How Much Does It Really Cost to Send Money Internationally?

Achieving growth often involves expanding into international regions. Global expansion, when done well, helps you connect to customers worldwide and build long-lasting relationships with high-quality suppliers.

However, with the move from regional to global, comes the need to send money internationally, which can sometimes lead to higher overhead expenses. Depending on who you work with to complete your international money transfers, there may be hidden fees, payment delays, and a range of issues that can drive up the total costs.

In this article, we discuss what the actual cost of sending money internationally is and how you can work to avoid costly fees and delays. Plus, we will tell you everything you need to know about the benefits of making international transfers with PingPong.

The Real Costs of Sending Money Internationally

As you prepare to expand into global regions, it is essential to consider the additional costs and fees you may accrue when you need to send money internationally.

Here are 2 of the most significant factors to keep in mind when making an international money transfer:

1. Slow Payments Affect Your Supply Chain

Depending on how you send money internationally, the payments you send to suppliers may take longer to be processed and approved.

The speed of your international payment transactions is critically important, as slower payment speeds may cause adverse effects on your supply chain, such as:

•   Diminished Supplier Relationships: Maintaining healthy business relationships with your suppliers is crucial. When your payments are consistently late, these relationships can also take a hit. This can lead to suppliers choosing to no longer work with you, which can be especially difficult when conducting business internationally.
•   Costly Penalty Fees: Besides hurting your relationships with suppliers, late payments can also result in high-cost penalty fees that chip away at your funds. The more penalty fees you have to pay, the less profitable and productive working with an international supplier can become.
•   Disrupted Cash Flow: From corporations to eCommerce, cash flow is an essential component in any functioning business. Late payments can lead to poor supplier performance, which can significantly affect your ability to provide products and services to customers. As a result, your cash flow can become disrupted and challenging to re-establish.

2. The Added Expense of Hidden Charges

When it comes to accruing extra expenses from sending money internationally, there’s no bigger culprit than hidden charges.

There is a wide range of fees a bank, financial institution, or money transfer company can charge customers. This makes it incredibly important to be aware of these costs so you can compare them accurately between institutions. 

The potential fees you can encounter when sending money internationally include:

•   Intermediary Bank Fees: An international money transfer will often involve an intermediary bank. This bank will serve as a facilitator, helping to connect your domestic bank to an international one. As global banks are not part of the same financial system as domestic ones, intermediary banks are often essential for completing money transfers with this method.
•   Institution-Specific Transfer Fees: Every financial institution that offers money transfer services will have a set transfer fee that they charge. These fees can range in value, making it important to pay attention to the costs of the institution or company you are working with. 
•   Exchange Rate Fees: The exchange rate refers to how the value of one currency compares to another. With some international banks or institutions, you may encounter exchange rate fees that account for exchanging money. As with institution-specific transfer fees, exchange rate fees can vary in value.

There are also a number of additional fees that can add to what you owe, such as cancellation fees or online transfer fees. 

How to Avoid High Money Transfer Costs

The biggest key to avoiding high international fees for money transfers is to be aware of who you are working with and what potential hidden fees they are charging.

Moreover, it is essential to pay attention to where a financial institution or money transfer company places its focus. You need a financial partner that prioritizes efficiency along with safety and can ensure your payments are always made on time. 

How PingPong Helps Optimize Your International Money Transfers

When you work with PingPong to send money internationally, you can perform fast and localized payments and money transfers. PingPong has one of the most competitive pricing models, capping fees for foreign currency conversions at 1%.

Thanks to PingPong’s strategic positioning in China, you can send and receive money quickly, including to and from major economic hubs, including the U.S. and China.

At PingPong, we facilitate same-day payments to ensure your business relationships with suppliers are well-maintained. Our platform allows clients to have greater transparency of their capital and has assisted more than 1 million clients in safe money transfers.

With PingPong’s integrated solution, your business can save time while avoiding costly fees associated with international transfers. Additionally, PingPong can help optimize your invoicing and reconciliation processes.

Final Thoughts: Get Started with PingPong Today

Here at PingPong, we solve and build for better global trade.

As your company scales, you need the proper support and tools to represent yourself accurately and positively in different regions. With PingPong, we can help you create a global operations process on a local scale. Averaging more than $150 million in transfers per day, PingPong has the systems you need to achieve a robust international business model.

Our integrated solution can help you with everything from supplier payments to payroll. Our API integrations can help improve your existing systems while also building new business opportunities.

To get started with PingPong, contact us today or visit our website to view our comprehensive global payment solutions.