Sending money abroad

[celticminded]

I want to send some money to my daughter in Switzerland, where she has just started her first job, and is skint!!

I live in Scotland, my bank is in Scotland, I have her Swiss bank account details, anyone tell me the easiest (and cheapest) way to do this??

[Buenchico]

(2-part post):

Bank transfers can be very expensive. If you ask your bank about it, you'll need to ensure that you've got the international details relating to her account. i.e. her IBAN (international bank account number) and/or the SWIFT-BIC (which is like an international sort code).

Services like Western Union have their hazards when one party isn't known to the other (e.g. when buying stuff from eBay) but are safe for your type of transaction.

Western Union is very easy to use (although not cheap). You simply go along to the nearest place that operates the system. (In parts of the country with a large immigrant population, lots of newsagents, corner shops and convenience stores are Western Union agents. Elsewhere, it's often secondhand shops, pawnbrokers, etc who can provide the service. Unless you're in a really remote part of the Highlands, there'll be one or more agents in your area). You hand over your cash, fill in the paperwork and get a receipt with a reference number (which you pass on to your daughter). Your daughter then goes to her nearest Western Union agent (which she should have little difficulty locating), gives them the reference number (probably with some form of ID) and gets her money.

You can also pay money into Western Union online. See here for details:
http://www.westernunion.com/info/selectCountry .asp

[Buenchico]

Moneygram is a service offered by the Post Office. It's not cheap (but no international money transfer services are). See here for details:
http://www.postoffice.co.uk/portal/po/content1 ?catId=19400177&mediaId=19700176

PayPal is primarily thought of as a service for buying goods online but it can also be used for sending money to family members. It might well be the cheapest option available to you (but the downside is that transfers often seem to take several days to go through):
http://tinyurl.com/6qsjhb

Chris

[celticminded]

Thanks, Chris, I'll investigate these possibilities. Much appreciated.

[celticminded]

Thanks again, Chris. I've discovered that MoneyGram is the best option. Their own site: http://www.moneygram.com/MGI/EN/GB/Market/Mark et.htm?CC=GB&LC=EN is more user-friendly than the PO's, and their service is also available from Thomas Cook's agencies, which is handy for me.

Much appreciated, Jim.