Ria money transfer in Malaysia - everything you should know

Hannes Ausmees

03.03.22 (updated more than 1 year ago)

7 minute read

Ria Money Transfer is a popular provider of international money transfers and considered one of the Big 4 international money transfer services globally. Ria Money Transfer Malaysia has operated through IME International Transfer since 2015, and allows customers to send payments all over the world with a broad range of pay out options.

This guide will look at Ria Money Transfer’s services in Malaysia, including how IME Money Transfer works, and what the Ria Money Transfer rates and fees are. We’ll also cover low cost international payments with Wise as a smart alternative if you need your money to be sent to a bank account overseas.

🔖Table of contents
How are IME and Ria related? How does Ria work? What are the fees? What's the exchange rate? How to send money with Ria? Setting up a Ria transfer online How to find a Ria (IME) office near you Eligibility requirements Receiving money - what to give to the sender How to track a Ria money transfer How to contact Ria for support Summary Send money abroad with the real exchange rate - Wise

How are IME and Ria related?

If you’ve heard of both Ria Money Transfer and IME Money Transfer you might be wondering how they’re related.

Ria acquired IME Money Transfer - a leading Malaysian international payment provider - in Malaysia in 2015, and provides its online money transfer service in Malaysia using the IME-REMIT system. Ria and IME are part of Euronet, which is the 3rd largest money transfer company in the world¹.

To keep things simple, we’ll refer to the service provided by Ria/IME as Ria Money Transfer in this guide.

How does Ria work: features and supported currencies

You can send an international payment with Ria online or in the Ria app². You can also find a local branch in Malaysia using the Ria branch locator tool³ to set up your payment in person.

Ria payments can be sent to almost 150+ countries, and recipients can get their money using a range of pay out methods. The exact pay out options you have will depend on the country you’re sending to, but typically you can choose from⁴:

Cash collection
Mobile wallet payments
Cash home delivery
Bank deposits

Here's a full list of countries where you can send a Ria Money Transfer payment.

What are the fees for an international transfer with Ria?

The overall costs of sending an international transfer with Ria vary based on a number of factors:

How you pay for your transfer
How you want your payment to be received
Where you’re sending money to
How much you’re sending

Costs you’ll pay can also include a few different fees⁵:

Ria’s international transfer fee
A markup included in Ria’s money transfer rates
Third party charges

You can calculate the international transfer fee you’ll pay to Ria for your transfer before you confirm the payment, using the Ria cost calculator tool. However, you’ll need to compare the Ria rate to the mid-market exchange rate to spot the markup - and as third party charges aren’t paid to Ria directly these may also be a little trickier to figure out.

We’ll dive into these different fees in more detail shortly. For now let’s look at an example to show how Ria money transfer fees and rates work.

Example: Sending 1,000 MYR to a bank account held in Bangladesh (BDT)

Here’s a worked example of how payments with Ria Money transfer work. In this case we’re sending money from Malaysia to Bangladesh, and we want the payment to arrive in a BDT bank account directly⁶.

Transaction amount	1,000 MYR
Transfer fee	5 MYR
Send amount	995 MYR
Pay out amount	20,307.95 BDT + any third party charges which may apply

What's the exchange rate for Ria international transfers?

Ria’s money transfer rate can vary depending on the country and currency you’re sending money to. You won’t necessarily get the same rate as you’ll find using an online currency converter tool or a Google search.

That’s because Google will show you the mid-market exchange rate - the one banks and money exchange services usually get when buying and selling currency on wholesale markets. However, Ria may add a markup - an extra fee - onto the exchange rate that’s offered for your payment.

Adding a markup to the exchange rate offered to customers is common among banks and money transfer services. However, it can push up the costs of your payment overall and it does also make it tricker to know exactly how much you’re paying in total for your transfer.

You’ll be able to see if there’s a markup used on the exchange rate offered by Ria by comparing the Ria money transfer rate to the mid-market rate you’ll find on Google. Get the Ria money transfer rate for your currency here.

Ria money transfer: third party costs

One final note on Ria’s fees. It’s possible that your international money transfer will incur third party costs, which aren't always easy to calculate in advance, and which can mean you pay more than you expect. Third party costs may include a credit card cash advance fee if you pay for your transfer with your card, or charges deducted by your recipient’s own bank if you send an international payment to their bank account.

