Send money to Cameroon Cheaply
If you're like me and send money to Cameroon..(chop money..bills...pay
workers etc) then you've likely used one of the following..Western Union,
Moneygram, indies like MoneylineUK or RIA ..or even Bank to Bank Transfers.
Note: This article is about transfering smallish sums e.g. anything below 1
million CFA a month. For anything above that amount, some of my
recommendations/suggestions may not be applicable.
If you're impatient and don't want to read the full article and just want to
know what my recommendation is for the best method then read on.
The cheapest
way (by far) to send money is to take it with you to Cameroon and exchange it
there... it's not really sending money is it??? What I'd like somebody to
explain to me is how come the exchange rates in Cameroon (those Hausa guys at
the airport winking and saying psssssttt!) are so much better than what I get
from here in England.
The 2nd cheapest and usually the most convenient method of sending money home is
via a Prepaid Debit Card. This is my preferred option as the recipient can pick
up the money from any Cash Point on any day of the week and at any time of the
day too. These days nearly every (major?) bank branch has a cash machine. Most money
transfer methods require that the recipient collects from a financial institution like a Bank
which are usually not open in the evenings or at weekends.
I currently use a Virgin
Prepaid VISA Card and I've found them to be incredibly cheap (relative to the
others...see my calculations at the end of the article)... Remember, you must
get the VISA card as most Cash machines in Cameroon especially in the South West
and North West Provinces, only accept VISA.
Because MASTERCARD Prepaid cards are
cheaper than VISA prepaid cards, some punters (bushfallers) choose them and only
discover later that the nearest Cash machine that accepts a MASTERCARD is in
Yaounde..lol
Some things about prepaid cards that I must warn you about:
- Prepaid cards have daily limits..so you can't collect 1 brick just like that
(btw 1 brick = 1 million in pidgin speak!)
-
Prepaid cards have annual limits that can be increased subject to identity &
security checks... money laundering & anti-terror laws oblige the banks to do
this..
-
Some Prapaid cards have a monthly fee or a withdrawal fee for each withdrawal or both.
If your recipient will be withdrawing often, then you may be better off going with the monthly fee card. e.g.
the virgin card charges £1.50 for each withdrawal on the monthly
There's alot more to these cards but I've only just noted the important points.
Here's a comparison
for sending 100,000 CFA (at today(Dec 2nd 2011)'s rates) via each of the different methods.
|
Money transfer channel |
Exchange Rate |
Fee |
Total Cost |
|
Western Union |
731.9 (£136.64) |
£19.60 |
£156.24 |
|
MoneylineUK (independent) |
744 (£134.41) |
£6.72 |
£141.13 |
|
Virgin Prepaid Card |
764 (£130.89) |
£1.50 |
£131.39 |
Some details about the Virgin Prepaid Card....note: I've not been paid to write
this post, it's purely for information purposes and targets mainly the
bushfaller community in the United Kingdom though some of what I've written will
be useful to Bushfallers in other parts of the world.
|
Costs |
Pay as you go |
Pay monthly |
|
Monthly fee |
NONE |
£4.75 |
|
Card transaction (UK e.g paying by card) |
2.95% |
FREE |
|
Cash withdrawal at Cash machine (UK) |
2.95% |
£1.50 |
|
Card transaction (overseas e.g paying by card) |
3.5% |
2.95% |
|
Cash withdrawal at Cash machine (overseas) |
3.5% |
£1.50 |
|
Buying your card |
£9.95 |
|
Extra card/replacement card |
£4.95 |
|
Top-up at a Post Office® |
FREE |
|
Top-up by debit card |
FREE |
|
Top-up by direct transfer |
FREE |
Top-up by PayPoint  |
2.75% |
|
Top-up by credit card |
2.5% |
|
Switching tariffs |
FREE |