Remitly

DrNoob

Active member
Aug 10, 2024
108
45
28
Cabarete, DR
Their website does only show about 30 or so countries you can send money from, and well over 100 you can send money to. The DR is not in the "from" list. I would have to assume the app would show the same. BTW, XE also does not list the DR as a country you can send from...only the US and Canada in North America, and none in Central/South America or the Caribbean region.
I spoke to a representative of theirs when I set up a business account with them. I was told for DOP, I need to call them to book a transfer. Their rates to other places were not competitive compared to other services when I looked and I have not bother to try again.

I am going go out on a limb and guess that the FROM and TO countries are based on bilateral agreements between those countries AND the operational decisions of each remittance company. For example, if you were to use the Western Union website in India, the list of TO countries changes a lot compared to what you would find on the WU website in the US. The DR version does not even tell you which countries you can send, just points you to agent locations. The list Wise has as TO countries changes based on the FROM country. You can use Wise to send USD to a DR USD account but the charges are much much higher due to the use of intermediary banks. Hopefully they will add DOP as a destination currency soon
 

cavok

Silver
Jun 16, 2014
10,414
4,576
113
Cabarete
I think you will find that is the bank rate, few if any of these transfer companies will give that rate. I've just checked the WU app and todays rate GBP to DOP bank to bank is 76.91
The link in post #34 shows the XE rate as 75.56. That would still give you 5,724 pesos less on 4000 GBP than the W.U. rate. Maybe W.U. fees will reduce the difference?
 

Uzin

Bronze
Oct 26, 2005
1,418
34
48
I also hope Wise add DR to their destinations, they are very professional and give a good service with very competitive rates. I have used them for a very long time for other currencies, and no issues at all...

I have checked Remitly for GBP transfer to USD or DOP and it's similar to Xoom - after their "new customer" offer passed... , both not that exciting...!

If anyone has compared and know the best GBP transfer option to DR let me know.
 

DrNoob

Active member
Aug 10, 2024
108
45
28
Cabarete, DR
I also hope Wise add DR to their destinations, they are very professional and give a good service with very competitive rates. I have used them for a very long time for other currencies, and no issues at all...

I have checked Remitly for GBP transfer to USD or DOP and it's similar to Xoom - after their "new customer" offer passed... , both not that exciting...!

If anyone has compared and know the best GBP transfer option to DR let me know.
Best rates are actually when you are in the DR : If you have one of those Mastercard-rate cards (Starling/Chase etc.) then Scotiabank ATMs let you pull out money without fees and the Masterbank rate is better than whatever these services offer. You might be limited to £300/£500 as imposed by the issuing UK bank though AND if you want to deposit into your DR account, you have to bear the hassle of going to a bank to do so.

YMMV on the fees because the ATM operators can change stuff
 
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Astucia

Papa de Negrita
Oct 19, 2013
710
387
63
I'm thinking of changing from WU to Remitly. I need to send money MONTHLY to the USA using a Canadian Debit card. This works fine with WU but after the first transfer ( which is Transfer Funds Fee of ZERO - as a new customer bonus ) WU charges a transfer fee of $25. So $600 yearly. I was told that Remitly does not charge a Transfer Fee on ANY transfer greater than $1000. Can anyone confirm this? I've tried a Remitly chat but it was like talking to a 16-year-old.
 

JLSawmam

Happy on the North Coast
Sep 8, 2018
612
470
63
I'm thinking of changing from WU to Remitly. I need to send money MONTHLY to the USA using a Canadian Debit card. This works fine with WU but after the first transfer ( which is Transfer Funds Fee of ZERO - as a new customer bonus ) WU charges a transfer fee of $25. So $600 yearly. I was told that Remitly does not charge a Transfer Fee on ANY transfer greater than $1000. Can anyone confirm this? I've tried a Remitly chat but it was like talking to a 16-year-old.
https://www.remitly.com/ca/en/united-states/pricing This would indicate that the first transfer is free, and either 1.99 or 3.99 CAD after that, depending on delivery method. Also shows $1000 CAD will give $714 USD...no idea if that's good or bad.
 

JimW

Active member
May 21, 2014
76
81
28
One thing I find difficult is that alot of these company don't seem to post openly their rates after the first 'teaser' no-fee/low rate so it makes if difficult to compare.

For example; sending from the US to the DR, I've used Xoom for a long time but over the last couple years did test transfers using Remitly and XE. Each has their pros and cons in my eyes.... Xoom has a solid interface and is quick to get the money there but often the worst conversion rate. Remitly and XE while having better rates take longer to arrive, harder-to-navigate interface and I've had transfers rejected for no obvious reason.

My Mother In Law (lives with us in NY most of the year now) wants to setup her own account to send money to her friends in the DR. I was thinking WU for her since she needs convenience - an app in Spanish with pickup points in lots of places but (a) when I go to the WU website, I can't find any rate or fees other than the teaser, listed and there's and no good information (or explanation) as to the rate if the recipient picks it up in Peso vs USD (most of her pickups would be in Pesos which I would assume would be a better rate but from what's mentioned in this thread, it seems USD pickup is a better rate, why?).

Do all the transfer companies do this to make it hard to compare beforehand?
 

Chismoso

Member
Dec 31, 2022
34
25
8
Puerto Plata
Not too sure where posters here are looking for rate/currency information.

The three I use regularly, XE, Remitly and WU post their daily rates on their apps, as soon as a client logs on the rates appear. (XE & Remitly), if I recall correctly with WU you have to initiate a transfer for the rate to appear, if you are not satisfied, then just cancel.

Granted, I downloaded the apps in the UK so maybe they are styled differently to other countries.
 
