Case study: Alex sends money to Mexico
Alex wants to help his family in Mexico with bills and critical home improvements. He initially planned to transfer $1,000 through his local bank, but he’s decided to compare his bank to an independent service to see what his best option is.
Bank transfer | Money transfer service | |
---|---|---|
Exchange rate | 1 USD = 19.61 MXN | 1 USD = 19.95 MXN |
Transfer fee | $35 | $15 |
Processing time | 2 business days | Within minutes |
Amount received in MXN | 19,610 MXN | 19,950 MXN |
Visiting his local bank, Alex learns that he’ll need to transfer money from his account to another bank account, which will take a few days. His bank offers a weaker exchange rate and a stiffer transaction fee than a money transfer service does. Overall, he’ll be out $1,035 for the transfer. Working with a money transfer service, Alex discovers it offers not only a stronger exchange rate but also a lower transaction fee. It charges $4 for bank-to-bank transfers and offers quicker cash pickups for $11 more. By going with a transfer service, Alex saves $20 in fees and his family can pick up the cash — and an additional 340 MXN — within minutes.