Bank Transfer Without Bank Account

Last updated on 14th July 2019
Contents:

Is it possible to transfer money to somebody who doesn’t have a current account or even without having a bank account yourself?

In short: yes, it is. In this article we will discuss how exactly this works.

Even in 2021 there are still 1.7 billion people in this world who do not have their own current account. Most of them live in third world countries where they’ve never had access to opening a bank account so far.

But even in Western or richer countries there are many unbanked people¹.

Some banks terminate the current account as soon as they no longer receive any money when the customer turns unemployed. If you have a negative credit history due to a few unpaid bills or some trouble with credits in the past, it can be difficult to open a new bank account. If the house bank gives notice, it looks gloomy afterwards.

However times have changed in the last couple of years. Thanks to the rising FinTech² sector there are many financial services that try to overcome certain weaknesses of traditional banks. Now there are many companies that are not actually banks, but they are able to provide certain money services similar to banks, but even better – easier, faster, less complicated – best example: international money transfers. Of course those FinTech companies or virtual banks are government-regulated and officially licensed.

How to transfer Money without a Bank Account

digital money transferMany people nowadays can no longer do without a current account, because after all, many landlords, employees and more require exactly this to enter into a contract. Salary or rent payments by means of cash have become rather rare nowadays. Which employer pays the salary in cash?

Nevertheless, there are still people who do not have a current account but need to transfer or get money.

Fortunately, today there are ways to send money, even worldwide, without the need for a bank account. E.g. for paying debts or for sending money worldwide to family or to a person you want to pay for something, you can use one of the modern FinTech services offering international transfers to cash pickup points. And the best of all: Such services are way cheaper than legacy banks.

A transfer without bank account is easily possible – but of course you have to accept a fee.

No matter if you are the one who has a bank account but the recipient you want to send money to doesn’t – or it’s the other way round, you don’t have a bank account and somebody else wants to transfer money to you – international money transfers work in both directions.

There are several ways to transfer money without bank account:

1. If you – the Sender – don’t have a Bank Account:

If you don’t have a bank account yourself and need to make a money transfer, then this is possible with the following services. Note that the signup with Azimo and Revolut services is only possible for people in/from Europe (the EEA³). Wise accepts clients from more countries:

2. If the Recipient doesn’t have a Bank Account:

If the recipient doesn’t have a bank account, you can make use of one of the following services offering transfers to unbanked persons:

The countries from where people can signup and send money from are restricted as mentioned in the list above. The countries where money can be sent to are generally worldwide with each of the providers (but there may be restrictions).

Best Financial Service Company (FinTechs) for Global Money Transfers

Wise

WiseWise is one of the most famous (if not THE most famous?!) FinTech companies in the world. Within 10 years they managed to become a global financial service provider that outperforms the services of traditional banks in many ways.

One is the company’s ability to send money worldwide at very low rates and as fast as possible. If sender and recipient both have a Wise account a transfer is even instant.

But the FinTech can also send money to bank accounts worldwide. This works because they hold accounts at partner banks in all countries they’re operating in, and those are a lot.

Sending money to another currency is easy and really cheap as they don’t put high hidden cost on top of the Interbank Exchange Rate, as traditional banks usually do.

For whom is Wise?

Wise is for anyone who needs to spend, send or receive money internationally. The service is used by expats, travelers, students studying abroad, people retiring abroad, digital nomads and for businesses and entrepreneurs who need to travel for work, pay invoices abroad, receive payments, pay employees internationally etc.

Send money to someone without bank account?

Both sender and recipient don’t need to have a local bank account, they just need to have a Wise account each. Opening such is easy and free, you just need a smartphone or computer with internet access and you need to verify your identity within your new Wise account in order to be able to use their services.

However, international (“borderless”) transfers can only be realized between two Wise customers who qualify for the muli-currency account. This means that residents for certain countries (e.g. India, Malaysia among others) can use Wise only within their country, to send and receive their local currency, but they can’t send money internationally, exchanging from one currency to another. Check those restricted countries in our full review.

Signup:

Residents from most countries can sign up with Wise. The exluded countries are listed here.

Countries to send money to:

Europe, United Kingdom, USA, Canada, Australia, Russia, China, Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, Benin, Burkina Faso, Bulgaria,
Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia, Czech Republic, Croatia, Denmark, Egypt, Georgia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Israel, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Japan, Kenya, Mali, Malaysia, Morocco, Mexico, Norway, Nepal, New Zealand, Nigeria, Niger, Poland, Peru, Pakistan, Philippines, Romania, Singapore, Senegal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, Togo, Ukraine, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Vietnam, Zambia.

Transfer Types:
Depending on the region only part of the following selection may be available:

Wire transfer, credit/debit card, SWIFT, GBP sending types, Open Banking, SEPA, iDeal, Trustly, SOFORT, US bank debit, ACH, microdeposits, Canada debit card, online bill pay, POLi, Educational transfers, boleto

Transfer Fees:
You’ll have to pay round about 0.5% on top of the exchange rate ( mid-market range )

Click Here To Visit Wise

Azimo.com

azimo.com Azimo is a secure money transfers service especially popular among migrants who want to send money to their people at home.

