Best way for my dominican mom to receive money

mariel

Dominisueca
Apr 7, 2004
514
6
0
Hello everyone,

I want to give my money a monthly amount, say 500-1000 sek (around 67,5-135 usd) to start with, and as I get my finances better I will eventually increase this. What would be the best way for me to do this?

1) Open a bank account in my bank in Sweden and send her the ATM card, so she can withdraw money at will
2) Open a bank account in DR and transfer the money
3) WU

I have to hear from my bank about rates for international transfers as well as the fees they have for cards and ATM withdraws in a non-European country. WU charges around 130 sek (around 17usd) for sending up to 1000 sek (if i remember correctly, i sent something like it not too long ago and they charged me that).

Now, my mom uses WU when she feels the need to send me money. And she's very happy with them.

Thanks in advance.

Oh, and I did a search but I found nothing that could help me.

She doesn't really know about this because if she finds out she will refuse any help from me, proud as she is. I don't feel obligated or anything, I just felt like giving back in the only way I can at the moment.
 

chuckuindy

Bronze
Mar 8, 2004
1,372
0
0
78
mariel said:
Hello everyone,

I want to give my money a monthly amount, say 500-1000 sek (around 67,5-135 usd) to start with, and as I get my finances better I will eventually increase this. What would be the best way for me to do this?

1) Open a bank account in my bank in Sweden and send her the ATM card, so she can withdraw money at will
2) Open a bank account in DR and transfer the money
3) WU

I have to hear from my bank about rates for international transfers as well as the fees they have for cards and ATM withdraws in a non-European country. WU charges around 130 sek (around 17usd) for sending up to 1000 sek (if i remember correctly, i sent something like it not too long ago and they charged me that).

Now, my mom uses WU when she feels the need to send me money. And she's very happy with them.

Thanks in advance.

Oh, and I did a search but I found nothing that could help me.

She doesn't really know about this because if she finds out she will refuse any help from me, proud as she is. I don't feel obligated or anything, I just felt like giving back in the only way I can at the moment.

By far option 1 is the best assuming you can hand deliver the ATM card.

Chuckuindy
 

Hillbilly

Moderator
Jan 1, 2002
18,948
514
113
Where soes you Mom live? That is important, since there are more services in some location than others. WU is everywhere--which is why Victor mendez is certainly one of the wealthiest men in the country!!
Other services are less frequent....

HB :D:D
 

rellosk

Silver
Mar 18, 2002
4,169
58
48
vince1956 said:
https://www.westernunion.co.uk/info/osMoneyTransferOptions.asp This is how we send my mother in law the more you send the cheaper it gets £100.00 =£114.00 cash and £117.00 with a credit card hope that helps you
That's still a hefty fee. You're 14-17% fee to send £100.00. Plus, I can imagine what kind of vig they get converting SEK to RD. They get about 5-6% on the USD to RD conversion.

To the OP, your best bet is option #1, an ATM card.
 

mariel

Dominisueca
Apr 7, 2004
514
6
0
I always forget relevant pieces of info hehe sorry about that.

My mom lives in SD and I live outside of Stockholm, so we both have access to several services.

If you think of any other option I'll be happy to hear it :D
 

PlantaFULL

New member
Oct 21, 2004
280
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0
If you choose option 1 ATM card, remember to make sure that this card is not linked to your main personal account. Instead open a secondary account in sweden and keep only limited funds on it. This is just a security measure in case something "bad" was to happen to your mothers' card here in the DR.

I would opt for one of the simple european "Maestro" cards. They don't have the credit card functionality but they work on ATM machines here. However they aren't (or shouldn't) be accepted when paying purchases, restaurants etc only with card+signature... Which I consider added security in this case. Plus, the maestro card you usually get without any extra monthly fee on european accounts, while a Visa etc would cost something.

The actual withdraw fees vary, you should ask your bank in sweden:
1. if there are any banks/ATMs in the DR they have some agreement with (no fee)
2. if there is a limit on the amount of international withdraws/per month/year under which no fee is charged.
 
