Easy Guide to Cheap Business Currency Transfers
Transferring money digitally can be costly and risky. Finofin LTD created a guide with the best tips for making sure your money is where you need it most.
There might be many reasons why your small business isn’t thriving. One of them is the global economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, for all that this recession is hitting all businesses hard, it also kicked e-commerce into high gear. Also, going global has become a necessity for businesses. After all, this gives you an opportunity to both cut costs and grow your customer pools.
But doing any kind of business internationally means you will need to send and receive money transfers from abroad. This itself is a costly endeavor. It’s costly enough that the cost of the transfer might eat up all your profit margin.
While you are developing a strategy for going global, you need to find a way to cut your currency costs. The good news is that today there are companies that allow you to reduce the cost of both the transfer and foreign currency exchange (FX or forex). But you’ll need to think carefully to pick the one that will benefit your business most in the long term.
How expensive are international money transfers?
The costs of foreign currency exchange and international money transfer fees are not the only issues you need to consider if you want to avoid being ripped off while traveling. As a business, making payments to suppliers or accepting them from customers also come with an FX price tag. And that price might be over 10 percent of the transfer volume.
Any small business trying to go global will know that the profit margin for this venture might be so small that 10 percent makes it unviable. But of course, the actual cost of international money transfers depends on many factors. The foremost is what financial institution you are using to make the transfer.
The traditional way to go is to use a bank wire transfer. That’s the safest method of international money transfers. However, it’s also one of the most expensive. For example, in the US the average outgoing international transfer fee is $45. Add to that the money lost during foreign currency exchange. Banks always use an unfavorable FX rate due to their high FX margins. Also, the fees (meaning your losses) might increase with the transfer volume.
Also, remember that some currency corridors to developing countries are far more expensive. There are still some African countries where a transfer can cost up to 20 percent!
Western Union and MoneyGram are hardly better in terms of fees—these services are sometimes more expensive than banks. PayPal is better. However, it will cost you about 5 percent of the transfer and it also doesn’t use the best FX rates.
All in all, the most common international transfer methods are expensive. But now there are FX companies created to solve this specific problem.
How to cut the cost of global business money transfers
While outrageous, transfer fees from banks and popular money transfer services don’t seem that bad for small transactions. However, as these losses grow with the transfer volume, a payment to a supplier or some international investment might end up costing you thousands. You need a specialized and affordable solution for large business transfers. Today such a solution comes from FX companies, also called online money transfer companies. These are companies like Moneycorp, WorldFirst, or OFX.
FX companies specialize in offering cheap and fast currency transfer services. Top providers among them have multiple offices in different parts of the world. The platforms are online-based, which means you can manage your account fully using nothing but a smartphone app.
The number of supported currencies varies depending on the provider. However, all these companies operate using the same principles. They all offer:
- Low or no fees. In the majority of cases, FX companies don’t charge transfer fees at all. If they do, the cost of the transfer rarely rises over 1-3%.
- Low FX margins. Foreign currency exchange rate margins are where banks make a lot of money. However, as FX companies run off the volume of transferred funds, they strive to keep the margins low. At the moment, WorldFirst has the lowest margins in the industry (0.25-0.15 percent for large business transfers).
FX companies can be used not only to help cut the costs of regular business payments, but they are also a great help to everyone who wants to invest overseas (in property, for example). They can also be used to pay salaries to remote workers.
But bear in mind that not all online money transfer companies are suited for businesses. Only the ones that offer corporate services are capable of handling the paperwork and other requirements that businesses might have.
FX companies: benefits beyond affordability
FX companies not only help you cut the costs of international money transfers, but they can also be used to mitigate currency exposure risk that every international business faces. This type of risk is unavoidable because currency exchange rates are fluid.
However, sometimes this fluidity turns into outright volatility. The COVID-19 pandemic caused a great surge of FX volatility. Tthis volatility will likely last for a while due to the global economic recession. Therefore, FX risks are now extremely high.
FX companies offer their business customers access to hedging tools. This means that you get a chance to minimize these risks with little effort. For example, you can use forward contracts, which allow you to get the FX rate fixed at a certain point for up to a year. So, even if the exchange rate changes unfavorably during this time, you will be protected.
For international business, currency hedging is essential for budgeting. In fact, without hedging against the currency risks in some manner planning a budget becomes almost impossible.
But, of course, one needs to be a financial expert with ample forex experience to use hedging effectively. Otherwise, you will not know exactly when to use which tool to achieve maximum long-term benefits for your company.
FX companies solve this problem as well because they offer not only a wide range of currency services but also guidance. Simply put, they can provide you with advice and information necessary to make good currency decisions. This means that your business won’t have to pay extra to outsource a specialist for this.
How to choose the right FX company for your business
The first thing you should consider when looking for an FX company for your business is its accreditation. These businesses operate within multiple jurisdictions and the industry itself is poorly regulated, so you need to choose companies that are audited by trustworthy authorities. For example, WorldFirst is monitored by the Financial Conduct Authority of the UK.
You should only work with companies that are transparent and certified to work in your country. This will limit your choices somewhat as these companies aren’t yet found around the globe.
Another important factor is currency selection on offer. You need to be sure that the company you choose will be able to meet all your needs. However, as you can have more than one account, you can work with several companies simultaneously. But in this case, you will need to exercise extra caution when choosing these services.
Finally, be sure to study detailed reviews of every FX company you consider. Read both customer testimonials and professional reviews that highlight both the strengths and weaknesses of the company. This way, you will be able to make a choice that will help your own business prosper.