What is a remittance transfer and what are my rights?

A remittance transfer is a money transfer sent electronically from the United States to another country by a remittance transfer provider. Common terms may include “international wires,” “international money transfers,” and “remittances.”

According to the law, a remittance transfer provider is any entity that provides remittance transfers for a consumer in the normal course of its business. Banks and other types of financial services companies may qualify as “remittance transfer providers.”

A company is not a remittance transfer provider if it provided 500 or fewer remittance transfers in the prior calendar year and provides 500 or fewer transfers in the current calendar year.

Certain federal protections apply if you send money abroad

Generally, the rules on international money transfers protect consumers in the United States who use a remittance transfer provider to transfer more than $15 to a person or company in another country.

If you use a company to send a remittance transfer that doesn’t qualify as a remittance transfer provider, then federal law does not require them to provide you with the protections you would otherwise get under federal law.

See your rights below:

The right to receive certain information about your remittance transfer

Remittance transfer providers must provide you with certain information before and after you pay for a remittance transfer. This includes information about:

• Fees and taxes they collect from you.
• The exchange rate that applies to the transfer, if applicable.
• Fees charged by the company’s agents abroad and certain other institutions involved in the transfer process.
• The amount of money expected to be delivered.
• If applicable, a statement that additional foreign taxes and fees may be deducted from the remittance transfer.

You also must receive information about when the money will be available, your right to cancel transfers, what to do in case of an error, and how to submit a complaint.

In some cases, federal law allows remittance transfer providers to estimate some of the figures on the disclosures they provide to you as long as they are clearly identified as estimates. If you think an estimate is incorrect, ask the provider.

The right to have receipts and disclosures in your language

Federal law generally requires remittance transfer providers to use your language on receipts and other disclosures if it uses your language in its advertising, sales, or marketing materials where you made the transfer, or if it made the transfer in your language.

The right to cancel a money transfer

After paying, you have up to 30 minutes to cancel the remittance transfer at no charge, unless the transfer has already been picked up or deposited into the recipient’s account.

The right to resolve mistakes

You have 180 days to notify the remittance provider of a mistake, starting from the date disclosed by the remittance transfer provider as the date when the money will be available. Remittance transfer providers must investigate notices of error. Even though you have up to 180 days to report the mistake, if you think a mistake was made, contact the company as soon as you can. Remittance transfer providers generally have 90 days to investigate the matter and they must notify you of the investigation’s results. For certain types of errors, such as if the money never arrives, you may be able to get a refund or have the transfer resent.

Other protections may be available to you, depending on how you send the money and the laws in your state.