange rates.

SBI Remittance Online Money Transfer to India. SBI exchange rates.

Remit2India Online Money Transfer to India. Remit2India exchange rates.

HDFC Quick Remit Remit Money to India online from U.S., U.K., Europe and Singapore. HDFC Quick Remit exchange rates.

CitiBank Online Remit Remit Money to India from US.

Disclaimer

I have been sending money to India for quite a few years. I have been involved in at least 50 money transfers to India and used 4 to 5 different methods of online remittance. Although I do make efforts to provide accurate information about services related to online remittance, none of the opinion, experience or reviews in this post should be used for making any decisions to remit money to India or any other country. It is easily possible that my experience or opinion about a particular remitting service is different from yours. It is your money that you want to remit. So please verify the information from your own authentic sources before making a choice for remitting your money. I do not accept any liability for incorrect or inaccurate information. Some of the links in the posts may be affiliate links, however the opinions and reviews presented in the post remain honest and unbiased.

Read more ...

Traffic is to a website what blood is to our body. Without Traffic any website is as good as dead. This is one reason why usual Web hosting plans are not suitable for most of you, especially if you do not have a lot of free time to work on your website traffic or lack the technical knowhow of coding and Search Engine Optimization.

This post is a detailed review of an alternative to Web hosting, a service called Site Build It! which is the best Website Building Service. Read the following review to understand the difference between web hosting and website building services.

The three main challenges of website building.

Content Challenge (What to write?) - If you do not create good content on your website, you will fail. As simple as that. This is where you knowledge and interest about your topic or business comes into play. Choosing a topic which you find interesting is extremely important first step to meet this challenge.

Coding Challenge (How to write?) - Presentation and a professional look for your website matters. Coding is not just about achieving the look, but also achieving the right functionality. It is important to have the ability to make your website look and function as you imagine it.

SEO Challenge (How to get traffic?) - Traffic is to a website what blood is to our body. Without traffic the website is as good as dead. After you have the right content on your website there is only one answer to "How to get more traffic?" - SEO.

Once your website gets popular, especially for small business or e-commerce websites, there will be additional challenges of handling your visitor-base with emails and newsletters.

What is the difference between Web Hosting and Website Building plans?

A web hosting plan simply gives you a platform to build your website. A website building plans actually helps you to build web pages with point and click ease and also generate traffic. In other words Website Building Plans like Site Build It! help you meet all the three challenges of Website Designing mentioned above with point-and click ease.

What is Site Build It!?

If you don't want to dirty your hands with technical details of coding and Search Engine Optimization, but still want to have your own successful website, Site Build It! is exactly meant for you. It allows you to focus on real content and makes building a website as easy as stacking blocks. It's suite of tools also offer professional help with Search Engine Optimization, keyword analysis and traffic generation.

Site Build It! offers you the following -

• Domain Name Registration
• Web site Hosting
• Point-and-Click page creation
  
• Content Management
• Blogging
• Market Research
• Traffic Stats
  
• Search Engine Optimization
• Auto-responders
• Form builder
• Graphic manager
• Customizable templates
• Sitemaps
• RSS feeds
• Web mail
• Newsletter management
  

More about traffic tools
How does it help you generate more traffic?

There are two types of traffic that a website receives. Loyal readers who directly visit your website and visitors from Google or other Search Engines. Search Engine visitors are primary because these are the one's who will keep increasing your base of loyal visitors. The following tools of Site Build It! are designed to fine tune your content to get more search engine visitors.

1. Analyze It! tool - SBI!'s unique process analyzes each Web page just before you build it. It tells you, in simple language, how to optimize your wording to obtain high Search Engine rankings. This expert advice is merely the first step in the generation of high free traffic.
2. Automatic Search Engine Ranking tool - SBI! reports on how each page ranks for your keywords at each engine. Certain pages not ranking well? SBI! tells you, in simple language, exactly what to do to rank higher.
3. Automatic Search Engine Site Map Creation tool - SBI! owners automatically submit their entire sites through a document called a Sitemap XML file. How much time, energy and money does it cost to update and re-submit their Sitemap XML document every time they update their sites? Nothing. SBI! does it all for them. Originally introduced by Google, SBI! was the first to take advantage of this protocol.
4. Automatic Search Engine Pinging - SBI! helps your site get listed at more engines for more pages, faster. If you don't understand any of this, that's the point -- you should not have to and with SBI!, you do not have to.
   
5. Automatic Search Engine Tracking - SBI! tracks and reports on when Search Engine spiders visit each of your pages, and when each page is listed. If it's taking too long, or if a page is dropped, it even tells you and offers suggestions.

Apart from this, Site Build It! professional looking and appealing websites (have a look at some real samples in the right column) help you convert search engine visitors to loyal visitors. The tools of newsletter management and automatic email responders help you manage your base of loyal readers efficiently and with ease.

