Is wire transfer the safest way to send money

Wire transfer is often the best choice for sending money abroad in a safe manner. This mode of remittance is not just secure but also quick. This is the reason why many people opt for bank wire transfers because of the reliability and safety aspect.

What is a wire transfer?

Let us first understand what exactly a wire transfer is. It is manly an electronic method of transferring money. These days, almost all payments are electronic but wire transfer is a specific type of payment-relatively secure and fast. The money gets transferred from one bank or credit union to another through a network such as SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication). It is mainly a messaging network that banks and financial institutions bring in use for quick, secure and accurate sending and receiving of money transfer instructions.

Are wire transfers safe?

The big question that arises is - are wire transfers one of the safest ways to send money? The answer is yes. For instance, in the US, each party has to have a bank account in order to initiate or receive a wire transfer. As per federal regulations, banks require identity proof and various other details for opening an account.

Since everything is verified, there are less or no chances of thieves pulling off a scam with bank wire transfer. Scams related to wire transfers are not unheard of; however, the numbers are still less compared to credit card scams. The main risk in a wire transfer is that you will be sending money to a particular recipient but someone else will withdraw the cash or wire it to a different account. You won’t realize you have been scammed until it is too late to recover the funds.

Even if someone is asking you to transfer money through wire transfer, make sure you know who you are sending to. There are few transactions that can pose risks to your money. For instance, if you are wire transferring money to an agency that gives out the proceeds in cash, someone with a fake ID can also collect the money. So be extra careful about who you are sending money to.

Receiving wire transfer is also safe because banks wire money out only if the sender has funds available in his/her account. Once the money arrives in the account, the recipient can withdraw it any time they want to. Also, it is not easy for senders to pull money back after it has been transferred.

Tips to remember

When sending money, make sure you choose a reliable money transfer agency. There are many online money transfer agencies through which you can wire transfer money to India or any other country.

Gather India money exchange rates and transfer fees being charged by different agencies and compare to make a final choice. Online money transfer agencies offer competitive rates compared to banks. Their transfer fee is also less, especially if you are sending a large amount.