Sending money internationally can be a challenge for many Africans, whether it's to support family members, pay bills, or for business transactions.

Traditional methods like wire transfers or money orders can be expensive, inconvenient, and time-consuming. Fortunately, with the rise of financial technology (FinTech) platforms, there are now several easy and affordable options available for Africans to send money abroad.

In this blog post, we will explore the best ways for Africans to send money internationally. Our goal is to provide you with a comprehensive guide that will help you choose the most suitable method for your needs, whether you prioritize cost, speed, or convenience.

How Do International Payments Work?

International payments are also called ‘cross-border payments,’ since the sender and receiver are in different countries. As a result of the economic integration in the financial sector, these cross-border payments are rapidly growing. 

Unlike domestic payments that involve one currency, international payments will involve currency conversion. So it means that if you send money to your family or friends in Europe, for instance, you have made a cross-border payment. Not only that: if you are in Nigeria, it means that your Naira is converted to Euro so that that family or friend in Europe can receive it.

Note: One of the downsides to these cross-border payments is that they attract high remittance charges in many cases. Another challenge is that due to how volatile African currencies can be, sending money internationally from Africa could mean that the amount of money sent won't be certain.

The Best Ways to Send Money Internationally for Africans

Whether you're supporting loved ones, paying bills, or making business transactions, here are some of the best ways to send money abroad as an African.

Western Union

Western Union allows for millions of international money transfers. For many, many years, Western Union has bridged the gap between one African country and another, even to other continents. It is very reliable. From research, Western Union makes an average of 31 transactions per second, and $80B annually. This goes to show how reliable and trustworthy Western Union is when it comes to international transactions.

To send money internationally with Western Union, start here.

SWIFT Payment

SWIFT is an acronym that stands for Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications, it is a swift payment in the real sense of the word. This is another best way that Africans can send money internationally and it requires just a few easy steps. The SWIFT payment allows you to transfer money to international bank accounts using a SWIFT code which is also called the BIC code and the account number/IBAN of your recipient. 

For more information on how SWIFT payments work, start here.

OhentPay

Another way to send money internationally is with OhentPay. Africans can use it to send money internationally without any stress or excessive charges. All you need to do is download the app from your app store, sign up, and set up your account to enable you to send money internationally from Africa without any hassles. It offers fast money transfers at the best rates. You can send and receive money to over 190 countries and exchange up to 40 currencies. It is that simple. 

How to use OhentPay for your international transactions:

• Download your OhentPay app here.
• Sign up with your valid credentials and get your account verified in two minutes.
• Add your preferred currencies by clicking the logo of any currency via the 'exchange' button.
• Fund your account.  
• Use the ‘Send’ button to include the details of the transfer and also your recipient's details. 
• Send the money. 

MoneyGram

MoneyGram is available for customers to send money to over 200 countries. With MoneyGram, you can send money either directly to the recipient's account or their mobile wallet. All you need to do is enter their account details. Interestingly, aside from just sending money abroad with it, MoneyGram also has the option with which you can pay bills. In all, it is one of the best ways to send money abroad, especially for Africans.

To open a MoneyGram account, start here.

Wrapping Up

With this blog post, you can see that there are several ways Africans can send money internationally. We have Western Union, SWIFT payment,  MoneyGram, and OhentPay.

If you’d like to send money anywhere in the world and prefer fast transfers at great rates, we recommend the OhentPay money transfer service. Create an account here to get started.

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