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Ria Money Transfer became a subsidiary of Euronet Worldwide, Inc. in 2007, but was first founded in 1987 with the mission of helping people send money to their family back home. In 2012, Ria official went online and continued to grow rapidly. Now, it supports international transfers to over 160 countries with over 435,000 agent locations across the globe.
Ria Money Transfer offer bill payment, mobile top-ups, prepaid debit cards, check cashing, and money orders as well as international transfers, and are popular for having both a strong online presence as well as a wide-reaching number of bricks-and-mortar agent locations to make transfers more accessible.
Xoom, by comparison, is a relative new-comer to the scene - it was founded in 2001 by Alan Braverman and Kevin Hartz in San Francisco, and was acquired by PayPal in 2015. Xoom is a digital money transfer service that allows users to securely make transfers across borders, supporting transfers to over 70 countries across the globe.
As well as international money transfers, Xoom also provides the option to pay bills internationally and to reload mobile airtime. Both are popular options with migrants who support their family when working abroad.
Quick summary: Xoom wins
Overall, Xoom comes up on top in this Ria vs Xoom comparison. The two money transfer operators share similarities, but where Xoom stands apart is its digital-led focus enabling the company to offer more competitive exchange rates, lower fees, and speedy transfer times. On top of that, Xoom has glowing reviews for its ease of use and convenience. While Ria Money Transfer is certainly a reputable transfer provider, the only real selling point that may make them a more appealing option between the two is its thousands of agent locations across the globe, which those who would prefer to avoid digital transfers may prefer.
Which brand has lower fees?
Ria Money Transfer charges fees that will vary depending on:
The destination
Method of payment
How the beneficiary receives money
Some destinations have no fees, while others will incur greater fees. As an example, if you were looking to send £600 to Australia in AUD, you would expect to pay a fee of £9.
✅ Verdict: Xoom's payment options mean better fees
Between Xoom vs Ria, Xoom provides the option to pay by credit or debit card or by bank transfer for either a bank deposit for either a cash pickup or bank deposit - all of which affect the fees you will be charged. If a lower cost if the most important thing for you, you will often find low fees with Xoom by opting for the slightly longer transfer time associated with a bank transfer.
Which brand offers better exchange rates?
The provider does add a markup on the mid-market rate, typically between 0.5 - 1.2%, although this margin can go up to 2.5% in some extreme cases. The exact margin depends on the two currency pairs you are looking to make a transfer between but in general, Ria Money Transfer provides a competitive exchange rate.
✅ Verdict: Ria Money Transfer is more competitive
Between Ria vs Xoom, Ria Money Transfer tends to have lower exchange rates than Xoom. However, for this reason it's important to consider charges for fees and the exchange rate together, as you may find that overall one transfer provider may save you more money than the other.
Which brand covers more locations?
Ria has more than 435,000 locations in over 160 countries, so it’s well-placed to help you make an international transfer to a large number of countries across the globe.
✅ Verdict: Ria Money Transfer supports more countries
While Ria Money Transfer only supports 1 more country than Xoom, it's thousands of agent locations make it a far more accessible service.
Which is faster?
Transfer times with Ria Money Transfer depend on the amount you are sending, your payment method, and where you are transferring money between. Some transfers can be initiated within 15 minutes, while others may take up to 4 working days to process (for example, if you are making a bank transfer compared to paying on your debit card and selecting a cash pickup).
✅ Verdict: It's a tie
Between Ria vs Xoom, both providers offer transfers within minutes, but can be delayed depending on your payment/payout method. Equally, it's important to set up your account in advance if you know you'll be needing to make an instant transfer in the future, as this can delay the process by up to 24 hours in some cases.
Which brand offers more transfer & payment options?
The two payment methods Ria Money Transfer offers are credit or debit card. For payouts, you can select for your recipient to receive the money either as cash or as a bank transfer, which may take more time to process.
✅ Verdict: Xoom has slightly more options
It's close between Ria vs Xoom, but Xoom has slightly more payment options, and the additional payout option of airtime top-up which is a big selling point with some customers, as is the option to pay with your PayPal balance.
What do users have to say about each brand?
The provider has over 5,000 reviews on Trustpilot with an overall ‘Excellent’ rating of 4.5 out of 5.
Positive reviews frequently praise Ria Money Transfers for:
Fast transfers
Competitive rates
Ease of use
Excellent service
Although there aren’t a large number of negative reviews, those that have reviewed te company are normally to do with the customer service users received.
✅ Verdict: Xoom receives more positive reviews overall
Xoom has a strong reputation for providing secure digital transfers, competitive rates, and fast transfer times, and this is reflected in its reviews online. Ria Money Transfer does have positive reviews, but not quite the same glowing recommendations as its competitor.
What brand offers better ease of use, accessibility & security?
As well as a user-friendly website, the provider also has an app to make money transfers even more convenient. This is available for free on both iOS and Android. Ria is available in a few languages, including English and Polish.
A few measures the company takes to keep your money safe includes identity verification, guarded payment information, and a dedicated team of security experts. The provider has adopted the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) which assists in fighting credit card fraud by targeting controls around cardholder data. Ria’s online platform also has an Extended Validation SSL Certificate.
✅ Verdict: It's a tie
Between Xoom vs Ria, both operators have made efforts to make their websites and apps accessible, secure, and easy to navigate. Judging by this factor alone, the two providers are fairly balanced.
Case study: sending a variety of amounts
In this Ria vs Xoom case study, we'll compare the difference in fees, exchange rate margins, and transfers times when sending a variety of amounts between the US and Australia.
Sending $200
Sending $200 USD to Australia will incur fees between $5 and $12 with Ria Money Transfer at an exchange rate of $1 USD = $1.367 AUD at the time of writing. Paying by bank transfer incurs the lowest fees while paying with a credit card would be the most expensive. Paying by card would have a transfer time of around 15 minutes, while bank transfer would be closer to 4 business days.
Sending $1,000
This transaction would incur fees between $5 and $35 depending on the payment method you use, with the same exchange rate margin as above. The transfer times remain the same.
Sending $20,000
Ria Money Transfer's maximum send amount online is $2999, so it's not possible to get an accurate quote with a sum this large. To send more than the online limit, you can provide further verification at an agent location.
✅ Verdict: Xoom has more favourable exchange rates and lower fees
While the charges and transfer times associated with each transfer will differ depending on your specific circumstances, in this Ria vs Xoom case study we can see that Xoom offers a more favourable exchange rate, has slightly lower fees, and about the same transfer time as Ria Money Transfer. Additionally, Ria Money Transfer's online transfer limit may not be ideal for people looking to transfer larger sums of money on a regular basis.
Final Verdict
Between Ria vs Xoom, our final verdict would be that Xoom offers more competitive exchange rates, lower fees (in most cases), fast transfer times, and a wider range out payment and payout options compared to Ria Money Transfer. While both operators have many positive points, Xoom just tops Ria Money Transfer in almost every aspect we've compared them against here.
