How to send money to Russia the cheapest & fastest way
How we help you transfer money to Russia from USA at the best rate:
- Hidden costs exposed by comparing the money transfer services USD-RUB conversion rate to the mid-market exchange rate
- Real-time total costs including all fees and the exchange rate markup
- Full transparency, comparing 12 money transfer providers such as Wise, RIA, Remitly, Western Union and WorldRemit
Our comparison engine found 4 online money transfer services available to send money to Russia from USA. The list is sorted by total transaction costs including the hidden USD-RUB exchange rate fees, starting with the cheapest money transfer services at the top:
Researching money transfer companies and comparing the best rate for sending money to Russia can be time-consuming. Besides the total transfer fee, our list above shows you the different payment delivery options for each money transfer service.
Some factors to consider while evaluating the best way to send money to Russia from USA are transfer fees, exchange rates, the speed of transfer and convenience. The cost of transferring money depends on the country in which you want the money sent as well as the way the payment is received (e.g. bank transfer, cash pickup, app). Also whether you want to pay for your transfer via bank deposit, debit card or in cash at a money transfer operator will affect your remittance to Russia.
Best rate - The cheapest way to send money to Russia
The overall cheapest money transfer service is Remitly with 'Bank' as the receiving payment method. In this case, the total transaction costs are $ 10.64, whereas the service fee is $ 4.99 and the USD-RUB exchange rate is 75.22.
In comparison, you would pay a total cost of $ 314.08 to transfer money to Russia if you selected to use WorldRemit for the very same international money transfer. Two other options for sending money to Russia are worth considering: TransferWise and Remitly.
Wire transfer - Send money to a Russia bank account
Bank deposits: To make a wire transfer online and transfer your USD to a Russia bank account in RUB, the most competitive option is currently Remitly. With $ 4.99 transfer fees for the bank transfer and a competitive USD-RUB currency exchange rate (currently at 1 USD = 75.22 RUB), it's the cheapest way to send money to a Russia bank account.
When doing a wire transfer from USA to Russia, it typically takes longer for the funds to arrive in the recipient's bank account compared to other money transfer methods such as cash delivery. International bank transfers do carry some risks and you need to make sure the bank details and payment details are correct or else the sent amount may end up in the wrong bank account.
Cash Pickup
Do you prefer a cash delivery method for the beneficiary to receive money at his preferred cash pick-up location in Russia? We list several money transfer service providers able to send RUB for cash pickup in Russia:
RiaMoneyTransfer is currently the most competitive provider with a low transfer fee of $ 5 and a competitive USD-RUB exchange rate of 1 USD = 74.0601 RUB. This results in a total transaction fee of $ 15.19 to send money to Russia resp. a local a cash pick-up branch there.
Since most payout locations operate 24/7, this kind of international money transfer is almost instant. Even more so when you pay with a credit card or a debit card. With a valid photo ID and the transaction reference number, the recipient can pick up the cash at a payout location of RiaMoneyTransfer local partner network within minutes after the money has been transferred.
Remittance to Russia
Have you ever wondered, why some of the best money transfer providers such as Remitly and WorldRemit have the term 'remit' in their name? This is derived from the word 'remittance' which is a payment of money that is transferred to another party. Theoretically, any payment of a bill could be a remittance. However, nowadays the word is mainly used to describe the process of money being sent to a family back home by someone working abroad. The recommended way to remit money to Russia is by using the money transfer provider Stanford Federal Credit Union. At the time of writing, they boast the most competitive exchange rates to send money online to Russia.
This recommendation was updated 24 days ago.