How RemitBee helps you save money when transferring to Sri Lanka
Ease of remittance is something that is also much needed by those conducting online business and managing freelancers. For them, prompt payment & competitive exchange rates are important for the smooth running of their business.
Naturally, payment platforms across the globe are evolving to cater to the need for convenience in sending across the world, especially to countries like India, Pakistan & Sri Lanka. While there are currently many platforms that allow sending money from Canada to Sri Lanka, below are the 7 commonly used ones:
So which platform offers the best exchange rate?
Naturally, that’s the first question to come to mind when thinking of remitting money from Cananda to Sri Lanka (or any other country for that matter). But, before discussing the pros and cons of the remittance platforms, it's necessary to remember that the calculations below are for a transaction value of $1000.
This means that all fees, charges etc. will be deducted from the $1000 before the final amount is sent to the recipient. The payment methods compared are Canadian bank, debit, and credit while the recipient payment method is bank account/cash pick-up.
How much LKR your recipient will get for $1000 CAD transfer
(Fees are included in the converted amount, data collected from Feb 3 - March 10)['Provider'
Final amount in LKR
'Transfer fee (CAD)']
235,926
FREE
Wise
208,355
$10.00
Moneygram
211,223
$4.99
Remitly
208,669
$4.99
Western Union
210,038
$1.99
Ria
212,146
$20.00
Worldremit
203,530
$4.99
*Per data collected in Sep 13th, 2022
Exchange rate
Exchange rates offered by different providers: 1 CAD to Sri Lankan Rupee. The exchange rates below are an average of exchange rate data collected between Feb 2, 2022 - May 10, 2022.['Provider'
'Average exchange rate']
235.926 LKR
Wise
211.766 LKR
Moneygram
212.284 LKR
Remitly
209.718 LKR
Western Union
210.459 LKR
Ria
216.475 LKR
Worldremit
204.551 LKR
*Per data collected in Sep 13th, 2022
Time it takes to complete the transfer
['Provider'
'Transfer speed amount']
Within 1 day
Wise
Within 1 day
Moneygram
4-5 days
Remitly
Up to 5 days
Western Union
Within minutes
Ria
Up to 4 days
Worldremit
Within minutes
*Per data collected in Sep 13th, 2022
From the comparison of different remittance service providers it is clear that in terms of time, exchange rates and payment method options RemitBee is the better choice, especially for those who frequently send money to Sri Lanka or other parts of the world because these fees & charges add up over time.
Factors Affecting exchange rate:
Below are some of the most common factors that affect the exchange rate and the reason why they vary across different service providers and affect the cost of transaction/remittance:
Providers that offer mid-market rates but have higher fees:
Mid-market rates refer to the rate at which the banks exchange currency among themselves. This is usually considered to be the fairest exchange rate. However, many service providers charge a high transaction fee (either flat or a certain percentage of the remitted amount) that leads to a poorer exchange rate.
Providers add fees on top of the transfer amount:
A common way for providers to make money is by levying a fee on top of the amount being remitted. For e.g., if someone wants to send a $1000 through a provider, the sender will have to spend $1100 for the recipient to get $1000. This also results in a poor exchange rate.
Providers deduct fees from the transfer amount:
Another common factor affecting the exchange rate is the fee the providers deduct from the amount being remitted. For e.g., If someone is sending $ 1000, the provider may deduct $ 50 as their fee and the recipient will only receive $950 instead of $1000.
Varying exchange rates dependent on receiving method:
Sometimes, a service provider will have different exchange rates for different methods of receiving the remittance. They may have a better exchange rate for the amount received in the bank account versus the amount received on a card.
Providers offering lower exchange rates for faster processing time:
Providers of remittance services may also charge an additional fee or offer a lower exchange rate in order to process the transaction faster. For e.g. $ 1000 sent via the normal method with 3-5 business day processing time will get a better exchange rate than the one processed within minutes.
It's not uncommon for service providers to use a combination of these methods. There are service providers who will not offer mid-market rates and will also deduct the fees from the remitted amount, naturally, leading to poor exchange rates.
We hope this gave you a deeper understanding of varying exchange rates offered by different service providers and why RemitBee is the best way to send money to your family, friends, loved ones or business partners in Sri Lanka (and other parts of the world).
It's not uncommon for service providers to use a combination of these methods. There are service providers who will not offer mid-market rates and will also deduct the fees from the remitted amount, naturally, leading to poor exchange rates.
We hope this gave you a deeper understanding of varying exchange rates offered by different service providers and why RemitBee is the best way to send money to your family, friends, loved ones or business partners in Sri Lanka (and other parts of the world).
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