Sending Money Overseas – Chicago
There is no law that prohibits a company from depositing your salary in your home country. If the employer is based in the U.S., however, they will want to pay you locally as the transfer of money is not an easy process and bank fees are high. Many employers also don’t want to deal with tax deductions for both countries and other tax implications. See the tax section for more information.
It is very easy to send money overseas and there are three possibilities to do so from the USA: cash transfers, money orders, banking transfers.
Cash Transfers
Cash transfers are possible through the following money transfer companies:
Western union http://www.westernunion.com
MoneyGram https://www.moneygram.com
ATMCash https://www.atmcash.com
Xoom.com is a very popular and inexpensive way of transferring money internationally. You are able to transfer between $25 and $2,999 per day at a flat rate of $4.99. The money generally takes three days to arrive in the international account.
Xoom – http://www.xoom.com
Money Orders
Money orders are possible through the United States Postal Service that issues international money orders. The maximum allowed is of $700 per money order. It costs from 3 – $8.50 per money order. U.S. Money Orders can be cashed in banks or post offices in most countries around the world. All U.S. post offices provide this service.
For more information, see the United States Postal Service website: http://www.usps.com/
Most banks also issue money orders. The maximum is $1,000 and the fee is around $10.
Bank Transfers
You don’t have to be a customer of the bank to wire funds, but you have to pay cash. The amount of time the funds will take to be transferred depends on the bank and the service you select. It will cost you about $65 if you are not a customer of the bank and about $40 if you are a bank customer. Usually, you must visit a bank in person and fill in a form to start the process. Be sure to have all of the receiving bank’s information, such as address and routing number. It is important to note that the recipient must have access to the corresponding bank.
