Travel Library Topics

Home > Topics Index		Travel Topics

Money

It has never been easier to get money when traveling, whether in your own country or abroad. There are thousands of ATM machines worldwide, some in the most unlikely places. Not only do we live in a global village, but it is an electronic one as well.

And if someone is stuck without money because no ATM machine is available, or your cards were lost or stolen, you can have someone send you money using one of the worldwide money transfer services. Check out are links below as there are various options for getting money that will surprise you besides going to a money transfer company office in the destination city. We list many of them on this page.

For ATM locations, see our ATM Locator page. We also have a page on handy, online Currency Converters.

Money Transfers

Foreignborn.com - Money Transfer Overview They have one of the best overview of the various ways to send money from the United States to an overseas country we have found on the web. They cover cash transfers, money orders (U.S. Postal Service, banks and other companies) and bank transfers (wire transfers, foreign drafts and sending a check abroad).

DMOZ Open Directory Money Transfers. A good list and links to money transfer companies.

Wikitravel - Money - Tips on getting and using money overseas in a safe way.

Compare Foreign Exchange and Money Transfer Services. For Europeans - U.K. based comparison of different money transfer services with reader ratings.

State Department-Emergency Money Transfers. The Bureau of Consular Affairs section helps Americans abroad in emergency situations. If you need to send money to someone overseas in an emergency, go to this page. It explains your options. .

Change for Good. O.K. you're at the airport in some country in the Departure Lounge waiting to board your flight for the return home. Do you have coins and paper currency from countries you have visited in your pocket or carry-on? You will not be able to exchange the coins for your own country's money once you get home. Banks and currency exchange services in your own country don't deal with coins. Consider donating them to the UNICEF Change for Good program to help those in need. Look for a UNICEF Donation display box in the Departure lounge or ask an airline representative where it is located. If there is none or you forget, you can go to their Change for Good web page when you get home and mail them the leftover money.

Send Money Overseas (Immediate Money Transfer)

MoneyGram and eMoneygram This is an international money transfer service. It offers online money transfer services to many locations worldwide. They, and Western Union, are two of the largest money transfer operations.

Western Union. They are still the fastest way to send money. This is their home page. If you have a credit card you can do it online or over the phone. The other person should be able to get the money within an hour if the Western Union office is open in the city where they are at. They have over 80,000 locations worldwide.

Moneybookers.com You set up an account with them and use a credit card to deposit money into your account. Then you can shop, send money to someone via email or withdraw money yourself.

Xoom. Xoom offers fast, reliable money transfers at a great price! Send money from the convenience of your computer to friends and family worldwide and in the US.

iKobo. Once you sign up with them you tell them how much to send someone and they send that person a reloadable Visa Prepaid card. They can them go to any ATM machine in the world that accepts Visa cards and withdraw money.

Currency Source Allows you to send a wire transfer or international bank draft online without going to a bank.

State Department-Emergency Money Transfers. The Bureau of Consular Affairs section helps Americans abroad in emergency situations. If you need to send money to someone overseas in an emergency, go to this page. It explains your options.