Site Build It!'s systematic CTPM model

Site Build It! is designed around the simple formula which they refer to as CTPM.

Content -> Traffic -> Presell -> Monetize.

This is exactly the model on which a lot of successful websites and affiliate programs are based on. What Site Build It! does is offer you a suite of tools to help you implement the CTPM model and other challenges of Website Creation with point-and-click ease.

Getting Started

Since Site Build It! offers a complete suite of tools to help you build and market your website, - it naturally it costs more usual Web Hosting plans. The cost of Site Build It! come out to be about $25 per month (including everything). Subscriptions are on yearly basis.

If you need more information, it is a good idea to visit Site Build It! Homepage and watch the 2 minute video. I absolutely recommend you to take the 30 minute video tour of Site Build It!. If you really want to do your homework to make sure that every dollar you spend is worthwhile here is a list of Site Build It! pages you my be interested in visiting

1. View sample websites from Real World developed using Site Build It!. (recommended)
   
2. Take a Video Tour of Site Build It! (highly recommended)
   
3. Directly Ask a Question to a Site Build It! representative. This is the best way to clear any doubts or questions you may have.

Visit Site Build It !

Site Build It! - Below are some real world examples ...

http://www.beauty-and-the-bath.com/

http://www.debtsteps.com/

http://www.swing-trade-stocks.com/

http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/

View More Sample Websites

Read more ...

There are so many ways to send money to India that if this is your first time then it can actually confuse you. While selecting the right money transfer method there are four things that you need to consider - Reliability, Convenience, Speed, Exchange rates / fees.

There are following are different ways of sending money to India. Click on Outward Remittance if you want to send money from India to United States or other country abroad.

Sending money to India by Check
Probably the most inconvenient method. Overall Process can easily take over 6 weeks.

Sending money to India by Bank Wire Transfer
This is the best way to send money to India fast, and with good exchange rates. Only drawback is that you have to pay around $40 fees per transaction. This makes it suitable if you want to transfer a couple of thousand dollars to India or more. To send money by wire transfer you will need account details of your bank in India, Swift code of your Indian bank. Simply go with these details to your local bank in United States or any other country abroad that you are currently living in and tell them you want to transfer money to India by wire transfer.

Sending money to India by ACH transfer
This is probably the most common way probably because it is usually free and completely online. You dont need to know what ACH money transfer is. It basically means that some institution will take the money out of your US or local bank and transfer it electronically to your Indian Bank Account. The process is completely an online method and no paperwork should be required. The entire money transfer process typically takes about 4 to 6 business days. Below you will find several ways to send money to India by ACH transfers. The following are the most popular ways to remit money to India by ACH transfer. Some of the services listed here also give you additional options like sending money by DD, wire transfer etc. Click on links to know more.

1. SBI Express Remit (check exchange rates)
2. Remit2India (check exchange rates)
3. ICICI Remit (Money2India) (check exchange rates)
4. HDFC QuickRemit (check exchange rates)
5. CitiBank Online Remit
   

Sending Money to India - Other methods
There are a few other methods. You may also read my post on Send Money Abroad to know more about internationally available options like Xoom, Ikobo Visa, MoneyGram, etc.

1. Send money to India by Paypal - You and the beneficiary need to have a paypal account. If you want to send money to your own bank account in India, you need to have a Paypal India Account. Add your Indian and US Bank account details and transfer funds. Exchange rates not very good, but a free and fixed-exchange rate way to transfer money to India.
2. Send Money to India by a Debit Card - Simply go to your local bank and ask if you can order an additional ATM card for a family member. If they allow you this is probably the most hassle free way to send money frequently to India. If they don't allow you, then come back and read Investo Blog's post on Ikobo and Remit2India where you will find similar option of sending a re-loadable debit card to someone back home in India.
3. Sending money a Demand Draft - All ACH transfer methods to be listed below usually also include an option to send a demand draft to the beneficiary in India. This is suitable if you do not want to transfer money to your own bank account but send money to someone else.
4. Send Money to India by Western Union or MoneyGram - In this method - which is called a cash transfer method, the person that you are sending money to has to pick up the cash from one of the agent locations in India. Western Union has over 3,00,000 agent locations worldwide while Moneygram also has over 100,000 agent locations in several countries. So it is quite likely that there is a convenient agent location for you. The advantage of this method is that money is available for pick up within minutes. The disadvantage is that it is not suitable for large amounts of money transfer and has a bit higher fees.
   

Articles on Money Transfer Send Money Overseas or Abroad: The most popular and best ways to send money to your home country. Xoom Money Transfer Review Ikobo Visa - A new way to send money abroad where you send a re-loadable visa card to the beneficiary. MoneyGram Money Transfer and Money Order service. Online Remittance to India SBI Remittance Review - My most preferred method of sending remitting money to India. Good exchange rates. Remit2India Options to Send money to India Send Money to India by Paypal HDFC QuickRemit

External Links

Western Union Money Transfer - A trusted way to send money where beneficiary collects cash from a Western Union location.