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JLSawmam

Happy on the North Coast
Sep 8, 2018
612
470
63
Not too sure where posters here are looking for rate/currency information.

The three I use regularly, XE, Remitly and WU post their daily rates on their apps, as soon as a client logs on the rates appear. (XE & Remitly), if I recall correctly with WU you have to initiate a transfer for the rate to appear, if you are not satisfied, then just cancel.

Granted, I downloaded the apps in the UK so maybe they are styled differently to other countries.
I don't have an account with XE or Remitly...before logging in, a person sees an exchange rate (USD) of 59.77 with XE and 59.84 with Remitly for the first $500 (new customer), and 58.95 after that. So, at least Remitly is a little more transparent. With XE, you have to open an account to see more info. So yeah, it's easy enough to open an account, but these companies shouldn't make it difficult to see the info. Just say up front what is an introductory offer, and what the normal rate is too.
 

cavok

Silver
Jun 16, 2014
10,414
4,576
113
Cabarete
One thing I find difficult is that alot of these company don't seem to post openly their rates after the first 'teaser' no-fee/low rate so it makes if difficult to compare.

For example; sending from the US to the DR, I've used Xoom for a long time but over the last couple years did test transfers using Remitly and XE. Each has their pros and cons in my eyes.... Xoom has a solid interface and is quick to get the money there but often the worst conversion rate. Remitly and XE while having better rates take longer to arrive, harder-to-navigate interface and I've had transfers rejected for no obvious reason.

My Mother In Law (lives with us in NY most of the year now) wants to setup her own account to send money to her friends in the DR. I was thinking WU for her since she needs convenience - an app in Spanish with pickup points in lots of places but (a) when I go to the WU website, I can't find any rate or fees other than the teaser, listed and there's and no good information (or explanation) as to the rate if the recipient picks it up in Peso vs USD (most of her pickups would be in Pesos which I would assume would be a better rate but from what's mentioned in this thread, it seems USD pickup is a better rate, why?).

Do all the transfer companies do this to make it hard to compare beforehand?
Yes, thye're all difficult to get info and navigate. W.U. has a really bad conversion rate from USD to pesos. :pickup in USD is the best. Cheap rates. Easy to go to a cambio and change your money. W.U. rates are cheap. Download their app.
 

cavok

Silver
Jun 16, 2014
10,414
4,576
113
Cabarete
Yes, thye're all difficult to get info and navigate. W.U. has a really bad conversion rate from USD to pesos. :pickup in USD is the best. Cheap rates. Easy to go to a cambio and change your money. W.U. rates are cheap. Download their app.
P.S. I paid $6.99 to send $500. I paid $13.99 to send $1500. Always pickup up in USD!!!
 

JLSawmam

Happy on the North Coast
Sep 8, 2018
612
470
63
P.S. I paid $6.99 to send $500. I paid $13.99 to send $1500. Always pickup up in USD!!!
$1500 USD at the recent rate of 59.80 would give you 89,700 pesos. After figuring in the $13.99 fee, you are effectively getting a rate of 59.25...certainly better than 56.89 today with Xoom! And slightly better than Remitly's 58.94 (not the introductory rate) with a fee of 2.99.
 
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cavok

Silver
Jun 16, 2014
10,414
4,576
113
Cabarete
$1500 USD at the recent rate of 59.80 would give you 89,700 pesos. After figuring in the $13.99 fee, you are effectively getting a rate of 59.25...certainly better than 56.89 today with Xoom! And slightly better than Remitly's 58.94 (not the introductory rate) with a fee of 2.99.
Remitly and W.U. seem to be the two best options to send money here.
 

Glenn Burke

Active member
Sep 12, 2023
351
223
43
Santo Domingo
Remitly and W.U. seem to be the two best options to send money here.
It all depends on how much you send. What I do, I send $7500-9000 here at once (to be well under $10000 and no questions asked) by wire transfer to my Popular account, and when I spend them all, I send another $7500-9000, and so on. For this amount, wire transfer is the best option. Of course if you want to send just $500-1500, wire transfer fee is too much.
 

JLSawmam

Happy on the North Coast
Sep 8, 2018
612
470
63
It all depends on how much you send. What I do, I send $7500-9000 here at once (to be well under $10000 and no questions asked) by wire transfer to my Popular account, and when I spend them all, I send another $7500-9000, and so on. For this amount, wire transfer is the best option. Of course if you want to send just $500-1500, wire transfer fee is too much.
I do the same, wire transfer a larger amount and periodically exchange those dollars for pesos. For those without a bank account here, or wishing to send a smaller amount, the suggestions above appear to be the best options
 

cavok

Silver
Jun 16, 2014
10,414
4,576
113
Cabarete
It all depends on how much you send. What I do, I send $7500-9000 here at once (to be well under $10000 and no questions asked) by wire transfer to my Popular account, and when I spend them all, I send another $7500-9000, and so on. For this amount, wire transfer is the best option. Of course if you want to send just $500-1500, wire transfer fee is too much.
I meant for those that don't have a bank here. For larger amounts, which it almost 95% of the time for me, I send a wire transfer to my bank. Thtat's cheaper than any of the money transfer services. And, if you can plan ahead, you can always deposit a check in your bank here and that will cost you nothing.
 

bachata

Aprendiz de todo profesional de nada
Aug 18, 2007
5,451
1,327
113
Senor @bachata mentioned another service Flexienvios BHD but it requires a US IP (or a VPN), US bank account, has a 3000 USD limit and their parent company has not so nice reviews.
I can't find my comment, but I am sure I haven't used BHD Flexienvios.
I only send money using Remitli or Xoom.
Xoom is faster when door delivery.

JJ