The service headquarters are based in the UK, where Azimo is licensed and authorised by the FCA.

For whom is Azimo?
If you have a bank account or at least a prepaid credit card/debit card and you want to send money abroad. The recipient has to have access to a bank account, or at least certain virtual banking apps, such as the Azimo app itself, of course, or other partner apps.

Send money to someone without bank account?

You can even send money to someone who doesn’t have a bank account, if they can get to one of the partnering cash-pickup points. Those are limited per country, but you can quickly find out if your recipient lives nearby to one of those locations. Some places even support home delivery to your recipient:

Check here for cash pickup possibility.

Signup:
Residents from the following countries are allowed to signup on Azimo.

Europe (Austria, Germany, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden), Switzerland and UK.

Countries to send money to:
With Azimo you can send money in more than 195 countries all over the world.

You can send money to bank accounts, mobile phones (to other Azimo accounts) or to 300,000 cash pick-up locations.

You can send money in 150 different currencies.

Transfer Types:
Credit Card, Maestro, bank transfer, cash pick-up, SWIFT, Home Delivery, Mobile Wallet (Azimo or partnering apps)

Transfer Fees:
The first two money transfers are free (no transfer fees).
After that fees depend on the transfer method you choose (online bank transfer or debit/credit card) and the recipient’s country.

Click Here To Visit Azimo

Revolut.com

Revolut For whom is Revolut?

  • For people who want to spend money abroad by credit card payments and cash withdrawals, without hidden fees.
  • For people who want to send money to other countries without the need of bank accounts, especially in the case of the recipient.

Send money to someone without bank account?
The person you send money to doesn’t need to have a bank account if he or she is also Revolut customer (Only people in Europe are allowed to signup for Revolut. Check the countries further below). Then he or she only needs a mobile phone with the Revolut app so you can send the money from phone to phone.

If you want to send money outside of Europe the recipient needs to have a bank account in order to be able to get money from you through Revolut.

For unbanked people in Europe Revolut can replace a bank account since people can receive money and cash it out at ATMs with their Revolut prepaid card.

Signup:
Revolut is for European You can signup for Revolut if you are legal resident of:

Finland, Ireland, Germany, Republic of Cyprus, Netherlands, Lithuania, Poland, Norway, Estonia, Malta, Iceland, Austria, Italy, Denmark, France, Portugal, Hungary, Slovenia, United Kingdom, Bulgaria, Croatia, Luxembourg, Greece, Latvia, Slovakia, Liechtenstein, Czech Republic, Romania, Belgium, Sweden, Spain, Switzerland, Australia

Countries to send money to:
Worldwide
(excluding: Vanuatu, Liberia, Libya, Belarus, Eritrea, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Lebanon, Burundi, Central African Republic, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Cuba, South Sudan, Iran, Tajikistan, Nigeria, Sudan, Pakistan, Algeria, Guinea-Bissau, Panama, Swaziland, Syrian Arab Republic, Afghanistan, Egypt, Yemen, Ukraine, Burkina Faso, Tunisia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Angola, Congo, Mozambique, Timor-Leste, Zimbabwe, Cambodia, Somalia, State of Palestine, Côte d’Ivoire, Haiti, Iraq, Myanmar, Venezuela, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Guyana, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea)

Transfer Types:

  • Bank transfers
  • From one Revolut account to another

Transfer Fees:
None below certain limit (£5,000 each month in total), otherwise a low fee of 0.5% (always free in premium plan)

Click Here To Visit Revolut

Worldremit.com

worldremit.comWorldremit is a Financial Technology company registered and regulated by the FCA, UK, where they have a customer service team. In addition, they have service teams in two more locations, one in the US and one in the Philippines.

For whom is Worldremit?
Worlremit is made for fast and easy money transfers. People from 50 countries can transfer moeny to recipients from 150 countries.

Send money to someone without bank account?
The recipient doesn’t necessarily need to have a bank account. Money can be sent to cash pickups or to Mobile wallets.

As sender you need a bank account in order to load money to your worldremit account. The following transfer methods are available, depending upon your country:

  • (prepaid) Credit Card
  • Debit Card
  • Bank Transfer
  • Google Pay
  • Apple Pay
  • Poli
  • Interac
  • iDEAL
  • Trustly
  • Sofort

The availability of those services may vary from country to country.