MoneyGram - International Money Transfer and Money Order. You send money, beneficiary collects cash from a chosen MoneyGram agent or location.

iKobo - Send Money Worldwide Money Transfer by ATM Card. Useful for those who have to send money frequently. Check foreign exchange rates on the homepage of iKobo.

Xoom Money Transfer - Online Remittance from United States to various other countries. Xoom Fees are around $8 per transaction.

Send Money to India

ICICI Remit to India Online Money Transfer to India. ICICI Exchange rates.

SBI Remittance Online Money Transfer to India. SBI exchange rates.

Remit2India Online Money Transfer to India. Remit2India exchange rates.

HDFC Quick Remit Remit Money to India online from U.S., U.K., Europe and Singapore. HDFC Quick Remit exchange rates.

CitiBank Online Remit Remit Money to India from US.

Disclaimer

I have been sending money to India for quite a few years. I have been involved in at least 50 money transfers to India and used 4 to 5 different methods of online remittance. Although I do make efforts to provide accurate information about services related to online remittance, none of the opinion, experience or reviews in this post should be used for making any decisions to remit money to India or any other country. It is easily possible that my experience or opinion about a particular remitting service is different from yours. It is your money that you want to remit. So please verify the information from your own authentic sources before making a choice for remitting your money. I do not accept any liability for incorrect or inaccurate information. Some of the links in the posts may be affiliate links, however the opinions and reviews presented in the post remain honest and unbiased.

Read more ...

About four months ago, before my trip to United States, I landed in a situation where I had to send a $500 check to my landlady in United States. And it was a disaster ! Never before I had known that it is so difficult to send money from India to other countries overseas. Perhaps the reason for this is that Indian Rupee is a managed currency. So RBI is obliged to keep a close watch on rupees which are converted to US Dollars or other international currencies. Sending money outside from India is also called outward remittance. After having one terrible experience, I think I now know some of the best ways to send money from India to a country abroad, which i will share in this post.

Sending a Check from India to USA or abroad

Remember that simply sending a Indian Rupee to someone outside does not work. The person located abroad will not be able to cash the check because of restrictions of Indian Government or RBI. Yes, you are right- you can receive a check in US dollars or other international currencies, RBI does not have a problem with that. but you cannot send a check in Indian Rupees. However you can send a check in US dollars or other international currency . To do this, you will have to go through the following procedure:

1. Go to your local Bank and ask them that you want a check in foreign currency. You will have to take a letter from the bank saying something like : you have a savings (or checking) account with them with account number so & so, and an amount of $500 US (or any other amount you want) may be debited from your account for the purpose of sending outward remittance.
2. With this letter you will probably have to go to other Branch of your Bank which handles foreign currencies. There you give the letter and fill out some form and wait to receive your check in US dollars or other currency.

What you should carry along with you :

1. You Passport.
2. Your Bank Account Passbook.
3. Reason for sending money outside and proof for that reason. For example, an email, or an invitation letter or any other such document.
   

Caution: The above process may look simple, but unfortunately it is terribly handled. The reason for this is perhaps outward remittance is not that common and officials are usually not aware of the procedure. I had first tried to get a US dollar check from Central Bank of India, and all that happened with me was different branches kept sending me to other branches and I never managed to get my overseas check. One of the bank manager asked me to furnish details of the bank account of the person to whom I was sending the dollar check. Isn't that ridiculous? If the person whom you are sending money to is not your close relative or friend why would he/she give her private bank account details to you? I almost hate Central Bank when I have to deal with transactions like this. I recommend you try State Bank of India, if you have an account with SBI. I got the job done in couple of hours without any harassment or having to furnish private bank account details of the person to whom I was sending outward remittance.

Other ways of Sending money from India to USA or Abroad

Because of the hassle involved, check is not the best way to send money from India to outside. There are other ways which you can try.

1. Send Money by Paypal: It is very easy to send money by paypal to anyone (no matter the location) with an email address. You can add funds in your Paypal India account using a credit card and paypal will transfer the funds to the paypal account of the person whom you are sending money. Opening a paypal account takes minutes. No filling up of forms required. Only disadvantage is that the person you are sending money to needs to open a paypal account.
   
2. ICICI Outward Remittance by Wire Transfer or Foreign Currency Demand Draft: There are some services offered by ICICI Bank or others where you can send money from India to a person abroad. You will still have to fill up some forms but i believe (have no first hand experience) that the process is lot easier than getting a check in US dollars.
   

There are also several other options of money transfer between two countries discussed in detailed in my post Send Money Abroad.

