Send Money To Ireland

Ways to Send Money to Ireland

If you want to send money to your friends, family, and business associates in Ireland, there are various options you can use such as banks and online transfer services.

Depending on the method you choose, you may either pay more transfer fees, take a shorter time to transfer or not pay fees at all. Let us look at the most common ways open to sending money to Ireland.

Through the Banking System

Most people sending money to Ireland have traditionally been using the banking system. International bank transfers are safe and can handle large amounts of money. If you are transferring money from the UK, banks such as Barclays, NatWest, Llyods, and Nationwide are some of the commonly used institutions.

The banks you use will determine how fast the transfer will be processed. If you are sending money from the United States, using banks that have a presence in Ireland can save you a lot in fees and time. Banks such as Bank of America, Citibank, JP Morgan, and Wells Fargo are among the best choices for Irish nationals sending money from America.

The downside with banks is that the transfers are often processed at very low rates and may take a little longer to be finalised. Most banks charge between 2.5 and 3.5% in exchange rate margins to transfer funds from the UK to Ireland.

Also, both you and the recipient must have bank accounts to use the bank system to send your transfer.

Online Money Transfer Services

Specialised online money transfer services such as WorldRemit, Xoom, TransferWise, OFX, XE, WorldFirst, and Ria are some of the best ways of transferring money to Ireland. They are low-cost, offer competitive rates, and transfer your money faster.

For instance, TransferWise doesn’t charge any exchange rate margin meaning all transfers to Ireland are done at the mid-market rate. XE and OFX, on the other hand, do not charge any transfer fees.

All it takes to send money through online money transfer providers is to sign up for a free transfer account with a provider of your choice, input the details of the recipient and pay for the transfer. Depending on the provider, you can pay via ACH, a credit card, or debit card.

When sending money to Ireland using online money transfer providers, you can opt for any of the following payout methods.

• Cash Pickup- The recipient gets the money in cash from designated agents. Xoom has 46 agents across Ireland from which recipients can collect their money. Cash pickups are convenient for small transfers and emergency needs.
• Bank deposits – All online money transfer services offer direct-to-bank deposits as a payout option. It takes between 1-3 days for the cash to be deposited in the recipient's account in Ireland. You can transfer to all banks in Ireland.

Online money transfer services have the advantage of speed, flexibility, affordability and availability across many sending countries. You don’t need to have a bank account in the sending country to do your transfer.

In-Store Transfer Services

Cash transfer services such as Western Union and Money Gram allow you to send money to Ireland from physical walk-in agents. From the UK, you can send up to 50,000.00 GBP to Ireland through direct bank deposits or up to 5,000.00 GBP for cash pickup. MoneyGram allows you to send up to 6,000.00 GBP irrespective of the payout option.

 You can pay for your transfer through a debit card, credit card, bank transfer or cash. The money arrives in minutes.

What is Needed to Send Money to Ireland

If you want to send money to Ireland, you will be required to provide certain information for your transfer to be executed. The information varies from one provider to another. Typically, you’ll need to provide the following:

• A government issued-ID document. Depending on the country you are sending from, you can use a passport, social security card or driver’s license.
• The recipient’s name as it appears on their legal documents
• The recipient's physical address and phone number
• If you are sending directly to a bank account, the recipient bank details (bank name, branch and account number)
• The amount of money you want to send, the transfer payment option and payout methods

What Are the Ways of Receiving Money in Ireland?

Your family, friend or business associate in Ireland has two main options for receiving money. They can either go for direct to bank deposits or cash collection from an agent.

Direct-to-Bank Deposits- The money is deposited into the recipient account. This method is much slower taking up to 3 days for the transfer to be delivered. It is convenient for transferring a large amount of money.

Cash Pickups –The transfer is channelled through the provider’s agency network in Ireland. For Xoom, the agents it has partnered with are Antech, Dublin 1, Ria, Galway, Super Ketones Limited, TBS Mobile Phone Accessories, and Unlocking Master. In total the provider has 46 pickup locations in the country.

What is Required to Receive Money in Ireland?

If the funds are credited into the recipient's bank account, there is nothing required on the part of the recipient to access the money. For cash pickups, the recipient is required to provide the following information for verification and cash collection.

• The Transaction Reference Number -This number is system generated at the time of the transfer and the sender should message it to the recipient. Other providers email or the number to the recipient.
• A government issued-ID document

The anti-money laundering  (AML) Act as enforced by the Central Bank of Ireland may require additional disclosures when large amounts of money are involved.