How to send an Intermex wire transfer

Intermex (International Money Express) is a money transfer service. It covers Latin America, the Caribbean, and Africa. Intermex offers wire transfers, with the options of online, telephone, and in-person service.

Before you make an Intermex wire transfer, make sure you are aware of the fees charged and the exchange rate used. You can find out about these, and how to send a transfer, in this article.

Need to send money abroad? Try Wise 🚀

👀 What you’ll find in this article
How to send an Intermex wire transfer How long does an Intermex wire transfer take? Intermex wire transfer fees Intermex vs Wise - Save money on your transfers abroad💰

How to send an Intermex wire transfer

Intermex offers wire transfer services from the US to many overseas countries. It is focused on the Caribbean, Central America, and South America as well as a few countries in Africa.

How to send an Intermex transfer online

To make an online transfer, you need to create an Intermex account. This can be done via the Intermex website (intermexonline.com).

You will need to provide basic personal details including name, address, phone number, country of birth, and date of birth. This account can then be used for future transactions.

You then need to specify the source of funds and the payment details. Payments can be made from bank account transfers or using a US-issued debit or credit card. Note that credit card issuers may charge a cash advance fee for this type of payment.

For the recipient, you will need to provide name and ID details. The recipient’s name given must match the name on their government-issued ID.

Money can be delivered to the recipient's bank account, or made available for cash pickup (or delivery) in some locations. There are currently over 55,000 agent locations offering this service.¹

How to send a transfer in person

You can also make a payment in person from an agent location in the United States.

There are currently over 5,000 such agents across all 50 states and Puerto Rico. Payment methods and deposit details are the same as online. But in addition, you can make cash payments. Some locations can process checks directly.

Payment in person is the only way to send payments of $3,000 or more. This can be done after an agent has carried out further ID checks and verification.²

How to send an Intermex TeleWire over the phone

As a third option, you can make payments by telephone. The requirements and payment details for this are the same as for online transfers.

The Intermex telephone service is available daily between 7:30 AM and 1:00 AM EST.³

How long does an Intermex wire transfer take?

Intermex aims to complete most transfers within 20 minutes of being placed.⁴

The transfer time expected will be confirmed when a transfer is made.

Several factors can make this take longer, including:

• Transfers to some countries take additional time.
• There can be delays in processing payments from card issuers.
• The payment could be flagged for security review.
• An increased processing time for some receiving financial institutions (pick up in person is often the fastest option).
• Delays in processing at weekends or bank holidays.

Intermex wire transfer fees

All Intermex transfers have a fee. This varies depending on the country you are transferring to, the payment amount, and the payment method.

You can check the exact fees beforehand using an online fee calculator.⁵

As an example, the following are the fees charged for a transfer from the US to Mexico:

Example fees
From:	California
To:	Mexico
Amount:	1000 USD
Recipient gets:	19509 MXN
Fees:	Debit Card - 0.99 USD Bank Account - 0.99 USD Credit Card - 25.99 USD

As well as the transfer fee, there is also a cost involved with the exchange rate used for the transfer.

Many transfer services, including Intermex, add a markup to the exchange rate used. You do not get the real mid-market exchange rate (as displayed on Google for example).⁵

💡 Some transfer services such as Wise use the real mid-market rate. This can offer significant savings - especially on large transfers.

Intermex vs Wise - Save money on your transfers abroad

Wise is an online service, which offers fast money transfers and payments in over 50 currencies. Transfers are also possible to other countries outside of Intermex’s focus area of the Americas and Africa. You can send money online from our website or mobile app, in just a few clicks.

Importantly, Wise also offers low and transparent fees.

Compare fees for Wise and Intermex online before deciding which service to use.

When sending 1000USD with Intermex, for example, the recipient will get 19509 MXN. When sending with Wise, they would receive around 19530 MXN (depending on the current mid-market rate).

Amount sent: 1000 USD
Amount received with Intermex: 19509 MXN
Amount received with Wise: 19530 MXN
Difference: The recipient gets 21 MXN more when using Wise

While this may not seem like a huge difference, the differences add up over time.

Remember that the exchange rate used matters as well as the fee. With Wise, you will get the real mid-market exchange rate with no added markup.

While Wise does not offer in-person collection, it can save you money when sending online.

Sources:

1. International Money Express - Agent locations
2. International Money Express - In-person transfer
3. International Money Express - Telephone transfer
4. International Money Express - Transfer time
5. Intermexonline.com/calculator - Exchange calculator

All sources checked 28 June 2021.