TRANSFERRING MONEY to & from Guyana
TRANSFERRING MONEY TO AND FROM GUYANA
Do you live in Guyana or are you moving here? You will likely end up transferring money from your bank account in your country to Guyana or vice versa. Perhaps you have not yet set up a local bank account but need the money to rent an apartment or buy a house in Guyana, or perhaps you want to make sure your family and kids are taken care of. Guyana is primarily a cash-based society. No matter what reason, the following advice will apply.
How do individuals send and receive money abroad?
Guyana is a country where some citizens historically relied on remittances from friends and family abroad. Money could be transferred via a bank, money transfer agencies and online. You can go to your bank, as they often charge a flat rate for international transfers. Most local money transfer agencies allows the receiver to pick up their money from a physical location. Online money transfers can also be an option for internationals.
LOCAL MONEY TRANSFER OPTIONS
Money transfer companies with branches throughout Guyana allow recipients to send or collect cash from physical locations. Apart from traditional banks, there are many money transfer agencies. Customers can visit the physical premises to conduct the transaction:
GraceKennedy Remittance Services
Massy Services
Laparkan Financial Services
First Global Money
ONLINE MONEY TRANSFER OPTIONS
Traditional banks and transfer agencies often charge excessive fees. So, it should come as no surprise that it’s becoming more and more popular to wire money abroad via an online money transfer. After all, it’s fast, secure, and doesn’t cost a lot.
Not only can online money transfer services save you money, but they can also save you time since there is no need for an in-person visit. Instead, you simply open your browser on your laptop, smartphone, or tablet and wire the money with a few clicks using your preferred online money transfer service. Check out our list of popular online money transfer providers that offer competitive rates.
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This is how sending money online works:
Open an account
Opening an account is very easy once you have decided which online transfer service you want to use. Simply make an account on their website, and fill in some necessary details, such as your date of birth and email address. Some online transfer services will also want to verify your identity.
Choose delivery option and amount
The next step will be to give further details, such as the amount you want to send, your money’s currency and which currency you would like to convert it into. Usually, at this step, you can also state whether this needs to be a fast transfer or whether it can wait a few days.
Add recipient's details
Of course, you will not only have to add your own details but those of your recipient as well, such as their name and account number. So, make sure you have these details at the ready.
Pay
Have you added all the necessary information? You can now pay the money to your chosen transfer company via credit or debit card or via a regular bank transfer. To ensure the money gets forwarded to the right place, it is possible you may need to enter a special reference number.
Finish the transfer
The transfer company will start transferring your money once it receives your payment. The transfer might take a couple of days, depending on which service you choose, of course. Once the recipient (You can send money to yourself) has received the money, you will get a notification.
Retrieving Your Money into a local bank account
If you received your money into a local Guyanese bank, follow your bank’s instructions to convert the funds to Guyanese dollars (some banks provide foreign currency accounts for transactions).
Retrieving Your Money if you don’t have a local bank account
If you received your money into your foreign bank account, you could withdraw Guyanese dollars at an ATM. These usually have better conversion rates than banks, hotels, or licensed Cambios. When using credit cards or ATM cards, exercise precautions to guard against stolen PIN data and avoid carrying around large sums of cash.
How long do money transfers take?
A money transfer can take from as little as 10 minutes to 1-2 working days. It all depends on the money transfer service of your choice. Often bank to bank transfers take longer. Cash transfer options such as Western Union take just a couple of minutes. Often, when it comes to online transfers, larger amounts take longer (up to a couple of days).
Need your money quickly? Transfer money early in the morning on a weekday, as most banks have a cut-off time in the early afternoon. Note the term “working days”.
Cost of sending money abroad
How much you end up paying for a money transfer service is determined by a combination of the following four factors:
How fast do you want to transfer the money
How much money you are transferring
Which currencies you are using and the exchange rate at the time of transfer
How much your bank or transfer company is charging you for their service
Always check the total costs. Sometimes, a company charges really low fees, but it could be that their exchange rate is very high, so you still end up paying more! So, be diligent when choosing a transfer service.
Here are some handy exchange rate tips to help you keep the costs down.
Business transfers & International payments
If you have a business in Guyana a business in Guyana, you might need to send money to and from the country. Of course, you could use your business bank account, but specialist foreign exchange providers often offer better rates for business transfers than banks.
There are laws in place that govern repatriation of funds from Guyanese business operations. Make sure that you are aware of these before you decide to do business in Guyana. The right professionals could also provide the right guidance to keep you compliant.
Now that you know how to access funds, you may be curious about finding the right housing, schools, or figuring out what to spend it on. Read on to find out!
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