Venmo Does Not Send Money Internationally, TransferWise Does.

Venmo will not allow international money transfers, only U.S. domestic. Each Venmo transfer needs the sender and recipient to be physically in the US, so you can't use it to send money abroad to an employee, friend or family.

Venmo began in 2009 - PayPal owns Venmo and like PayPal it allows users to share costs which we will take a closer look at below.

Sending money abroad? What are my best options?

Flexibility, speed and ease of use are critical to customers wanting convenient and fairly priced money transfers. Are you looking to make easier overseas payments to someone abroad? Here are some of your options:

• Venmo is not currently available outside of the U.S., so you won’t be able to use their service to make cross-border transfers. However, PayPal payments can be made to people in other countries in a range of different currencies.

• TransferWise enables you to make an international payment using an online currency transfer service and pay less in fees for fast, convenient, international transfers direct to your or your recipient’s bank account.

Check out the different money transfers services first:

International transfers at your bank may prove to be costly - either in person or online. When sending money through the SWIFT network that banks use for international payments, is quite expensive.

Fortunately, there are some great alternatives out there today. PayPal owns Venmo and is a viable option if you need an international transfer. But, it’s important to understand both have extra fees that get tacked onto the current, exchange rates. Also, when using credit or debit cards, higher fees are imposed. International transfers using PayPal may turn out to be costly in the end. There are less expensive options available to you today.

TransferWise offers significant savings for international money transfers:

• TransferWise avoids big, international transfer fees by connecting local bank accounts all around the world. So, you may be able to save some money when sending money to another country.

• TransferWise uses only the real, point-in-time exchange rate and does not add charges on top of that. So you get lowest cost per transaction - which is transparent to you at the time you initiate the transfer. You can clearly see how much you are paying per transaction right upfront. We like that!

The real exchange rate, or the mid-market rate is the current, real-time average of all buy and sell rates. You can find it with a quick Google search for your currency pairing, or by using a currency converter online.

However, most transfer services don’t only charge their customers the real, interbank, mid-market rate when they make a cross-border transfer. Like PayPal, Venmo tacks on extra fees which may not always be transparent to you in the for of a higher exchange rate for your transfer. That means they can say "$0 (zero) commission" charged but still make a profit margin on your transfer. That’s often not great for business and not great for customers who feel otherwise duped.

Who wants to pay hidden fees? When customers get used to mobile apps that are transparent, provide good value and a easy-to-use, convenient user experience, the fees and difficulties associated with traditional banks, online banks - and even services like PayPal/Venmo - may not be as cost effective anymore.

As discussed, Venmo is not an option for international money transfers. So we researched and found what we consider the better, cheaper, faster, more transparent online money transfer service. Check out this short video to see why?

The reality is "No-Fee" international transfers don’t exist:

There is only one exchange rate at any given point in time and executing an international money transfer is never going to be 100% free. However, some companies will tell you otherwise. There are multiple different costs involved and the bank or money transfer service will also take a piece of the commission action.

Some services claim to offer zero commissions or no-fee money transfers abroad but inevitably the extra costs will be passed on to you, the customer.

International money transfer platforms and traditional banks schedule their pricing in different ways. Most of the time, the initial fees are glaring, but hopefully you can calculate initial costs before deciding which on you decide which service offers the best value.

Check the exchange rates used by different international money transfer services: In order to ensure it’s a fair rate, you need to check the current, real-time mid-market rate (also known as the interbank, spot or wholesale rate.

Don’t pay more than you have to - check the exchange rate being used before you commit. Venmo allows you to send your dollars to your friends in the US. For international transfers consider trying TransferWise now!