In Reply to: sending money posted by lexie on Saturday, 19. January 2008 at 19:29 Bali Time:
There are various means to sending money. My husband sends money back to his family regularly and we've tried out a few ways. Here's what we found:
ATM CARD
If you are sending regular small amounts then the ATM card is the way to go. As outlined by other posters, arrange a low fee, low transaction account with the bank of your choice. Send the card to your friend. SMS or phone them and give them the PIN. You deposit the funds into the account, they withdraw at an ATM in Bali. It will cost you about $4 to $5 per withdrawal.
PRO'S: cheap way to send regular small amounts
CON'S:
1. your friends might withdraw all of the money not leaving enough for the withdrawal fee, you then get an overdrawn fee as the bank overdraws your account when they process the ATM fee. Your friends can see the balance of the account and can chose to withdraw how much they want.
2. if you need to send a larger amount they need to make multiple withdrawals. It can add up.
3. If there is say just Rp50,000 (i.e. AUD6) in the account your friend may withdraw it - which will cost you $5 in fees. It has happened to us, even though our intelligent family KNOW not to do it.
BANK TRANSFER
If your friend has a bank account you can transfer into it using an overseas transfer. The best arrangement we've found with this one is with BCA bank in Bali and ANZ in Australia.
You can transfer money via ANZ internet banking to the BCA account. It generally takes one working day and costs $24. This is the best and most reliable we've found. Other banks we've been with in Bali have 'lost' the money (and found it again after a threatening phonecall from my husband who thankfully speaks Indonesian).
BCA charge a very small fee (about AUD3) that is included in the conversion so you don't even notice it. There is no extra fees.
PRO'S: Great for regular transfers if the amount you are transferring is > 2-3 million.
Very safe and secure.
CON's: expensive if you are only sending AUD50 or so.
WESTERN UNION
I only used this once and it was very expensive. Also the fees at the other end were quite expensive. Wouldn't use it again unless it was an emergency and the money had to be there within an hour.
Summary
For your situation it would depend on whether you are sending small regular amounts or a larger amount once or twice a year. School fees are paid twice a year in August and January. The purchase of books and uniforms is mostly once a year in August, with a few extra bits and pieces in January.
Hope that helps!