Third party charges don’t get passed on to Ria. That means they won’t be able to let you know if you may need to pay these fees. If you’re paying by credit card you’ll want to check the account terms and conditions to see if there's a cash advance fee - and it’s also worth having your recipient check their account’s fee schedule for recipient fees if you’re sending money direct to their bank.

How to send money with Ria Money Transfer?

Let’s take a look at how to use Ria’s money transfer service. You can send money online, in the Ria app, or by visiting a physical Ria location.

In this guide we’ll focus on how to send a Ria money transfer online or in the app - as these are usually the cheapest and most convenient options to choose.

To send a Ria Money Transfer payment, you’ll first need to create an account. Here’s how to do so on the Ria app⁷:

Open the Ria app and select Create a free account
Confirm or enter the country you’re in
Enter your phone number and complete the verification step by entering the code you’ll be sent by SMS
Create a password for security
Add your personal details including:
- Your full name
- Date of birth
- Email address
Tap Continue
Enter your address to complete the process

You may also be able to set up your account via the Ria website⁸. In this case the process is similar, but you might need to additionally select and set up some security questions to make sure your account is safe.

Setting up a Ria transfer online or in the Ria app

Making your Ria transfer is easy once your account is all up and running. The process is similar whether you choose to send your money from the Ria app or website. Let’s take a look at the steps to send a Ria money transfer from the Ria app⁹:

Open the Ria app and log into your account if required
Tap Send money now
Enter the details of your payment, including:
- Where you’re sending money to
- How much you want to send
- How you’ll pay
- How you want the recipient to get the money
Add promo code if you have one
Check the fees and exchange rate available and tap Continue if you’re happy to proceed
Select someone you’ve paid before through Ria, or add a new recipient
Choose your preferred payment method and click Continue
Check everything over and tap Confirm to send

How to find a Ria (IME) office near you

If you’d rather send money in person you can also visit a Ria office at a location convenient to you. Find the closest Ria branch using the Ria branch location finder tool¹⁰.

What is required to make an international transfer with Ria?

To get started with Ria Money Transfers in Malaysia you’ll only need a couple of things¹¹:

A personal phone number
A personal email address

These are required to keep your account safe through 2-factor authentication, and to communicate with you.

Once you start to make or receive payments you may need to complete additional verification steps, including uploading a copy of your government issued photo ID, or presenting it at a Ria branch location for checking.

What should I give to the sender in order to receive a transfer with Ria?

If someone sent you money using Ria instead, then for payments direct to a bank account the sender will need to know:

Your full name as shown on the account
Your phone number
The bank’s address
Your bank account number and other relevant details like an IBAN or routing number, depending on the destination country

If you’re receiving a payment in cash you’ll need to make sure the sender has your full name. Then you just go to the correct pay out location as selected by the sender, and take along:

Government issued photo ID
The transfer’s unique PIN code (the sender can provide this)

If your payment is being sent to a mobile wallet you’ll need to give the sender your:

Mobile wallet number (usually your mobile phone number)
Name of the mobile wallet provider

How to track a Ria money transfer

Once your Ria money transfer is on the move you’ll be able to track it on the Ria website. Simply go to the track a transfer tool, and enter your transaction PIN and order number¹². The sender will have these details on their receipt or confirmation email.

How to contact Ria for support

Get in touch with Ria if you have further questions:

Phone service available 7 days a week, 8AM–1AM (MYT): 1-800-882-077
Email: my_support@riamoneytransfer.com

Summary

Let’s round up our review of Ria Money Transfer options, fees and features with a reminder of some of the pros and cons of using the Ria money transfer service.

Ria Money Transfer’s main strength may be in the range of pay out options available. It has a very broad agent network which makes it a good choice especially if you want to send money for cash collection.

However, the services, exchange rates and fees available do vary by destination country. If you’re sending money to a bank account directly, you might find you can get a cheaper overall cost and a more transparent fee structure by choosing an online specialist provider like Wise.

Send money abroad with the real exchange rate - Wise

If you’re sending an international payment directly to a bank account you could be better off with low cost payments from Wise.

Wise international transfers come with low, transparent fees and always use the mid-market exchange rate with no markups. That means you can instantly see the full cost of your payment, and how much your recipient will get in the end.

If you send and spend internationally often you could save even more time and money with the Wise multi-currency account. Open your Wise account for free online, to receive payments for free from 30+ countries, hold money in 40+ currencies and spend all over the world with the Wise debit card.

Sources:

Sources checked on 03.03.22

*Please see terms of use and product availability for your region or visit Wise fees and pricing for the most up to date pricing and fee information.

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