exchange rate today wired money

[original spanky]

just wired oney to friend in negril western union. saw where the exchange rate was 86 and change got me thinking if i should just wire down money for me on next trip. i usually exchange at the cambio next to valuemaster. any iidea of the going rate.
thanks

[justin_a_lyesse]

In May at the airport they gave us 72 JD per dollar. Total rip off. At the ATM we got 80 JD per dollar.

[booger]

Just looked it up and it's 88.18. The rate you get at the cambio I'm sure is a little less. I believe someone just posted recently that they received a little over 86-1. Was a little over 85-1 in April.

[captaind]

Here's the receipt from 100 US I sent to the yard on Friday

[Ohio_Buckeye_1]

I think you are forgetting that wiring money, either Western Union or Moneygram, incurs a fee that totally wipes out any slightly favorable exchange rate.
For an instant transfer, $100 wired costs $12.99 by Moneygram, slightly higher by Western Union. It's a little lower if you send with a 3-day delay.
It's a sliding fee, $101-200 wired costs $14.99. $201-300 costs $18.99. etc.

So sending that $100US would send your friend that $8629J, but either your Credit Card or your bank statement will show a total charge/deduction of $112.99.
So factoring in the fee makes the "realized" exchange rate = 76.3696 (still better than the airport - showing how bad that is!)
And all that assumes you also don't get hit with a cash advance fee that some Credit Cards charge for this - it took me a few sends before I found one of my CCs that didn't.

[Yvonne]

$86.50J = $1US as of Saturday.

[Accompong]

Jul 5, 2012 Authorization To *BNS 42 MAIN STREE,ANTA CRUZ J,,JM Completed Details -$232.98 USD
Jul 5, 2012 Temporary Hold Placed Details -$232.98 USD
Jul 5, 2012 Temporary Hold Removed Details $232.98 USD
Original Authorization:
Total Payment: -$232.98 USD
-$231.98 USD

Merchant: *BNS 42 MAIN STREE,ANTA CRUZ J,,JM
Purchase Date: Jul 5, 2012
Authorized Amount: -$232.98 USD
Authorization Date: Jul 5, 2012
Time: 09:08:05 PDT
Status: Completed
Net Amount: -$232.98 USD
Status: Completed

I posted above a copy of my PayPal transaction receipt where I sent funds for my house maintenance/construction where $20,000 Jamaican Dollars was withdrawn from a Santa Cruz ATM Machine at the Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS). The rate I got was $85.84 and it only cost me $1.00 US to complete the transaction.

$20,000 is the limit someone can draw per day from a Nova Scotia ATM and the National Commercial Bank (NCB) will allow up to $30,000 Jamaican Dollars per day.

I am not suggesting that everyone's friends in Jamaica can be trusted with an ATM Card so I am only pointing this out for people who need to transfer money at frequent intervals. It has worked well for me over the years and I have never had any problems with it. In fact, if the money is not in your PayPal account, the machine will not allow a transaction to take place.

I also have a card to this account and control the PIN numbers of BOTH cards for added security. When I need to purchase things either here or in Jamaica, I use this card and account and not my regular bank account.

Peace and Guidance

[original spanky]

great response thanks.
forgot to account for the transfer fee. that would wipe out any profit.
will just continue at the cambio

[Ohio_Buckeye_1]

Accompong - thanks for tip.
I've been wondering if PayPal transfers worked to Jamaica.
That $1 fee is much better than MoneyGram and Western Union.

[NKY]

Anyone else use Xoom? My wife and I have used it several times to send money to Jamaica with no problems. Also, their fees seem to be the lowest as compared to Moneygram and Western Union.

Xoom Jamaica

Sending $100 US would cost you $7.99 if you pay through your bank account or $9.99 if you pay with a credit card. They also skim a little bit off the exchange rate by rounding to the nearest 0.1 Jamaican dollar. The money can be deposited in someones bank account or can be picked up at certain places that you can find on their website. They also have a calculator that shows you the fees and how much the person receiving the money will get.

Fee Calculator

I'm not sure if you can send money to yourself and then pick it up while in Jamaica, but that might be something to check in to vs. ATM, foreign transaction, and travelers check fees.