It is a very fast process that lets the person who is receiving the money collect it after just 10 minutes from when it was sent, which is much faster than the 3-5 days that a bank will normally take to transfer money from one account to another.

I.D.

There are many different companies in the UK that offer this service for a fee, and they generally operate by the same rules.
First you will be required to fill in a small form, if you are sending a small amount then you will probably not be asked for ID (personal identification), but take some with you anyway just in case they ask.

However the stated rules are as follows: If you are sending under £600 you do not need ID, if you are sending £600 to £2000 you need one form of ID, and if you are sending more than £2000 you will need to show at least 2 forms of ID. The maximum amount an agent will send in one transaction is US$10,000.

Charges

You will be charged a sending fee for the transaction. The amount will depend on how much you wish to send and where you wish to send it to. For example, a £100 transfer to Zimbabwe from the UK will cost you £12 – 14 depending on who you use. Whereas as £200 transfer to Jamaica will cost just £10, simply because the Caribbean region is less remote to the UK because of its cultural and historical relationship; People of Caribbean origin have been sending money this way from Britain since the 1950s, when many first immigrated to work in the post war reconstruction boom.

 
You will be given a ‘security number’ which you must give to the person that is receiving the money, they can then collect the cash from their local agent or branch.

Lots of people who come to the UK to work or study use this system to send cash home to friends and family and it is a very popular thing to do, particularly because you do not need to have a bank account or credit card to do so. But remember that you should only use it if you know and trust the person that you are sending the money to; because once they have your cash it is almost impossible to trace them. For this reason it is not an advisable way to do business, such as paying for goods and services over the internet.

You can find moneygram services online, which is fine if you have a credit card as you can fill in your details or call them by telephone. If you just want to send cash you can speak to them and ask for a local agent’s office. 

You can start now by looking in our “Find a…” section here.

By John Hillman

To register click here

USEFUL WORDS

money transfer (n)

transfer money (vb)
send / receive money
agent = a business or organisation which provides a service for someone

complete a form

personal identification (ID)

proof of address = documentation (usually a bank statement or bill) which confirms your address

transfer fee / commission = extra money paid to the agent for sending your money

transaction = a piece of financial business (especially buying or selling)

reference number

tracking = information about what is happening to your money / where it is

collect / pick up money

Money Idioms

Our rent is going up – we’ll have to be careful and tighten our belts (= spend less money)

Let’s go halves on the bill (= pay half each)

It’s your birthday so let’s splash out on a bottle of champagne (= spend a lot of money on something)
I don’t lose money by playing the lottery, I think I just about break even (= neither lose money nor make a profit)
If I won the lottery I’d go on a spending spree and buy all the things I’ve always wanted (= a short time spending a lot of money)

I haven’t got enough money to repair my car – I’ll have to dip into my savings (= use money from)
I put aside money every month so that I can have a nice summer holiday (= save)
I’m going to save this money for a rainy day (= keep it for a time when you I’ll really need it)

GRAMMAR SPOT

Viewpoint Adverbials

Used to express the idea that we are looking at a situation from a particular aspect or point of view:

Financially, he’s doing quite well

Can you manage money-wise until you start your job?

MoneyGrams are ideal from a speed point of view, but you need to find an agent near to you

As far as tracking is concerned, you can do this on the Internet

The system is economically very good

These adverbials usually go in front or end position, or they can modify an adjective (economically good)