Sending Money to Malaysia from the UK: Do’s and Dont’s

The United Kingdom and Malaysia have a long intertwined history and, even in modern, independent Malaysia there are still strong ties with the centre of the former British Empire. There is often the need for Malaysian expats in the United Kingdom to send money back to Malaysia or business deals to be transacted efficiently between the two countries. There are many ways to go about this process, but the fact remains that sending cash from the UK to Malaysia can come at quite significant expense. We have compiled a few do’s and don’ts here for you to consider before you make the final decision about how to go about your money transfer from the UK.

Do

• Make sure that you have checked not only what fees are being charged at both the UK and Malaysian ends, but how good the exchange rates are too. It’s a good idea to compare the rates that you have been offered to an independent source so you know you’re not getting a raw deal, as many providers will load the rates in order to appear cheaper than their competitors.
• Talk to the company you are using to send funds to Malaysia about what is going to happen at the other end. Are the funds going to arrive right into a bank account or will the recipient have to go out to collect them from another outlet? Is the recipient going to be charged any additional fees for the transfer when the money gets to Malaysia, and if so exactly how much?
• Fully understand how long the funds are going to take to reach Malaysia. Some providers will have them there in a week, some longer. Others will have them in a Malaysian bank account within 1-2 business days.

Don’t

• Use a small, brick and mortar remittance service just because they are cheaper. There are laws that govern remittance providers operating out of the UK and any smaller operator is not required to ringfence (separate client’s money from their own) at the end of the business day. This can put your money at risk if they hit hard times while completing your transaction.
• Use an online transfer service without doing your research. It’s important that you’re satisfied that they are established in the market and that they will take care of your funds. A quick trip to the search engines before you get out your bank card will go a long way towards seeing what experiences others have had in the past.
• Just go straight to your high street bank assuming that it is your best option. Unless your UK institution has a reciprocal arrangement with the recipient’s bank in Malaysia, you will find that this is generally the most expensive way to go, not to mention that it can also take over a week for the funds to arrive in Malaysia.

Hopefully, this brief article has highlighted a few of the things that you need to consider before you transfer money from the United Kingdom to Malaysia. In today’s global village, transferring money internationally is increasingly something that people need to do in the course of their daily lives and there is no need to pay over the odds for such a service.

OrbitRemit provides transparent exchange rates, low fees and will have your money in a Malaysian bank account on the next business day after we receive your funds. Check out our calculator to see exactly how much you’ll save by transferring with us.

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