I encourage you to share any experience you have regarding sending money abroad with the readers in a comment.

Articles on Money Transfer Send Money Overseas or Abroad: The most popular and best ways to send money to your home country. Xoom Money Transfer Review Ikobo Visa - A new way to send money abroad where you send a re-loadable visa card to the beneficiary. MoneyGram Money Transfer and Money Order service. Online Remittance to India SBI Remittance Review - My most preferred method of sending remitting money to India. Good exchange rates. Send Money to India by Paypal HDFC QuickRemit

External Links

Western Union Money Transfer - A trusted way to send money where beneficiary collects cash from a Western Union location.

MoneyGram - International Money Transfer and Money Order. You send money, beneficiary collects cash from a chosen MoneyGram agent or location.

iKobo - Send Money Worldwide Money Transfer by ATM Card. Useful for those who have to send money frequently. Check foreign exchange rates on the homepage of iKobo.

Xoom Money Transfer - Online Remittance from United States to various other countries. Xoom Fees are around $8 per transaction.

Send Money to India

ICICI Remit to India Online Money Transfer to India. ICICI Exchange rates.

SBI Remittance Online Money Transfer to India. SBI exchange rates.

Remit2India Online Money Transfer to India. Remit2India exchange rates.

HDFC Quick Remit Remit Money to India online from U.S., U.K., Europe and Singapore. HDFC Quick Remit exchange rates.

CitiBank Online Remit Remit Money to India from US.

Disclaimer

I have been sending money to India for quite a few years. I have been involved in at least 50 money transfers to India and used 4 to 5 different methods of online remittance. Although I do make efforts to provide accurate information about services related to online remittance, none of the opinion, experience or reviews in this post should be used for making any decisions to remit money to India or any other country. It is easily possible that my experience or opinion about a particular remitting service is different from yours. It is your money that you want to remit. So please verify the information from your own authentic sources before making a choice for remitting your money. I do not accept any liability for incorrect or inaccurate information. Some of the links in the posts may be affiliate links, however the opinions and reviews presented in the post remain honest and unbiased.

Read more ...

Remit2India is an Online Remittance Service by TimesofMoney Company and is designed for NRI's all over the world to send money to India. Remit2India has presence in over 23 countries including U.S., Canada, Australia, several countries in Europe etc. In order to transfer money from your country abroad to India by Remit2India, you will have to register for an account on Remit2India, provide your Bank details in the country where you are sending money and then provide the details of the bank account in India to which you want to send money.

Different Options to Send Money to India using Remit2India
One has the following options of sending money to India using Remit2India money transfer service.

1. Remit2India ACH Money Transfer - ACH just means that once you open and account with Remit2India and give them online instructions to transfer money, the money will be deducted from your bank account abroad and transferred using remit2india to your bank account in India. This is a complete online process. Option of either sending the money directly to Indian Bank account or delivering a locally payable demand draft it to the home of the beneficiary. Processing time: 3 to 5 business days. Fees: Free.
2. Remit2India Rupee Express - A faster online way of transferring money but with higher fees. (in my opinion, not worth it). Processing time: 3 business days. Fees: 1.5% of your remittance amount plus a small transaction fee.
3. Remit2India Moneybookers Transfer - An even faster, overnight transfer method where money is transferred to India overnight. Naturally an expensive method. Processing time: Overnight. Fees: 3.95% of remittance amount plus a small transaction fee.
   
4. Remit2India Wire Transfer - This is an option where you can Wire transfer your money from your bank account abroad to an indian bank account at home. Processing Time: 2 business days. Fees: Click on Remit2India Wire Transfer Fees.
   
5. Remit2India Guaranteed Rate Transfer - A mode where you can fix the foreign exchange rate at the time of transaction and avoid fluctuations of forex rates. In my opinion not worth it, unless you believe the dollar is going to collapse overnight.
6. Remit2India Axis Bank Remittance Card - There is also an option which you wont find easily on Remit2India website but can find it on Axis Bank Remit. In this option a Visa debit card is send to the beneficiary where he/she can withdraw upto Rs. 40,000 per month from any ATM. This is re-loadable debit card and hence is a good option if you want to send money to india frequently. Read more about Axis Bank Debit Card.

Payment Options for Remit2Inida
You can pay for your remit2india money transfer directly from your bank account. If you are located in United states, you also have an option of paying with your credit card, but you will be charged 3% of the remittance amount as fee. There is also an option of mailing a check to remit2india.

Cost Comparison of Remit2India with other ACH money transfer services.
I have found that the exchange rates of Remit2India are comparable but slightly lower than SBI Express Remit forex rates. However more options are available for sending money from Remit2Inida. Thus if you are looking for better interest rates and are not worried about all the above options of sending money to india, you may also be interested in trying SBI remittance. Read about even more options to Send Money Overseas.

