Gone are the days of the 9-5 schedule, where employees got their paycheck and deposited their funds themselves at their local bank. With the growing independent contractor-owned businesses and freelancers, payment for services rendered is done virtually… through money transfer services.
The Gig Economy and Money Transfer Services
In fact, according to newly released data, 15.5 million U.S. workers have alternative arrangements for primary employment, including independent contractors, on-call workers, temps and the like. The gig economy is alive and well! Thanks to wedding photographers, marketing consultants, life coaches, private tutors and so many more freelancers, money transfer services are growing in popularity.
PayPal, MoneyGram and Xoom Within the U.S.
But what money transfer company is the cheapest? MOA Accounting, virtual accounting firm knows most of them have fees and percentages taken from the total amount being transferred. Some even operate under a flat fee rate. PayPal, MoneyGram and Xoom seem to be the tree most popular money transfer services, allowing people to send funds as well as pay for purchased items.
Money transfer companies also have various rates depending on originating country, receiving country as well as whether it’s a personal transfer (say you want to send money to your brother) versus paying for freelance writing services for your website. The virtual accounting company found out that with PayPal, sending money to another person within the U.S. (to another PayPal account of bank account) is free for PayPal users. PayPal transfers are also free for online shoppers and store shoppers.
Transfers to Friends and Family, Transfers Worldwide
MoneyGram and Xoom (which is a PayPal service), charge a fee for non-business entities between people in the U.S. MoneyGram charges a $5 flat fee for sending anywhere between $1 and $49, and $11.50 for anywhere between $50 and $499. If you’re sending funds over that amount, then the flat rate drops to 2% on funds greater than $500, with a maximum of $10,000 being sent.
Xoom is used for money transfers from U.S. senders to recipients in other countries such as Mexico, Belgium, Australia and beyond. Aside from sending money to friends and family, you can reload phones and pay bills for them too. Xoom’s transaction fee depends on a few variables such as the payment method, how much you’re sending, to where and which currency you select for disbursement. If amount is less than $3,000, transfer fees can be around $3.00 to over 40 countries.
PayPal’s Doing Business Fees
The virtual accounting firm learned PayPal charges between 2.5% an 3.2% plus a flat fee of 30 cents on a transfer of $100 for merchants selling goods and services online. If sellers offers goods for a small price tag, say $10, then the PayPal fee is closer to 5%. MoneyGram and Xoom don’t really play in this area of money transfer services.
Hopefully, MOA Accounting, virtual accounting firm helped you determine the best money transfer service for you.
