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Best Ways to Send Money to Honduras

Ensure quick transfer speeds, low fees, and competitive exchange rates when sending money to Honduras.

Read on for reviews, expert tips, and everything needed for money transfers to Honduras.

Jonathan Merry
Author 
Jonathan Merry
14 minutes
November 21st, 2023
Disclosure
Best Overall
9.2
Wise

Wise is our recommended provider for sending money to Honduras. This is based on having the best rates, fees and transfer times.

Fastest Option
8.7
WorldRemit

Users who searched with our comparison tool found WorldRemit often had the lowest rates and fees for sending to Honduras.

Compare rates and fees for sending money to Honduras

There are multiple ways to easily send and receive money in Honduras but these will largely depend on the provider you decide to use.

Understanding the Economy of Honduras

Honduras can be described as a lower-middle-income economy primarily based on agriculture, and its GDP is $23.8 billion. However, coffee is also a big part of their economy since it accounts for around a quarter of their exports.

The national currency of Honduras is the Honduran Lempira, and at the time of writing, 1 HNL is equal to 0.041 USD. Honduras has a lot of resources because of the extensive forest and marine ecosystems. However, environmental protection programs ensure that the resources are well-maintained for future generations.

In Honduras, the finance sector is not held back by legislation that makes money transfers problematic. Therefore, many top-tier money transfer companies offer their services in Honduras. Some of these include WorldRemit, Wise, XE, Currencyfair, Currencies Direct, Key Currency, Instarem and TorFX. Continue reading to learn more about these companies and the advantages they bring for sending money to Honduras.

Common Reasons for Sending Money to Honduras

More than 20 percent of households in Honduras receive remittances. Over half of these households are in urban areas while slightly over 40 percent are in rural areas. There are different reasons why Hondurans in the diaspora send money home and below are some of the top ones.

Basic Living Expenses

This category takes the lion's share of remittances. Over 70 percent of money sent is used to finance basic consumption, covering expenses such as food, household items, and clothes. One in five Hondurans lives in extreme poverty, and remittances form an essential part of household income.

Medical Expenses

The Ministry of Health in Honduras provides medical care to over 90 percent of the population. However, most of this care is available in urban areas and developed cities. Rural populations find it challenging to access quality care or any care. Many rely on remittances to travel to cities for medical treatment or pay for private healthcare.

Education

The level of educational attainment in Honduras among recipients of remittances is much higher for primary education at 56 percent compared to 52 percent for the general population. In Honduras, public education is free, but most Hondurans prefer the high quality, albeit a little pricey private education system.

Housing

Hondurans abroad send money to their families to help purchase land for housing construction. Those who cannot buy houses in cash usually go for mortgages and then pay up the loans.

Social Contribution

Apart from family-related expenditures, Hondurans may send money home for social contributions. For instance, some of their contributions help finance weddings, funerals, festivities, community development, etc.

Why Send Money With a Money Transfer Service?

As noted above, money transfer services have gained traction, and Hondurans are increasingly embracing MTOs. There are top reasons why money transfer service providers are gaining popularity in rural and urban remittance markets.

Convenient Locations

As opposed to banks that are mostly in urban areas, money transfer service providers set up shop through agencies and have lots of payment locations close to recipients. It is such kind of convenience that makes the MTO channel the best to send and receive money. For instance, Xoom has 530 locations in Honduras.

Low Cost of Transfer

The cost per transfer to Honduras is much lower than the traditional ways of sending. The transaction fees consist of charges for the payment methods used and a small margin for the provider. MTOs can afford to charge low margins because of the volume of transactions they handle daily.

Simple to Setup

Signing up for an account and transferring money to Honduras is very simple on the MTO platform. The information needed to open an account is your name, email address, and phone number.

Favourable Exchange Rates

Providers such as TransferWise use the mid-market rate or real rate when translating one currency to another. The mid-market rate is between the buy and sell rates and gives the sender more Honduran lempira (HNL) for a unit of the source currency.

Multi-Currency Support

MTOs operate in hundreds of countries and territories. For instance, Western Union and MoneyGram are in 200+ countries while Xoom is in 140+ countries. This degree of currency representation and support help Hondurans from any corner of the world to send money home.

