Sending money home
Compare offers before you send: the real cost is the fee plus the worse-than-market rate.
Enter one or more offers above to see what each really costs.
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Offer 2Cheapest
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The UN's goal for 2030 is for sending money to cost under 3%. Above about 6% is dear.
Sending money to Afghanistan
The ways
- Hawala: through a money exchanger (sarraf). Fast and found everywhere, including villages. It rests on trust: use a sarraf you or your family know.
- Money transfer companies: Western Union pays out in afghanis, in cash at agents, into a bank account or into a mobile wallet. MoneyGram transfers can be received into an e& money wallet. Some well-known online services, Remitly among them, do not send to Afghanistan from every country: check before you sign up.
- Bank transfer: into an account at an Afghan bank (Azizi Bank and Islamic Bank of Afghanistan, among others, receive international transfers).
- Mobile money: M-Paisa (Roshan, *111#), My Money (AWCC) and e& money, which was mHawala (*711#). Your family can cash out at the network's shops and agents.
How to pay less
- Ask each service exactly how many afghanis (or dollars) your family will receive, not only the fee.
- Enter two or three offers in the calculator above: it shows what each really costs against today's market rate.
- Much of the cost is often hidden in the rate, not the fee: a service with no fee can still be the dearest.
- Sending dollars to be collected as dollars avoids one exchange, if your family can use dollars.
Senders abroad may be asked the purpose of a transfer: this is normal and comes from international banking rules. Never send money to someone you have not met for a visa, a job or a "release fee".