How to Send Money to Students Abroad with Fin.do

Studying abroad is an exciting experience, riddled with opportunities and challenges alike.

Moving abroad for studies commonly triggers many costs, including tuition, accommodation, living expenses, or transportation. One way to make life easier for an international student is to provide financial support.

So if you’re planning on sending money overseas to a student, here’s what you need to know about transferring money to a foreign account.

What is the best way to send money to international students?

If you’re sending money abroad, you can choose from a whole range of money transfer options. Common methods include:

1. Bank transfers; probably the most common and widespread option. It is also one of the most expensive and time-consuming ones. International bank transfers are only processed on working days, they have high fees and sometimes unexpected charges (such as double currency conversion).

2. Sending cash using services like Western Union or MoneyGram. But you’ll want to carefully consider the pros and cons - especially those of having to fill in lengthy transfer information or picking up the money at a physical location.

3. Sending money to an e-wallet is a simpler and faster option for your international transfer. However, in most cases the money still has to be moved to a card or into a bank account before it can be accessed.

Common issues with international money transfers to students and how to avoid them

Currency exchange rates

You will deal with currency exchange almost every time you transfer money to a foreign country, for example, if you’re transferring from Ukraine to France or the UK.

Since exchange rates constantly fluctuate and depend on the actual way and time you make a transfer, it’s difficult to know how much you lose every time you send money abroad.

Sometimes, depending on which service you use, you might also be charged an extra fee for currency conversion.

You can avoid expensive currency exchange charges by using Fin.do. With Fin.do, the currency you send is converted directly into the destination country's currency, avoiding double currency conversion.

Fin.do enables you to send any of our 160+ supported currencies from wherever you are, with no currency conversion fees.

For example: if you live in the Czech Republic and want to transfer money to Ukraine, you can choose to send korunas from your local currency card, or euros from your euro card, eliminating currency exchange altogether.

Transfer fees

No matter which international money transfer service you choose, you’ll be charged a transfer fee. Most fees can usually be seen upfront, but certain charges might not.

Banks, in particular, are notorious for ‘hidden fees’ (fees you don’t explicitly know about), such as a transfer fee on both the sender and the recipient side or a mark-up to the exchange rate.

You should pay extra attention to such charges, especially if you plan on making recurring transfers (for example to cover rent or tuition costs).

With Fin.do, you can forget about the unpleasant surprise of hidden fees. We’re all about transparency so you’ll always be able to see the fee and final amount to be received before you transfer money.

Cut-off times

As you might expect, international transfers take longer to process than domestic transactions, especially if you’re transferring money to a foreign bank account.

If a transfer is time-sensitive, consider using an alternative money transfer service to banks.

Sending money to students abroad urgently

The benefit of Fin.do is that money transfers are instant. So you can send money to a card instantly, no matter where you send money from or to.

In addition, Fin.do money transfers go from card to card, meaning there is no need to cash out or move money between accounts. Students have access to their money immediately, straight on their card.

Studying Abroad? 5 Tips for Managing Your Finances Without Breaking a Sweat

We share our five tips to help you manage your finances as easily as possible and keep your costs under control when studying abroad.

1. Know what to expect

While most of your research will naturally be focused on study programs, learning opportunities, accommodation, and culture discovery, don’t underestimate the more pragmatic aspects of your trip.

Take some time to familiarize with your local bank’s policies — especially if you’ll be traveling to a country that uses a different currency. A few things to consider are:

• What will your bank charge you ATM withdrawals?
• What taxes and fees can you expect when paying with your debit or credit card?
• What exchange rates can you expect when paying locally?

This will help you make important decisions about how you will manage your money while abroad and how to avoid some hidden costs in your day-to-day transactions.

Double currency conversion might be one such cost that you are not aware of. It occurs when currency exchange takes place twice over the course of the same transaction, usually between accounts based in countries that have different local currencies.

2. Consider opening a local bank account

Opening a local bank account usually helps reduce the fees of most transactions that you’ll be making locally. If you are getting financial support from your learning institution, such as a monthly scholarship, a local bank account might even be required.

If you do open an account with a local bank, pay careful attention when transferring money from your home bank account to your new account — this might bring on additional costs from currency exchange or bank transfer fees.

Several money transfer services and apps (such as Fin.do) are available for you to transfer money quickly between your own accounts and avoid incurring the high costs you might get from a bank-to-bank transfer. You can check out some alternatives here.

3. Share expenses

Sharing some of your expenses (such as for accommodation, travel, or going out) is a great way not only to save money but also to build and consolidate lasting friendships. What better way to bond than sharing experiences far from your home with someone far from theirs?

When it comes to the logistics of it, cash might be the easiest way to go. A cleaner and more organized way would be to use one of the many instant money transfer apps out there. For same-currency transfers, you’ll have nothing to worry about when it comes to speed, ease of use, and costs.

4. Keep your funds where you can see them

The hustle and bustle of a university center can make it easier than you think to lose or have something stolen. Sometimes, all the attention in the world can’t prevent that from happening.

To be safe, don’t carry all your money on you when you go out — you can opt between cash and card, and if you own several cards, just pick one that you’d like to use.

You can of course consider using payment apps which will only require you to have your phone or another payment device (such as a watch) on you, instead of carrying a wallet full of cards and/or cash.

5. Plan wisely

This almost goes without saying: plan ahead. Know what you will need to spend (think accommodation, books and other studying material, potential study trips, leisure, etc) so you don’t run out of money.

Getting support from home always helps — not just financially, but also with morale. But since having your family or friends visit you can’t always be possible, being organized and planning things carefully can help increase your resilience and self-reliance so you can get through tough times when you are alone.

Lastly, remember that highs and lows are natural with any new experience. Make sure you spend your time abroad focusing on what you love learning about, making connections, and enjoying new discoveries.

Curious to see what makes Fin.do such an ideal solution for international money transfers to students? Get Fin.do and make transferring money abroad a breeze!

Happy transfers!