Articles on Money Transfer Send Money Overseas or Abroad: The most popular and best ways to send money to your home country. Xoom Money Transfer Review Ikobo Visa - A new way to send money abroad where you send a re-loadable visa card to the beneficiary. MoneyGram Money Transfer and Money Order service. Online Remittance to India SBI Remittance Review - My most preferred method of sending remitting money to India. Good exchange rates. Remit2India Options to Send money to India Send Money to India by Paypal HDFC QuickRemit

External Links

Western Union Money Transfer - A trusted way to send money where beneficiary collects cash from a Western Union location.

MoneyGram - International Money Transfer and Money Order. You send money, beneficiary collects cash from a chosen MoneyGram agent or location.

iKobo - Send Money Worldwide Money Transfer by ATM Card. Useful for those who have to send money frequently. Check foreign exchange rates on the homepage of iKobo.

Xoom Money Transfer - Online Remittance from United States to various other countries. Xoom Fees are around $8 per transaction.

Send Money to India

ICICI Remit to India Online Money Transfer to India. ICICI Exchange rates.

SBI Remittance Online Money Transfer to India. SBI exchange rates.

Remit2India Online Money Transfer to India. Remit2India exchange rates.

HDFC Quick Remit Remit Money to India online from U.S., U.K., Europe and Singapore. HDFC Quick Remit exchange rates.

CitiBank Online Remit Remit Money to India from US.

Disclaimer

I have been sending money to India for quite a few years. I have been involved in at least 50 money transfers to India and used 4 to 5 different methods of online remittance. Although I do make efforts to provide accurate information about services related to online remittance, none of the opinion, experience or reviews in this post should be used for making any decisions to remit money to India or any other country. It is easily possible that my experience or opinion about a particular remitting service is different from yours. It is your money that you want to remit. So please verify the information from your own authentic sources before making a choice for remitting your money. I do not accept any liability for incorrect or inaccurate information. Some of the links in the posts may be affiliate links, however the opinions and reviews presented in the post remain honest and unbiased.

Read more ...

MoneyGram International Money Transfer

MoneyGram is a well known service for sending money worldwide. If you have heard of Western Union Money Transfer, Money Gram functions is much the same way. You pay MoneyGram and the beneficiary collects the amount at a convenient (and chosen) MoneyGram Agent Location. If you are sending money to Philippines of Dominican Republic, MoneyGram offers a Home Delivery Option. Home Delivery is offered in the Philippines through MoneyGram’s partner LBC.

Quick Links for topics discussed in this article:

• Moneygram Fees and exchange rate
• MoneyGram Locations
  
• MoneyGram Sending Limit
• MoneyGram Money Transfer Options

MoneyGram Locations

To find out if MoneyGram is suited for your purpose you must first find out if there is a convenient MoneyGram location from where the person you are sending money can collect cash. As mentioned before, for sending money to Philippines and Dominican Republic you can also choose an option of Home Delivery, where money is delivered to your beneficiary's mailing address. Click on MoneyGram Locations to find more. Currently MoneyGram has over 100,000 locations spread over 170+ countries worldwide. So it is quite likely that you will find a convenient location.

MoneyGram Sending Limit

Using MoneyGram you can only send upto $899 in one transaction, provided you use your Bank account in United States to pay MoneyGram. If you are using MoneyGram Same Day Service (read below) you also have the option of paying by Credit Card, but the limit for a credit card transaction is lower, only $500. So MoneyGram is not for sending large amounts of money abroad. Click on Send Money Abroad to learn more about other options. Also keep in mind that if you pay MoneyGram by Credit Card, it is possible that your Credit Card company considers it as a Cash-Equivalent and applies charges equivalent to cash withdrawal from your credit card. Best way is to call your credit card company and find out if indeed they may charge you for cash-equivalent.

MoneyGram Money Sending Options

Moneygram offers two types of money transfer service.

1. MoneyGram Same Day Service: The cash is available for pick up at a chosen MoneyGram location on the same day, typically withing minutes. If Home Delivery Option is chosen (only available for Philippines and Dominican republic), additional time maybe required. You have the option of paying for Credit Card if you use Moneygram same day service but the money sending limit for Credit card is $500. If you use your U.S. Bank Account, you can send upto $899.
2. MoneyGram Economy Service: In this method of money transfer you have the option of paying through your U.S. Bank Account. The sending limit is $899 and money is available to the beneficiary within 3-5 U.S. business days.
   

In some cases, for example sending money to India, you will see that the charges for Moneygram same day service and MoneyGram Economy service are the same because there is no difference in these services. On the other hand for sending money to some countries like Israel, the charges are different, and there is a difference between the above to options of money transfer.