Signup:

Residents from the following European countries are allowed to signup on Worldremit:

United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland, Lithuania, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, Poland, Italy, Portugal, Finland, Switzerland, Netherlands, France, Greece, Norway, Luxembourg, Slovakia, Malta, Latvia, Gibraltar, Slovenia, Spain, Hungary, Belgium, Romania, Estonia, Iceland, Bulgaria

Countries to send money to:
To over 140 countries all around the world – Africa, America, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Middle East

Transfer Types:
Bank deposit, cash pickup, mobile money (mobile wallet), Airtime top-up (=mobile recharge)

Transfer Fees:
The first transfer is for free.
Transfer fees and exchange rates may vary, but are generally comparatively low with Worldremit.

Click Here To Visit WorldRemit

Riamoneytransfer.com

riamoneytransfer.com Fast secure global money transfers

Ria is registered in the UK where it is authorised by the FCA.

For whom is RiaMoneyTransfer?
This FinTech company is for people who want to save on money transfer fees when sending money abroad.

Send money to someone without bank account?
Riamoneytransfer.com can be used to send money to someone who doesn’t have a bank account. In that case you can use the cash pickup option and send money to a certain location where the person can pick up the money you’ve sent. The only thing the person needs to do is identify him or herself with an offical ID document.

As sender you can use different payment methods for the transaction, including bank transfer, credit card and debit card.

Signup:

Currently money can only be sent FROM the following countries:
U.S., UK, Spain, and Australia

The list where money can get sent to is longer..

Countries to send money to:
To 149 countries all around the world – North Africa, South America, America, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Middle East

Transfer Types:
Bank transfer, cash pickup

Transfer Fees:
Fees vary depending on the country you send money to, but are generally low compared to other services or traditional banks

Click Here To Visit Ria

Transfast.com

transfast.com Transfast is a secure international money transfer service which is officially licensed by finance authotities in Canada, Europe (licensed by the FCA in UK), in India and in many states of the US.

For whom is Transfast?
This FinTech service is for people who want to send money abroad cheap and quickly, e.g. to help their family pay bills or help out friends.

Send money to someone without bank account?
Senders can use bank transfer, debit card or credit card to send money.

Recipients don’t necessarily need a bank account since Transfast can deliver the sender’s deposit to cash pickup points all over the world.

Signup:

People can signup for Transfast from all over the world, however the service may not be available in certain countries, certain US states or some Canadian regions.

Countries to send money to:

With Transfast you can send money to recipients in over 50 countries throughout all continents.

Transfer Types:

Bank transfer, cash pickup

Transfer Fees:
Fees are generally low, but vary depending on the country you send the money to.

Click Here To Visit Transfast

Western Union

westernunion.comThe company was founded in 1851. In the past, the FinTech Service represented other core competencies than today. Western Union is licensed and regulated by different finance authorities worldwide, for instance, by the Austrian Financial Market Authority in Vienna and the New York State Department of Financial Services.

For whom is Western Union?
Western Union is a U.S. FinTech company especially for global cash transfers. This money transfer service is often used by migrant workers to send money to relatives in their home countries.

Send money to someone without bank account?
With Western Union it is possible to send money abroad to someone who doesn’t have a bank account. This is possible by the cash pickup option the service provides.

The receiver may need to complete a one-time registration with the service before Western Union will hand-out the money.

Signup:

Residents from most countries all over the world can signup for Western Union.

There are only few countries where the service isn’t available.

Countries to send money to:

To more than 200 countries all over the world.

Transfer Types:
Bank transfer, cash pickup

Transfer Fees:
Fees start from €3.90 for up to €50. They increase gradually until 2000 € where a fee of €36.50 is due. Transfers over 2000 € cost 2.0%.

Click Here To Visit Western Union

OrbitRemit.com

orbitremit.comThis Service is specialized in global money transfers from Australia, New Zealand and the UK to a wide range of other countries at fair exchange rates with low fees. OrbitRemit has bank accounts in all supported countries, to which users can make domestic transfers at no cost and OrbitRemit will then send the money abroad to the desired destination. The money will arrive at a bank account of OrbitRemit in the other country from where they send it to the bank account of the beneficiary.

A big advantage of this money transfer service is that they even offer recurring transfers, which many competitors don’t offer (yet).

For whom is OrbitRemit?
This service is for people based in the UK, Australia or New Zealand, who need to make international money transfers, even recurring payments.

Send money to someone without bank account?

With OrbitRemit you can pay persons in Nepal, the Philippines and Vietnam via Cash Collection. This means that the FinTech company will send your money to a cash pickup point in the beneficiary’s country, typically to a certain bank branch where the person can get the money in cash.

Signup:

Australia, New Zealand, UK (sending countries)

Countries to send money to:

Australia, Bangladesh, Denmark, Europe, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, Vietnam

Transfer Types:

bank transfer, cash pickup

Click Here To Visit OrbitRemit

Further Literature / Links:

[1] https://www.businessinsider.com/the-worlds-unbanked-population-in-6-charts-2017-8?r=US&IR=T
[2] https://publications.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/d6b1ebc0-2379-11e9-8d04-01aa75ed71a1/language-en/format-PDF
[3] https://www.gov.uk/eu-eea

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