How do different money transfer services from the US to Mexico compare in price, exchange rate and experience? Let's analyze one by one.
If you live in the United States and need to send money to Mexico, it's important to know which option is best for you.
There are several ways to send money across the border, but not all of them are the same. In this article, we explain the best ways to send money to Mexico from the United States, and to do so, we'll compare the key things to consider when evaluating your options:
- Exchange rate: It's the price at which they're going to sell you the Peso.
- Shipping Fee: This is the amount you will be charged for the service to ship.
- Ease of Use: We take into account the user experience and the support provided by the platform to resolve any questions or problems you may have during the transaction.
- Shipping speed: This is the time it will take for the money to be available to be collected in Mexico.
- Transparency in the total cost of the transfer: These are the hidden (or not so obvious) charges that each platform will charge you when you ship.
1. Remitly:
Remitly is a service that allows you to quickly send money through its mobile application from the USA to more than 90 countries.
Remitly commonly charges fixed fees of around $3.99 USD for sending money from the U.S. to Mexico, but this cost can vary depending on the amount sent and the method of payment.
Additionally, Remitly earns between 1% and 3% on the exchange rate. This means that if you send $100 at an exchange rate of $20 pesos per dollar, Remitly will make a profit of between $1 and $3 dollars.
Pros of using Remitly:
- Fast delivery options. Remitly has the ability to deliver money to recipients in a matter of minutes if you're using a debit card.
- Promotional rates. First-time Remitly users will get a significantly cheaper promotional rate for a limited amount of money. (Remitly may change the expiration dates of these promotions at any time.)
- 24/7 customer service. Telephone service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in English and Spanish, and live chat is also available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in English and Spanish.
- Mobile app. Remitly's mobile apps offer an easy-to-use experience for those users who like to create an account and have immediate access through their phone.
Cons of using Remitly:
- Bad exchange rates. Remitly generally has poor exchange rates. For a transfer of $300, your beneficiary could receive up to $100 less Mexican pesos compared to other money transfer services from the United States to Mexico such as FeliX Payment.
- Credit card fees. Sending money to Mexico with a credit card costs an additional 3% of the transaction amount.
- Long delivery times for the Economy option. The cheapest transfers, using your bank account, take three to five business days for delivery.
2. Xoom:
Xoom is focused on offering one of the fastest experiences through its mobile apps and website.
Users of this platform can send money from the USA to Mexico using a bank account, debit card or credit card.
Funds are available in minutes in a bank account or at a cash payment location, such as a bank or retail store.
Unlike other providers, Xoom can deliver money sent through bank accounts as quickly as using a debit or credit card and without charging extra for speed.
The exchange rate offered by Xoom varies between 1% and 3% above the average market rate, or the cheap rate that large banks use against each other.
The shipping fee is around $15 for transfers of up to $1,000 using debit or credit cards.
Pros of using Xoom:
- Price, only if you send money using a bank account. Xoom charges a $3.99 fee for transfers using bank accounts, no matter how much you send.
- Speed. The money can arrive in a matter of minutes in most cases.
- High transfer limits for verified accounts. You can send up to $100,000 per day to a recipient's bank account by verifying your personal information.
- Low transfer minimum. The minimum amount that Xoom can send is $10.
- Easy-to-use website. Xoom organizes its website by destination country, so you can see what costs, speeds, and delivery options are available for transfer without logging in.
- Customer support. Xoom offers customer service in Spanish.
Cons of using Xoom:
- Account Verification: You can only transfer $2,999 per day if you don't have a verified profile.
- It does not have customer service via chat: There's no live chat support, which some other providers offer.
- It's expensive to ship using a debit or credit card. You'll pay almost $90 to send $2,999. And the bank that issued your credit card also often adds additional costs, such as interest and cash advance fees.
3. Western Union:
Western Union offers 550,000 locations in more than 200 countries and territories to securely send and receive money.
But Western Union has a complicated pricing structure and the company has fallen short in the past in protecting consumers.
To use their service, you must register with Western Union and take several steps to validate your identity.
Pros of using Western Union:
- Speed. Transfers made using cash and debit cards can arrive in Mexico in a matter of minutes. The recipient would pick up the cash at a physical location, such as a supermarket or bank.
- Cash transfers. You can make a cash transfer. This isn't an option for most non-bank money transfer providers.
Cons of using Western Union:
- Price. You can find other, cheaper services for sending money from the United States to Mexico.
- Lack of transparency. It's difficult to compare costs because the fee and exchange rate can vary significantly depending on how you pay, how the recipient receives the money, and other factors.
4. Félix Pago:
Félix Pago is the first and only chat platform for Latinos in the United States to send money to their countries. With just a few WhatsApp messages, Latino immigrants can instantly send money to bank accounts or tens of thousands of stores. The company's mission is to make sending money from the U.S. to Latin America extremely easy, reliable, and cheaper. All without leaving home, without having to download a mobile application, and without paying excessive fees.
Félix Pago is unique because it's not an application, it's a platform built on WhatsApp, the most used messaging method in Latin America. Félix Pago offers:
- Very low barriers to adoption, as there is no need to download an app
- Reduced friction in the subscription process, with just a few simple questions via chat
- A human experience with personalized messages, immediate responses, and trusted support