MoneyGram Fees, exchange rates, charges

The fees charged by Money Gram depend on the amount of money you send, the country to which you send money and also depends on which money transfer option you choose (same day, economy, home delivery, etc.). You can find out about more about this by clicking on

MoneyGram Fees and exchange rate Calculator

on the homepage of MoneyGram. When you calculate the fees, you will see the 'amount delivered' which will give you the exact idea of moneygram exchange rate.

The following table will give you a quick idea of fees involved. To find out about

Fees for sending $500 using MoneyGram

if your country is not listed below click on MoneyGram Exchange Rates and Fees Calculator to find out charges for you.

Country	Same Day Service	Economy Service
Cameroon	$31	$15
Nigeria	$31	$15
Ghana	$31	$15
Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast)	$31	$15
Jamaica	$19.99	$15
Uganda	$31	$15
Kenya	$12	$10
Senegal	$31	$15
South Africa	$31	$15
Trinidad and Tobago	$31	$15
India	$9.99	$9
Philippines	$28	$14.99

Articles related to Moneygram Is Moneygram really better than Western Union? How to send money using Western Union Money Transfer? Articles on Money Transfer Send Money Overseas or Abroad: The most popular and best ways to send money to your home country. Xoom Money Transfer Review Ikobo Visa - A new way to send money abroad where you send a re-loadable visa card to the beneficiary. MoneyGram Money Transfer and Money Order service. Online Remittance to India SBI Remittance Review - My most preferred method of sending remitting money to India. Good exchange rates. Remit2India Options to Send money to India Send Money to India by Paypal HDFC QuickRemit

External Links

Western Union Money Transfer - A trusted way to send money where beneficiary collects cash from a Western Union location.

MoneyGram - International Money Transfer and Money Order. You send money, beneficiary collects cash from a chosen MoneyGram agent or location.

iKobo - Send Money Worldwide Money Transfer by ATM Card. Useful for those who have to send money frequently. Check foreign exchange rates on the homepage of iKobo.

Xoom Money Transfer - Online Remittance from United States to various other countries. Xoom Fees are around $8 per transaction.

Send Money to India

ICICI Remit to India Online Money Transfer to India. ICICI Exchange rates.

SBI Remittance Online Money Transfer to India. SBI exchange rates.

Remit2India Online Money Transfer to India. Remit2India exchange rates.

HDFC Quick Remit Remit Money to India online from U.S., U.K., Europe and Singapore. HDFC Quick Remit exchange rates.

CitiBank Online Remit Remit Money to India from US.

Disclaimer

I have been sending money to India for quite a few years. I have been involved in at least 50 money transfers to India and used 4 to 5 different methods of online remittance. Although I do make efforts to provide accurate information about services related to online remittance, none of the opinion, experience or reviews in this post should be used for making any decisions to remit money to India or any other country. It is easily possible that my experience or opinion about a particular remitting service is different from yours. It is your money that you want to remit. So please verify the information from your own authentic sources before making a choice for remitting your money. I do not accept any liability for incorrect or inaccurate information. Some of the links in the posts may be affiliate links, however the opinions and reviews presented in the post remain honest and unbiased.

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Conventional ways to send money abroad are either by check, bank wire transfer, cash transfer or some other online money transfer services which provide bank to bank remittance. However when you need to send money frequently there is an easier way and a more hassle free way provided by Ikobo Visa Card. Ikobo provides worldwide money transfer services from all major countries to any other major country.

How does Ikobo Visa Card work?

The way Ikobo works is described in following steps.

1. Ikobo Account : You open an online account with Ikobo.
   
2. Ikobo Payment : You pay Ikobo the amount of Money you want to send overseas + Ikobo Fees. Currently you can pay by one of the following methods - Credit Card or Debit Card (Visa or Mastercard) or U.S. Bank Account.
3. Ikobo Sends Visa Card to Beneficiary: Ikobo sends a reloadable visa card to the beneficiary. The beneficiary can withdraw cash from thousands of ATM's worldwide where Visa card works.
4. Next time you want to send money, Ikobo simply re loads the same visa card. No different card is used.

Thus once the beneficiary receives an Ikobo Visa card, subsequent money transfers are easier and hassle free and quick !. Here is a short video (should be thought of as an advertisement since it is by Ikobo itself) about Ikobo.

However here are some things to keep in mind before you opt for Ikobo Visa Card Money Transfer service.

1. Ikobo Visa Fees : Ikobo fees vary and can be found on this Ikobo Website. For example to send $1000 from United States to any other country, the charges are $35. Although their money transfer service is not free, they have great exchange rates.
   
2. Additional Charges for Ikobo Visa : There may be additional charges incurred by the beneficiary while withdrawing money from an ATM using Ikobo Visa Card charged by the ATM. Also, if you pay Ikobo by your Credit Card, it is not clear whether that is considered as a cash equivalent and if your Credit Card company may apply cash withdrawal charges. The best way is to call your credit card company toll-free number and find out.
   