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suarezn

Gold
Feb 3, 2002
5,823
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Don't use Wester Union as their fees are outrageous and they don't deliver to your house in many places. Can you use paypal in Sweden? If so your best bet is to open a paypal account and use www.xoom.com to send it. They use caribe express which is everywhere in the country, their fees are very low and they will deliver in either USD or Pesos right to your mom's home. I've been using them for a while and have been very happy with the service.

If this is not an option then I would go with the ATM card.
 

qgrande

Bronze
Jul 27, 2005
805
4
0
suarezn said:
Don't use Wester Union as their fees are outrageous and they don't deliver to your house in many places. Can you use paypal in Sweden? If so your best bet is to open a paypal account and use www.xoom.com to send it. They use caribe express which is everywhere in the country, their fees are very low and they will deliver in either USD or Pesos right to your mom's home. I've been using them for a while and have been very happy with the service.

If this is not an option then I would go with the ATM card.

If you are a US resident this looks like a very cheap option. You can use paypal in Europe (and around the world I guess). It appears Xoom has a 'value' and a 'standard' fee, and the value option is only available for Americans. The fee on using an ATM card in the DR is much lower than the Xoom 'standard' fee. The ATM card will really be the best option, only make sure you open a new account and get the card there safely.
 

mariel

Dominisueca
Apr 7, 2004
514
6
0
Thanks everyone

Plantafull: I used to have a Maestro card till some time till March 2006 and the card costs 195 sek/year, plus withdrawls cost 25 sek each. There's a fee the bank takes for every transaction in currencies other than SEK and that fee is usually shown together with the withdraw. I sent them an e-mail asking how many withdraws per day I can do in non-European countries. I wait for their answer on this and the other suggestions you wrote.

I have been able to buy in shops with the Maestro sign like with my Visa, but I could always "disable" that function I guess.

suarezn: this i found on paypal.com
"Users in these countries cannot withdraw funds to their local bank account electronically or by paper check. They can withdraw funds to a U.S. bank account.

Costa Rica
Dominican Republic
Iceland
Israel
Malaysia
Thailand
Turkey
Venezuela" (http://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_display-approved-signup-countries-outside)

I don't have a US bank account so this isn't an option for me. My (non-US) paypal acct works fine to pay stuff on Ebay and what not, however. Thanks tho.

I'm not a US resident.
 

Hillbilly

Moderator
Jan 1, 2002
18,948
514
113
Mariel: I was thinking that suarezn's solution might work, but i see that there are problems.
Have you thought of using International Express Mail? Your Mother would receive the express mail at her house if it is easy to find. And she could establish a relationship with one of the better exchange houses like VIMENCA or Santa Cruz.
You could send checks tht way....

Otherwise, I guess the ATM card is the best....

and safest..

HB
 

PlantaFULL

New member
Oct 21, 2004
280
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Another thing you should consider is that if your mother is hesitant to accept money, the ATM option would require her to "take action", which she may never do out of pride. Some of the other options suggested for sending money would ensure that she simply receives the money automatically regardles if she wants it :)
 

fernandodiaz

New member
Mar 27, 2005
46
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0
Wow! Never thought of the ATM option

I am in the UK and send approx ?200(US$300) per month. We have always used Western union. Wish I had thought of the card earlier. Will look into it - thanks!
 

mariel

Dominisueca
Apr 7, 2004
514
6
0
Plantafull: yes, I've thought of that. But at least she'd have this money as a safety net, should the circumstances require it.

I'm in the middle of changing jobs, so I haven't done anything other than gathering info.
 

suarezn

Gold
Feb 3, 2002
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Mariel: She wouldn't be withdrwaing money from her paypal account...You would be the one withdrawing from paypal to pay www.xoom.com. In other words you paypal account would be from Sweden not The DR. Xoom (caribe Express) will deliver this money right to your mother's doorstep. Trust me I do this every month for my 80 year old grandpa and it works like a charm.

Also they do accept other methods of payment such as credit cards.

The ATM card is an option. The drawbacks are that you will probably have to pay a withdraw fee (maybe even in both countries). In addition the exchange rate you will get will be less than if you have the money delivered in US dollars.

In my case I'm always leery of using ATM cards in The DR, so I didn't want to give my 80 year old grandpa an ATM card which he probably wouldn't know how to use anyway.

Fernando: If I were you I would look into Xoom.com as well. Western Union is a rip off...