You know the feeling. You’re out at a restaurant and you need to split a check on a meal with your friends or family. Or maybe you want to pay a friend back for a concert or movie ticket. Now, thanks to new technology, there are several secure and free ways to easily send money to family and friends instantly without heading to the bank or ATM to get cash out.
There are so many ways to send money and whether you are sending money online, mobile or in person, you’ll need to find the right provider. For your easy browsing, we have researched and reviewed the cost and features of various providers in the market so read on if you’d like to find out more.
Free Ways to Send Money
Venmo
Venmo: Pay family and friends in the US with a phone number or email, whether or not they have Venmo — all they need to do is create a Venmo account to claim their payment. You can find friends automatically by syncing your Facebook or phone contacts.
When you send money using your Venmo balance, bank account, debit card or prepaid card, it’s fee-free. However standard 3% fee applies to credit cards. What’s great about it is receiving money and making purchases in other apps is always free!
Zelle
Zelle: Account holders at 35+ banks can now download the new Zelle app that allows you to to securely send money to others by using your bank’s mobile app. With Zelle, users just need a mobile phone number or an email address to send money to their intended recipient. No account information is shared when you send money.
To send money, simply enter the amount you want to send and if your recipient is already enrolled with Zelle, the money will go directly into their bank account. If they aren’t enrolled yet, they will get a notification explaining how to receive the money simply and quickly. Ally, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citi, US Bank, Wells Fargo Banks are among the financial institutions offering this service, be sure to check out the full partner listing page to see if your bank or credit union is on there.
Google Pay
Google Pay: Google Pay is a fast, free way to send money through the app, in Gmail, or on the web at wallet.google.com. You can send money to someone using just their email address or phone number — they don’t need to have the Wallet app.
Simply set a default payment method and any money that’s sent to you will be automatically transferred to that account. No need to manually cash out. You can also use Google Wallet for occasional commercial transactions, like collecting rent or accepting payments for services. Just make sure you have the commercial payments setting turned on.
Square Cash
Square Cash: Sending and receiving payments is totally free and instant with Square Cash. You can send money from your debit card, credit card, or any available funds in your Cash app and start sending money to friends and family. Square Cash can be accessed from any device that sends emails, making it widely accessible for all users.
In addition, you can choose to pay from the Cash App, Siri or with iMessagae. To receive money, you can save your cash in the app or choose to deposit it directly to your bank account. Square initially holds users to a processing limit of $250 per week, but this amount can be increased to $2,500 by providing additional personal information.
PayPal
PayPal: Not only is signing up for PayPal free, but you can also make purchases and send money to family and friends in the U.S. using your PayPal balance or bank account, at no extra cost. Simply fund your PayPal balance through your bank account or with a credit or debit card.
When you’re ready to send money, just enter the mobile phone number or email address of the person to receive the money and enter the amount to send. You can do this through the website or app and the funds go into that person’s PayPal account.
Walmart-2-Walmart
Walmart-2-Walmart: If you’re looking to make a non bank transfer, this is the platform for you. The reason this is the case is because it beats traditional money transfer companies for cheap cash transfers. You can send to one of the thousands of U.S. Walmart stores, where a recipient can pick up the money within minutes.
Bank Wire Transfer
If you need to send a large amount of money quickly, a bank wire transfer is the right move. It will alllow you to send $10,000 or more within the U.S. Keep in mind though that there are fees for transfers with the median for this amount being $25 and $15 for receiving. However, if you need to send money in a pinch, then this is your best bet.
TransferWise
TransferWise: Get one of the cheapest international transfers using TransferWise. There are no foreign exchange rate markups and it offers a consumer-friendly web experience from signup to delivery. In most cases, you’ll pay a flat dollar amount, which increases with the amount you send, and a percentage of the transaction — often less than 1%.
OFX
OFX: With this international transfer service, you will not be charged any fees, regardless of the amount you send. In addition, its online service lets you make a transfer at current exchange rates or target future rates — meaning your money will transfer once your exchange rate is reached — and markups are low. From the U.S., you can send money in over 55 currencies. Check out our OFX review for more details.
Xoom
Xoom: One of the fastest international money transfer services, Xoom offers the ability to transfer to bank accounts abroad within minutes for some currencies. Check out our Xoom promotions for more deals! Keep in mind that Xoom does charge rates on certain transfers, so make sure you send higher amounts to get the best possible rates.
MoneyGram
MoneyGram: Known for being of the fastest transfers to bank accounts or as cash for pickup worldwide, MoneyGram commands a network of many locations across 200 countries and territories. It takes minutes to deliver between any of their locations and transfers can be sent either online or by mobile phone to bank accounts. Check out our MoneyGram promotions for more deals!
Western Union
Western Union: Overall, Western Union offers some of the best features out there when it comes to international wire transfers. They have an extensive worldwide network of locations as well as many ways to send and deliver money. You have the option to send money from the Western Union website or its mobile app using a bank account, debit card or credit card. Check out our Western Union promotions for more deals!
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Bottom Line
There are so many free ways to send money, above are just a handful of money transfers options you can consider when sending money to your friends and family. The best way to transfer money to someone depends a lot on how and where you want to send it to. Feel free to comment below and let us know your preference and why. We also have many interesting/useful articles for you to read up on if you’d like to see more: Best Ways to Manage Your Checking Account & ACH vs Wire Transfers. Don’t forget to also checkout our complete listing of Bank Bonuses nationwide and find a sign up cash bonuses near your area!
