What is the Cheapest Way to Send Money to Indonesia?

Time Doctor - Cheapest Way to Send Money to Indonesia

Do you know how much it will cost you to send 1,000 dollars from the US to Indonesia?

The amount varies, but it can be from 10 dollars up to 150 dollars. Such huge differences stem from the services you choose for the purpose. If you want to avoid paying high charges and hidden exchange rate fees, take a look at the tables below.

Next time you have to send money to Indonesia from the US, Western Europe, Canada or Australia, you’ll know what the best method is. Keep in mind that some of the stated services have limitations. For example, in the US Ria Money transfer is the cheapest way to send money to Indonesia. It is available only from the United States and not the other way around. OFX offers good prices for money transfers, but you have to send at least 500 dollars.

What transfer methods do we use at Time Doctor?

We have a remote team with people in 19 different countries around the world. The two transfer methods we use the most are:

  • TransferWise – is a new kind of financial company that you can use to transfer money internationally at a very low cost. Their system is based on local bank account transfers, which makes transfers abroad cheaper than what banks or other providers charge. They charge a small upfront fee between 0.5% and 2% for transactions, depending on the route.
  • Payoneer – very convenient for sending and receiving. They are also one of the few methods that works to receive money in almost every country and the receiver can get their money on a debit card and withdraw from an ATM. They also have an option for direct transfer to the receiver’s bank account. They also have a $50 bonus if you receive more than $100 through this method.
Table 1 – Sending $1000 from the US to Indonesia
Transfer Method Stated fees to send $1000 USD Hidden currency conversion cost Total cost Time for the transfer to arrive
OFX (previously USForex)* $0 $7.5 $7.5 1-2 days
TransferWise $15 $0 $15 1-2 days
Ria Money Transfer (slow) $5 $12 $17 3-5 days
XE Trade $0 $24 $24 3-5 days
Ria Money Transfer (fast) $15 $12 $27 Minutes
Payoneer $3 $28 $31 3-5 days
WorldRemit* $14 $25 $39 3-5 days
Transfast (slow) $5 $36 $41 3-5 days
Xpress Money $18 $26 $44 3-5 days
MoneyGram (slow) $25 $25 $50 3-5 days
Western Union (slow) $25 $37 $62 3-5 days
Transfast (fast) $30 $36 $66 Minutes
Wire transfer $25-55 $10-30 $35-85 3-5 days
MoneyGram (fast) $81 $25 $106 Minutes
Western Union (fast) $81 $37 $118 Minutes
Travelex $0 $154 $154 3-5 days

Notes:

  • WorldRemit is offering their services only from the following states of US:
    District of Columbia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Carolina, Utah, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
  • If you’re not sure what I mean by “hidden currency exchange fees” check out our explanation in this article.
  • The fees for wire transfers are estimates and vary from bank to bank.
  • Minimum transfer of $500 for OFX (previously USForex).
Table 2: Sending Money to Indonesia from Different Countries. The TOTAL Cost in Percentages including the HIDDEN currency exchange fees.
Transfer Method From the US From the UK From Canada From Western Europe From Australia
OFX (previously USForex) 0.75% 0.75% 0.75% 0.75% 0.75%
TransferWise 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1.5%
Bamboo Exchange Not available Not available Not available Not available 1.5%
Ria Money Transfer 1.7% Not available Not available Not available Not available
Kangaroo Service Not available Not available Not available Not available 1.9%
OrbitRemit Not available 1.6% Not available Not available 2.7%
XE Trade 2.4% 2.3% 1.4% 2.2% 2.3%
Payoneer 3.1% Not available Not available Not available Not available
WorldRemit 3.9% 3.1% 3.3% 3.9% 2.8%
Transfast 4.1% Not available 3.3% Not available Not available
Azimo Not available 3.2% Not available 4.1% Not available
Xpress Money 4.4% 4.3% 4.9% 6.8% 7.8%
Western Union 6.2% 3% 5.9% 2.8% 8.8%
Exchange4free Not available 4.6% 4.8% 4.6% 4.5%
Wire transfer 2.5 – 5.5% 2 – 4.5% 2.5 – 5.5% 2 – 4.5% 3 – 6.5%
MoneyGram 5% 9.9% 8.7% 8.1% 7.1%
Travelex 15.4% 9.6% 15% 15.4% 9%

Note:

  • OFX (previously OzForex) is a good option for sending larger amounts of money and their exchange rate fee goes down for larger amounts.
  • Minimum transfer of $500/£500 for OFX

Other articles that might interest you:

Transferring Money with TransferWise
What’s the Cheapest Way to Send Money to India?
Compare Hidden Exchange Fees When Sending Money to Bangladesh

 
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Leave a reply

  • Ade Viankakrisna Fadlil https://github.com/viankakrisna

    Really nice comparison table! I haven't use anything other than paypal, i wonder how it look compared to these services?
    UpVote Reply 2 Upvotes

  • Egor Borushko

    I used Transferwise for sending my to Bali and worked perfectly. I love their service and didn't expect them to be available in Indonesia.
    UpVote Reply 3 Upvotes

  • Ade

    Terima kasih, we need to save money while transfer. Banks make lot money from us. Hope we find good options soon.
    UpVote Reply 2 Upvotes

  • gh

    I think your table is outdated or even incorrect. I regurarly send money using Western Union for years and later Worldremit for the past 2 years. The column with hidden cost triggered me as I was in the assumption that Worldremit was a good deal. As of today I compared Forex with Worldremit and this is the outcome for sending 350 Euro: Forex 5.361.436 Rp Worldremit 5.631.488 Rp I am about to get away from Worldremit as I think they are not responsive to my calls/ emails and they are not willing to give promocode so sometimes I just missed by 1 day which is stupid as I am a regular client. What I also found is that currently transfering from my bank is even as competitive as with these moneytransfer companies. The only drawback is the error margins. If you just slighly put a wrong bankcode and/or branch code, they will return the money but with extra fees which can be 50 Euro at times. So you don't get the money there but you loose 80 Euro's: 15 to send, 50 'fine' and another 15 should you want to try again on an amount around 400 Euro's
    UpVote Reply 1 Upvotes

  • Fd

    I usually receive my payment via Paypal. My only complain with them is the abysmal currency exchange rate.
    UpVote Reply 1 Upvotes

  • Razbak

    Great info. I am trying to send money from Oz to a local Indonesian bank. Adi says PayPal is the most commonly used way. Can you give me any more details pls Thx
    UpVote Reply 0 Upvotes

    • Rob Rawson www.timedoctor.com

      You can use PayPal, the fee is usually 4% plus there is no method to withdraw locally in Indonesia so they would need to find a way to receive the money to their bank account. I would check out the other options in the post.
      UpVote Reply 0 Upvotes

  • adi

    I just know 3 transfer method that commonly used by Indonesian. 1. Wire Transfer 2. Western Union 3. MoneyGram wire transfer & western union is available almost in every place and we just see MoneyGram in big cities. Then like what I said, forgot about another transfer method except my list above. Ah, and one thing. The most commonly payment method that used from another country to Indonesia is PayPal. cheers
    UpVote Reply 0 Upvotes
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