Easy method for transfering money internationally

I know that several of us have had been searching for an economical and secure way of transferring money between the US and the UK. I think I may have found a solution. Virgin Money has come out with a new pre-paid Master Card option that advertised this very feature. The application cost is £9.95 per year and it is free to add funds on-line using your debit card. It is a 3.5% fee on purchases and withdrawals overseas, but that is lots less than the cost of sending the funds with Western Union. You can even order additional cards in their names and have them sent to you, activate them in the UK, mail them to your loved one, and they can use them in the US. I ordered one for paying my child support. I will keep you all updated on how well it truly works.

Thanks for the info.  Just wondering, what exchange rate are they giving you with these cards?

I've just discovered that Paypal can be used to make payments to individuals as well as just ebay vendors. There are charges but it is MUCH less than Western Union.

I have two PayPal accounts - one to my US account and one to my UK account and I move money between them that way.  Mind you, we're not talking earth-shattering amounts.  But it works out easiest for me.

I'm glad there are some options out there. (I can't use Western Union because part of my surname is Asian.)

I've just discovered that Paypal can be used to make payments to individuals as well as just ebay vendors. There are charges but it is MUCH less than Western Union.

Be VERY careful of this option. I used it for a while. Then they froze a transfer of several hundred dollars to pay for my children's visa. When I spoke to their customer service people on the phone, they said that it was not the intent of their services to allow for those types of international funds transfers between your accounts. It took two weeks for them to unfreeze my money. If it weren't for my former mother-in-law, I would have had to wait to apply for the kid's visas. I could never get specific details from them as to what they were actually watching for in terms of flagging, but it has do with the Patriot Act and the best I could find out it was the frequency and amounts of your transfers. It might work fine for occassional small transfer, but I have never trusted it since then. So I was very excited to find this option which will allow for my frequent child support payments.

I'm glad there are some options out there. (I can't use Western Union because part of my surname is Asian.)

Sorry - I'm not clear what this means - can you explain?  Thanks.

Sorry - I'm not clear what this means - can you explain?  Thanks.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2006/07/06/western-union-blocks-cash_n_24481.html

My husband tried to use Western Union about a year ago and realised the above was true after we were denied.