Below are some additional country specific pages on Ikobo.

1. Ikobo Visa - Send Money to Philippines.
2. Ikobo Visa - Send Money to Russia.
3. Ikobo Visa - Send Money to Romania.
4. Send Money to United States.
5. Ikobo Visa - Send Money to Ukraine.
6. Ikobo Visa - Send Money to Thailand.
7. Ikobo Visa - Send Money to South Africa.
8. Ikobo Visa - Send Money to Columbia.
9. Ikobo Visa - Send Money to Venezuela.
10. Ikobo Visa - Send Money to Brazil.
    

Articles on Money Transfer Send Money Overseas or Abroad: The most popular and best ways to send money to your home country. Xoom Money Transfer Review Ikobo Visa - A new way to send money abroad where you send a re-loadable visa card to the beneficiary. MoneyGram Money Transfer and Money Order service. Online Remittance to India SBI Remittance Review - My most preferred method of sending remitting money to India. Good exchange rates. Send Money to India by Paypal HDFC QuickRemit

External Links

Western Union Money Transfer - A trusted way to send money where beneficiary collects cash from a Western Union location.

MoneyGram - International Money Transfer and Money Order. You send money, beneficiary collects cash from a chosen MoneyGram agent or location.

iKobo - Send Money Worldwide Money Transfer by ATM Card. Useful for those who have to send money frequently. Check foreign exchange rates on the homepage of iKobo.

Xoom Money Transfer - Online Remittance from United States to various other countries. Xoom Fees are around $8 per transaction.

Send Money to India

ICICI Remit to India Online Money Transfer to India. ICICI Exchange rates.

SBI Remittance Online Money Transfer to India. SBI exchange rates.

Remit2India Online Money Transfer to India. Remit2India exchange rates.

HDFC Quick Remit Remit Money to India online from U.S., U.K., Europe and Singapore. HDFC Quick Remit exchange rates.

CitiBank Online Remit Remit Money to India from US.

Disclaimer

I have been sending money to India for quite a few years. I have been involved in at least 50 money transfers to India and used 4 to 5 different methods of online remittance. Although I do make efforts to provide accurate information about services related to online remittance, none of the opinion, experience or reviews in this post should be used for making any decisions to remit money to India or any other country. It is easily possible that my experience or opinion about a particular remitting service is different from yours. It is your money that you want to remit. So please verify the information from your own authentic sources before making a choice for remitting your money. I do not accept any liability for incorrect or inaccurate information. Some of the links in the posts may be affiliate links, however the opinions and reviews presented in the post remain honest and unbiased.

Read more ...

Click Through Rate or CTR is the average number of clicks you get per 100 page impressions. For example if you have a page which is viewed say 1000 times and it generates 45 clicks then the Click through rate of that particular page is 4.5%. Note that click through rate of a page is the sum total of the click through rate of all the ad units. For example if you have three ads displayed on your page, and out of the 45 clicks you got, 20 are from ad 1, 15 are from Ad 2, and 10 from Ad 3, then the CTR of Ad 1 is 2%, of Ad2 its 1.5% and that of Ad 3 is 1%. The CTR of your page = 2%+1.5%+1%= 4.5%. Other terms you need to know which are related to CTR are

• CPM = Cost per thousand Impressions. Also called eCPM by Google Adsense.
• CPC = Cost Per Click. Also called EPC or earnings per click.

Adwords CTR for specific keywords: If you are interested in finding out what is the average CTR you will get for a particular set of keywords if you advertise with Google Adwords, use the following two links:

• Adwords keyword tool : Using this you can find the number of impressions you get for a particular keywords. You can also get ideas for related keywords, average CPC, and advertiser competition, etc.
  
• Google Adwords Traffic Estimator : Here you can find exactly how many clicks are generated by particular keyword. If you are really interested in finding out the Adwords CTR for a particular keyword, then you can divide the number of clicks by page impressions (got from the above adwords keyword tool) and multiply by 100.

Stunning discovery: I have recently discovered that the income I get by displaying Adsense and Chitika together is significantly more than my Adsense income alone. Thank you Chitika !. If you have visitors from U.S and Canada who come directly from search engines, I strongly recommend you try Chitika linx and Chitika Mega unit. However only quality blogs are accepted by Chitika. Be sure to boast about your blog when you apply. More info on Chitika.

When I started blogging I was very eager to find out what is considered a good value of CTR. Unfortunately i did not easily find a satisfying answer to this on the internet and that is exactly why I am writing this post. There are two reasons why you wont easily find an answer to 'What is an average CTR?' or 'What is considered a good CTR?' on the internet.

