Sending money usa to DR monthly, best way

affald

New member
May 17, 2004
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I need to send about $1500 USD monthly from usa to a friend in santiago. He has a popular dollar and peso account.

What is the best way? Cheapest, easiest?

I have a PayPal in the USA and that is what I use in the states, but it appears it does not work in the DR.

The recipient in santiago is not computer literate and does not care too much about fees, more about convenience. He already pays a visit to western union in santiago monthly.

Thank you in advance.
 

SKY

Gold
Apr 11, 2004
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The cheapest and speediest would be for him to open a US dollar account and you to send bank wires. Cost about $35 US. This way he gets the money in Dollars. Avoiding any currency transactions and other fees.
 

affald

New member
May 17, 2004
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The cheapest and speediest would be for him to open a US dollar account and you to send bank wires. Cost about $35 US. This way he gets the money in Dollars. Avoiding any currency transactions and other fees.
Can this be done by computer in the USA or is a trip to the bank required? I would prefer to use a bank located in a city where I do not live.

Thanks!
 

SKY

Gold
Apr 11, 2004
13,470
3,604
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Can this be done by computer in the USA or is a trip to the bank required? I would prefer to use a bank located in a city where I do not live.

Thanks!



You would have to ask your bank that question, I really do not know.
 

Matilda

RIP Lindsay
Sep 13, 2006
5,485
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xoom.com (owned by Paypal) to Banco Popular account in the DR. Arrives in minutes cost US$5 I think up to US$1,000.

Matilda
 

Garyexpat

Bronze
Sep 7, 2012
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The cheapest and speediest would be for him to open a US dollar account and you to send bank wires. Cost about $35 US. This way he gets the money in Dollars. Avoiding any currency transactions and other fees.

What bank do you use? I would love $35. per transaction. BofA charges me at least $45 and Ban Reservas another $15.
It can be done on line with at least B of A, and Wells Fargo ( I am guessing most other banks as well).
Western Union is WAY TOO Expensive.
Wells Fargo has a service (also can be done online AFTER first use) called Remittance, It costs $7.00 U.S. but limit of $1000. U.S. so you would have to do 2 transfers per month. The downside to this is that it will only pay out in Pesos However if you send to BHD they don't rape you on the exchange (The recipient does not have to have an account with BHD)
 

USA DOC

Bronze
Feb 20, 2016
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So just use Western Union

You can send money by western union, and It can be received in Santiago in USA dollars, no fees to change dollars to pesos..........if you use a bank , you are tied to banking hours...... western union is open more hours than banks, western union is in most all cities in the USA and DR.........if you want to use a different location than your home town, there will be one a few minutes away. the western union in colinas mall in Santiago is 20 feet away from gusman money exchange, last week I received 46.85 pesos per usa dollar......any way it has worked well for me for years........Doc.............
 

USA DOC

Bronze
Feb 20, 2016
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You can send money by western union, and It can be received in Santiago in USA dollars, no fees to change dollars to pesos..........if you use a bank , you are tied to banking hours...... western union is open more hours than banks, western union is in most all cities in the USA and DR.........if you want to use a different location than your home town, there will be one a few minutes away. the western union in colinas mall in Santiago is 20 feet away from gusman money exchange, last week I received 46.85 pesos per usa dollar......any way it has worked well for me for years........Doc.............

Western union charges start at app. $7, I have sent up to $6k with no problem, .........I think all Dominicans know where the western unions are........especialy the CHICAS..........
 

GringoRubio

Bronze
Oct 15, 2015
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With Western Union, it defaults to pesos with a bad exchange rate. They need to change it so the receiver picks it up in dollars. When they give you the print out, double check that pickup is in dollars. Even though I ask, it's usually wrong.

I find the bill pay feature the easiest and fastest (besides physically going to a grocery store with WU with a debit card).
 

texan

Member
Apr 1, 2014
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I use western union and send in Dollars. They will give you a bad rate if you send in pesos.   It is cheaper to send money out of the US then within the US. 
 

arturo

Bronze
Mar 14, 2002
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The cheapest way I see is to establish a US account and get your

friend a debit/ATM card linked to it. You can then deposit the $1,500 monthly and he or she can withdraw it from ATMs or teller windows. The only cost would be the prevailing exchange rate and U.S. bank account fees. I can't imagine those costs would approach the $35 to $50 cost per wire transfer.
The cheapest and speediest would be for him to open a US dollar account and you to send bank wires. Cost about $35 US. This way he gets the money in Dollars. Avoiding any currency transactions and other fees.
 

cavok

Silver
Jun 16, 2014
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Cabarete
Definitely W.U. It's very cheap when sent from a W.U. location as opposed to online. Just specify USD as previously mentioned. Bank wires are much more ex.pensive and a big hassle.
 

JD Jones

Moderator:North Coast,Santo Domingo,SW Coast,Covid
Jan 7, 2016
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The cheapest way I see is to establish a US account and get your

friend a debit/ATM card linked to it. You can then deposit the $1,500 monthly and he or she can withdraw it from ATMs or teller windows. The only cost would be the prevailing exchange rate and U.S. bank account fees. I can't imagine those costs would approach the $35 to $50 cost per wire transfer.

Bingo. Easily the quickest and least hassle free. I don't know why everybody doesn't do it that way.
 
Feb 7, 2007
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Bingo. Easily the quickest and least hassle free. I don't know why everybody doesn't do it that way.

But the charges can add up quickly. $5 US bank (unless account that allows free international withdrawals such as Capital One 360, Fidelity or Chares Schwab), plus a DR ATM fee of 200 pesos. If the ATM only gives you 5-8k pesos (as most do) the fees add up fast. Not such a good option IMO unless you have no-fee account and happen to live near an odd ATM that does not charge the 200 pesos fee. In Higey, there is 1 such ATM, and in Romana also 1. In odd places you would not think of.
 

affald

New member
May 17, 2004
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Lots of great info, right now it seems PayPal friend to friend is no fee, just not sure yet if he can get PayPal linked to his dominican Popular dollar account.

Zoom seems like second best if I can do that directly into his popular dollar account.

Third is western union at the $20 fee. I don't feel like bringing cash to a western union location monthly to save the extra fee.

Bank to bank international wire seems to be $40 sending WITH CHASE, but Popular may charge on their end too? Not sure

Lots of great info thanks!

If anyone has the trick to set up PayPal on a dominican Popular dollar account please advise. In searching previous posts it seems complicated.
 

suarezn

Gold
Feb 3, 2002
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Use Xoom. Send in US dollars and have them deliver it to your friend's location. Cheapest (although it's not 5 USD ) and quickest way. WU is way more expensive. Wire transfer doesn't take that long, but more of a hassle and a bit more expensive. The debit card idea is more expensive and far riskier. Banks in The DR nowadays have put a cap on how much you can withdraw at a time (10,000 pesos), so You'd need to have lots of withdrawals and each one they charge you fees on both sides and the exchange rate they give you usually sucks.