There are many ways one can send money to people living overseas. International wire transfers are a common way of sending money internationally. There are other means of transferring money from your account to another person living outside the country. There are means such as mobile wallets, PayPal, and so on. But when you visit your bank, give your money to a bank teller, and they start counting bills using a mixed denomination bill counter to send the money to someone overseas, the questions arise. Are there any risks involved in the transaction? Are you assured that the money will reach its destination without hitches? And so on.

These are some of the issues that people may have to contend with as they send money internationally. So we shall discuss these here.

Here are some risks associated with international money transfers:

When we talk about risks that abound when one is sending money abroad, we mean the kind of shortcomings they will encounter in the process. There are times when the money one is transferring may not even reach the recipient. Well, there are many of these risks. These are:

1.     Cost of carrying out a money transfer transaction
This is one of the most common risks that people face when sending money to another country. As such, one must find a deal that will give them value for their money. There are other associated costs that you should beware of when calculating the cost of sending money abroad. These are:
·        Exchange rate of the currency. Here, you need to know that your money has to be exchanged to the currency of the country where you are sending the money. As such, you should find the best deals in the exchange rate or you will end up paying high rates.
·        The second kind of cost is the commissions. The commissions are charged by the agents such as the banks where you are carrying out the money transfer.
·        The third cost of sending money is the transfer fees. These are fees usually charged by banks to enable you to transfer the money to a different country.
When considering the cost of money transfer as a risk, you need to research the various costs different organizations and money transfer modes will charge you. After comparing the costs and finding the friendliest, you can therefore make your money transfers. In any case, the cost of international money transfers is always substantial.

2.     Security Risks
This is another risk factor that one should consider when sending money abroad. While small amounts of money do not involve a high-risk during transfer, one should be wary of sending large amounts of money. Remember that international transactions of money may not be easily guaranteed or easy to follow up when compared to local transfers. As such you need to use a trusted money transfer agent or bank. You can ask friends, relatives, or colleagues for better reviews. Their experience can help you to get secure money sending agents.

3.     Transfer speed
This is another risk you need to be aware of. Whereas some international money transfer modes are instant, others could take much more time. Most of the money transfer means it takes less than a week to have the transaction completed. Others will take less than 20 minutes. Therefore, one must find out about the transfer speeds before they can commit to sending money abroad. You should also liaise with the recipient so you know how urgently they need the money. This is because some emergency needs of money could be curtailed by a money transfer mode that takes long to complete.

4.     Choice of Destination
You should ask before you send money whether the destination you are sending money is accepted by the agent. What I mean here is that there are some modes of money transfer that are not available for some countries. As such, you risk delays or inability to transfer the money if your destination is not covered. You may also wish to ask whether the money so sent will be delivered in the form of cash, banker's check, bank deposits, or postal orders.

In conclusion, there are many factors that one needs to consider when sending money abroad. You will also need to understand the laws of the money transfer of the country you are sending from as well as the country to which you are sending the money.