Speed of Transfer

Speed is a major factor when sending money to Honduras. Most Hondurans prefer speed to cost of transactions. In the event of emergencies such as floods and storms, the money needs to get to the destination fast. MTOs can send money in under an hour or within a few days.

Things to Consider When Sending Money to Honduras

When sending money to Honduras, you need to think through and consider certain factors. Below is a list of a few of the considerations to make.

  • High Rates on Fixed Deposits -In a bid to attract diaspora remittances, the government of Honduras through the banking system offers higher interest rates on term deposits. For instance, you can make Fixed Term Deposits (FTDs) of between 3 and 36 months at negotiated rates of up to 13 percent. Such rates can give you a decent return on substantial deposits and can serve as an alternative investment channel.

  • Exchange Rate Regime -Honduras uses a crawling peg exchange rate system. This regime allows the Honduras lempira to fluctuate up to a maximum of 7 percent to the dollar. When sending money, it is crucial to consider the direction of the lempira so that you can get more of the destination currency for a unit of the source currency. Providers like TransferWise can help you lock in the exchange rate for a certain duration. This feature allows you to enjoy predictable exchange rates.

  • BRIDGE Initiative -The United States government signed a memorandum of understanding with Honduras and El Salvador known as the Building Remittance Investment for Development, Growth, and Entrepreneurship (BRIDGE). Based on the remittance inflows, banks in Honduras and El Salvador will be able to raise lower-cost financing in the international capital markets for infrastructural development in their home countries. This initiative implies that the more money you send through formal channels, the greater the securitization of banks, and indirectly you’ll be financing local development in Honduras.

Therefore, the next time you are sending money to Honduras, check across the various providers, their fees, exchange rates and speed of transfer. Such a cross-comparison ensures that you make the right decision on the MTO to use when sending money home.

Top 3 companies for sending money to Honduras

There are a lot of money transfer companies that facilitate international payments to Honduras. It can take a long time to narrow the available options to just the top ones. Therefore, we have reduced the choices to 3 top companies that you can register with today.

Wise

Wise, formerly known as TransferWise, is an FCA-approved money transfer company used by customers worldwide. They offer competitive fees and FX rates that match the mid-market rate. Therefore, you can save money compared to banks when sending funds to Honduras.

Wise does a great job of being transparent, which means there are no hidden costs. You will know what you are paying in fees for each transfer method at every step. Also, their customer service department is responsive and takes the time to solve your issue.

WorldRemit

WorldRemit was founded in 2010 in London and since then has amassed a large following of loyal customers. They offer transfers to over 150 countries worldwide, and Honduras is one of them. The agent locations allow the recipient to pick up physical cash, which is a good choice when they do not have a bank account.

The flexible payment and cash-out options of WorldRemit allow customers in Honduras to access money in a way that suits their needs. Registering for a new account on WorldRemit takes just 5 minutes, and you can transfer funds within 3 minutes. This is great for new customers that need to start sending money to Honduras quickly.

Azimo

Azimo offers worldwide coverage of over 200 countries, perfect for users who need a far-reaching international network. Furthermore, the variable fee structure of Azimo ensures that you are charged a fair amount for all transfer sizes. Also, their FX rates are competitive compared to most banks in Honduras.

The mobile app provided by Azimo allows customers to send money from the convenience of their smartphone. Also, the multi-lingual support of the customer service team is perfect for customers where English is not their native language.

The USD to HNL exchange rate

Mid-market Rate
1
= 24.692864 HNL
Mid-market rate at: 14:31 UTC
USD/HNL Median: 24.741628 Low: 24.692864 High: 24.825040
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Looking to Send Money Somewhere Else?

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Contributors

Jonathan Merry
Jonathan is the founder and editor of MoneyTransfers.com. Jonathan is highly experienced in the currency transfer market, having previously worked in the FX trading industry, alongside being an avid traveller. Using his knowledge he identified a need for transparency and further education to help people save money on their money transfers, leading to the creation of MoneyTransfers.com