subject: Send Money Online For Less With New Prepaid Debit Card Programs [print this page] Whether you are from Micronesia, Polynesia, or Melanesia, you likely want to transfer money back home to the Pacific Islands as cheaply as possible. Money transfers in Australia and New Zealand to the Pacific Islands have become some of the most expensive in the world, with fees averaging about 20 percent of the transaction. Some companies and banks have been charging even 30 percent of the transaction amount just to send money online back home. With the advent of new services, that cost has decreased down to anywhere from three to seven percent of each transaction.
The newer, cheaper alternatives to the outrageously high costs of transferring money to the Pacific Islands are offered by a few different companies. However, each one involves a prepaid debit card. No matter which company you go through to send money online using a prepaid debit card, you are guaranteed to pay less than you would if you transferred money through a bank.
The best way to ensure your family in the Pacific Islands gets money as soon as possible is to send them a debit card from the company you select. It is typically a MasterCard or Visa-branded card, meaning your recipient can use it anywhere that those brands are accepted. Once they receive the card, you can call them with the PIN so they can make transactions like a regular debit card. They can also get out cash using regular ATMs.
You can load the card with money anytime, either by phone or Internet. Typically, the money will be available to them in your home country's currency within an hour. There are some transaction fees they will have to pay, usually less than a dollar each. It costs anywhere from $1 to $5 USD for them to take cash out of an ATM, so this is their cheapest route if they need to make several small purchases.
You might be concerned about what you will pay for such convenience. Typically it costs a flat fee of $5 to $8, though some companies do charge a percentage of the transferred amount instead. That fee is usually under 5 percent of the funds amount, which is clearly much less than most banks charge.
No matter which prepaid debit card company you select, this is sure to be the best option for cheaply transferring money online frequently. Even if you do not yet need to send money, you should pick a company and send a debit card to your family in the Pacific Islands. This way, if an emergency ever occurs and they need money fast, you can have it to them cheaply within an hour. Of course this service is available in most countries, but it is rather new to the Pacific Island area, and will likely make the most difference there considering the current extremely high rates to send money online.
