How to Safely Receive Payment from Online Currency Brokers
How to Safely Receive Payment from Online Currency Brokers
Have no doubt about it — online currency brokers are here to stay. If you didn’t know, they’re online exchange offices, far superior to their brick-and-mortar predecessors.
Naturally, exchanging your foreign currencies online raises certain security issues. How to sell your foreign banknotes? And how to safely receive payment once the currency broker processes your shipment?
The answers, of course, lie in all the advancements in technology. Fintech has progressed by leaps and bounds in the past decade or two, making online exchanges a reality. If you want to learn more about exchanging your money online, US First Exchange has all the information you need to get you started.
As for the scope of this article, we’ll focus on safety considerations when selling your foreign currencies online. Here’s what you need to know about getting paid after selling your euros, pounds, francs, and all the other, less frequent currencies.
How Is Selling Foreign Currencies Different from Buying Them?
You might be wondering why we’re mostly going to focus on selling foreign money to online currency brokers. The reason for that is you don’t get dollar notes after selling a foreign currency. You get a check and have to go cash it in yourself.
When you buy foreign currencies, the process is straightforward. You pay for the foreign currency with your credit card, bank draft, or a money wire. The online currency broker verifies your identity, and that’s it. They ship the foreign banknotes to the address you give them using your preferred shipping method.
When you sell your foreign currency, the broker won’t just ship the dollar bills to you like they would in the case of a foreign currency. Instead, you need to do a wire transfer or ask for a check. We’ll explain the advantages and disadvantages of the payment methods available, as well as provide some security tips.
Safely Shipping Foreign Currencies
Before you get paid for selling your foreign currency, you first have to mail it to the broker. This part of the transaction is on you — it’s up to you to take certain precautions to ensure banknotes reach the broker.
It’s crucial to package your banknotes in such a way they don’t get damaged in transport. And if your paper notes are already heavily damaged (large tears or shreds), it’s highly unlikely the currency broker will accept them. Keep that in mind before completing your sell order.
Say your money is fine and you need to send it. First of all, you need to put it inside an opaque packaging that will keep the contents of your shipment safe from prying eyes.
It’s advisable to use higher-quality envelopes such as Manila or Kraft. Tell no one what you’re shipping, not even the clerks! Use either paper clips or rubber bands to hold the money together.
Another good idea is to tape over the edges and corners to make the package tamper-proof. Finally, tracking is a must-have when sending foreign currencies. Don’t forget about that.
Receiving Payment from Currency Brokers
Your tamper-proof package containing foreign money has now reached the online currency broker. The broker will then validate the contents of your shipment. Payments are usually issued within 24 hours of receiving and processing the contents of your package.
Now that your shipment has finally arrived at its destination and has been processed, it’s up to the broker to uphold their end of the bargain.
We’ve mentioned how technology’s made the entire process more streamlined and secure, and that’s completely true. You have several options to receive your payment safely:
- E-check
- Wire transfer
- Check by mail.
If an online currency broker has fewer options than the three we listed, find a better broker. We’ll explain each payment method starting with the quickest and cheapest option — e-checks.
E-check
If you want to avoid extra fees on your foreign currency sale, go with the e-check.
The broker will send you an email containing a printable check. Print it out, and you can then cash it in like you normally would.
It’s usually the best option for these kinds of transactions.
Wire Transfer
You can choose the same-day transfer or 2-day delivery, both of which will incur a fee.
Both the fees of the broker’s financial institution as well as your bank’s fees will go out of your pocket. But there is no safer way to receive your money than using a wire transfer. It’s also by far the most convenient payment method.
Check by Mail
You can choose to get your check by mail, in which case it will arrive either tomorrow or the day after.
Standard shipping fees apply, so again, not the cheapest option. However, receiving your check by mail is just as secure as all the other options, so you have nothing to worry about.
Get Better Insurance
Basic parcel insurance is all well and good for smaller, less valuable packages. FedEx office packing pledge limits the company’s liability to $100. Suffice it to say that it’s not nearly enough to protect a shipment containing your foreign currencies.
It doesn’t matter if you just bought or sold foreign banknotes — you can’t insure all of them. But there are online currency brokers that do it for you.
If you want an additional layer of security, find a currency broker that offers to cover the entire value of your shipment. Depending on the amount of cash flowing, you probably won’t be able to find better insurance yourself.
To Conclude
All payment methods that professional currency brokers offer are safe, whether it be e-checks or wire transfers.
When you decide to exchange money online, you’re in safe hands. It’s not likely you’ll find better service and more competitive rates anywhere else.
Don’t forget you also have a role to play in the whole process. It’s up to you to make sure your shipment of foreign currencies safely reaches its destination. Once it gets there, you can lay back and wait for the money to roll in. That’s how convenient and safe online currency brokers are.