1. The value varies a lot if you take into consideration regular visitors to your site. Visitors arriving to your blog or website from Search Engines like Google or Yahoo are much more likely to click on ads and it is possible say something in general about their behavior. But your regular visitors. They may not click your ads at all, because either they are ad blind to your website or they are not actively looking for some information or whatever reason.
   
2. The Terms and Conditions of Advertising Networks like Google Adsense prevent publishers from disclosing the values of CTR. That is why I am not going to talk anything about what CTR or CPM I get from Adsense or any other network. I will just talk about generalities of pay-per-click advertising and completely forgetting my information, i will base the entire post on some references which are already available on the internet. So if you want to know details of my average CTR, CPM or CPC, there is nothing for you here.

What is the Best value of CTR that you can achieve?

Again I am going to assume that all your visitors come from search engines, so this discussion only applies to such visitors. In my opinion (which is based on the adsense testimonial given below and some hard google search), the best possible CTR is between 6% to 10%. I am not talking of Google Adsense CTR here. By this CTR i mean the CTR of the page, which is sum total of all the CTR of all the ads placed on your page (these ads may include adsense, chitika and other ads). It seems possible to arrange the layout of your page, ad formats and color schemes in such a way that say one in 10 visitors to your site or blog clicks on an ad. This is the best you can hope for and it is indeed achieved by some as seen on this Adsense testimonial. Please keep in mind that I am only talking about search engine or Google visitors here. For my blog almost all visitors are from Google.

What is the average value of CTR that people get?

According to this webpage the average value of CTR for a general pay per click program is between 3 to 7%. Even this blog entry puts the average CTR at 3%. If you google hard enough you will realize that the webmasters and publishers around the globe seems to put the average CTR at 3%. (My own CTR is very different from 3%). Most of the publishers actually do not manage to even reach 2% either because they do not have enough search engine or google visitors, or they do not optimize their ads well enough or both. So if you are getting less than 3% CTR for search engine visitors, then it means you should pay attention to your ads optimization and try to improve your CTR. Remember it may take a couple of months of experimenting with your layout and finding the right ad configuration and right Advertising Networks (for me Google Adsense and Chitika work best) to achieve the optimal value of CTR.

How to improve your CTR?

There is a one word answer to this question - Experimenting. You have to really experiment, try different combinations, try different advertising networks in order to find the right set of ads, right colors which work for you. For me Google Adsense + Chitika works best. These two advertising networks give me a CTR which I now think is hard to improve. So I have started focusing on traffic now. Here are some tips which I would like to share with you regarding improving your CTR.

1. Bigger ads have better CTR. For example a 160x600 skyscraper is better than 120x600 skyscraper. 336x280 wide rectangle is better than 300x250.
2. Ads placed near content have better CTR.
   
3. Ads placed between the title of your post and the content (on the top) seem to have the highest CTR. For me the wide rectangle just at the beginning of the post has a very good CTR.
4. Blue links for ads usually work better because people are used to seeing blue links (Hint: Google has blue links for search results). Try #0000ff or #000080 for links on white background.
5. Experiment! Experiment!! Experiment !!! - Let me explain this with a simple example. I have a wide rectangle at the bottom of my post. It was initially aligned to the left. I realized that aligning it to the center almost increased its CTR 1.5 times the previous value. Things like this can only be found out by experimenting. For Adsense and Chitika, use Custom Channels and Channels respectively to test your experiments with layouts and ad formats. Also remember that any experiment should be run at least for a week in order to draw fair and logical conclusions.

If you are using Google Adsense, you can also use the above two links under the title "Adwords CTR" to actually calculate what is the average Adsense CTR that publishers get (or equivalently Adwords CTR that advertisers get) that people get for a particular keyword and compare it with yours. However it is important to use all the related keywords rather than just one keyword while doing such analysis.

A comparison of CTR of various advertising networks.

• Google Adsense CTR - The Best !! Nothing beats Google Adsense CTR. Wish I could disclose my own value of CTR but am forbidden by Adsense TOC.
  
• Chitika CTR - Excellent !! According to Chitika Blog the top Chitika publishers get a CTR of over 1.6%. I have certainly seen levels above that. If you are looking for something to use with (or as an alternative) for adsense, you must try Chitika Linx and Chitika Mega Unit (550x250).
  
• Adbrite CTR - Poor.
• Bidvertiser CTR - Almost close to zero. In several cases less than 0.1%.

Would you be interested in sharing your opinion in a comment?

Blogging for Money, Earn Regular Income Make Money Online from a Blog - Step by Step Guide How much do bloggers earn? A vague estimate of blogging income and a statistical overview of money that bloggers make online. Make Money Online from Home: Blogging - the most efficient way of earning money online. Some tips to start your own blog and turn it into a make money blog. Get Paid to Blog - List of various paid blogging networks where you can get paid to write blog posts, sponsored reviews or display blogging ads. A useful way of earning income from your blog in addition to Google Adsense or other advertising money.

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