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Best Money Transfer Apps For July 2024
AP Buyline's content is created independently of The Associated Press newsroom. Our evaluations and opinions are not influenced by our advertising relationships, but we might earn commissions from our partners' links in this content. Learn more about our policies and terms here.
Sending money to friends and family is easier than ever with money transfer apps. But with so many choices, it's difficult to figure out which one is the best.
We evaluated them based on transfer speed, cost, compatibility, international capabilities and more. Here are the best money transfer apps so you can figure out which one is right for you.
Cash App: Best for user experienceWith 57 million monthly active users, it's no wonder Cash App is one of the easiest apps to use for sending and receiving money from friends and family. It's easy and free to sign up. You'll link your bank account, transfer money and get started.
To send money, you'll enter the $cashtag or email address of the person you're sending money to and the amount you want to send. Then hit "pay." It's as simple as that. You can move money from your Cash account to your bank account and back within a few days for free, or instant transfers for a small fee.
Apple Cash: Best for Mac usersFor the millions of iPhone users worldwide, Apple Cash is one of the easiest and fastest ways to send money to other iPhone users. You can set up Apple Cash in your iPhone Wallet and for most users, it's free to send money to friends and family straight from Messages.
You can also send money using other transactions, like when you're making purchases in person through Apple Pay or online. Transferring funds is quick and instant through your bank account, making it one of the best money transfer apps around.
PayPal: Best for most usersPayPal — founded in 1998 — is one of the oldest and most trusted online payment processing companies in the world, with more than 420 million monthly active users. Most folks prefer PayPal for its security features. You can send money through PayPal using someone's name, PayPal username, email address or mobile number. You can send money through the PayPal app or online, which is good for folks who don't want to download an app and would rather open a webpage instead.
While it's a U.S.-based money transfer app, you can also use it in more than 200 countries around the world.
Remitly: Best for international transfersIf you need to send money to someone in another country, especially if you're supporting family who live far away, you might want to use Remitly. You can send money to someone through Remitly who can receive funds to a bank account, a debit card or even a physical pickup location if you want someone to get cash.
Fees vary widely depending on the country you're sending money to and where the money is coming from. For instance, you'll pay a fee if you send money from a credit card rather than a bank account. But Remitly boasts more than a dozen languages with 24/7 customer support so you can reach someone whenever you need help.
Venmo: Best for friendsWhile PayPal bought Venmo in 2013, Venmo still operates as its own app with more than 60 million users. One of the biggest standout features of Venmo is the public display of payments between friends. You can see where your friends send their money (although not how much) along with any personalized messages they wish to include. Say, for instance, a group of friends go out to eat and one person picks up the tab. The rest might send that friend their portion of the bill on Venmo.
Venmo is best used between friends who both have Venmo accounts. You can send money to and request money from other Venmo users, which cuts down on sending funds to accounts you don't know. Venmo is only available in the U.S., while PayPal is available around the world.
Zelle: Best for bank transfersIf you want to send money to a contact without having to download a separate app, that's where Zelle comes in. For many folks, you can use your existing banking app or bank website to send money with Zelle. You'll add a person's phone number or email, put how much you want to send, select the bank account the money will come from, and then send.
Zelle makes it easy to send straight from your bank to someone else so you don't have to have many different apps to send and receive money with various people. But you do have to make sure the information is valid and correct before sending because once the money is sent, it can't be canceled.
How we selected the best money transfer appsWe evaluated the best money transfer apps based on:
With so many different money transfer apps, compare your options based on:
While not all money transfer apps charge fees, you could face some, including:
While money transfer apps are easy to use and typically free, here are other ways to send money.
Even though Zelle is on our list, it integrates with your bank and isn't a separate app. So as long as you send money with Zelle through your bank app, you can use Zelle. Here are some other alternatives to money transfer apps:
MoneyGramYou can send money using a few different types of methods, including cash, credit and through a bank account with MoneyGram. This option is best for folks who have cash on hand and need to send money, but not necessarily electronically through an app. There are more than 35,000 MoneyGram locations nationwide.
You can send money domestically or internationally with MoneyGram. There are some fees and they depend on how much you're sending and where you're sending money to. In some cases, it's free to send money to other countries, while for others it's a small cost. You can also send MoneyGrams online through its website or the app.
Western UnionYou can send money through Western Union, which has nearly 70,000 locations across the nation and hundreds of thousands across the world. MoneyGram and Western Union work similarly. You can visit a location to send cash, or visit their website to send money online. You can also receive money from Western Union domestically or internationally.
In some cases, you could face a small exchange fee, but it depends on where you're sending money to and how much. Domestic transfers are free.
Apple Cash
Mac users
1.5% for instant transfers
Instant or 1-3 business days
Automatically installed in iPhones
Yes
User experience
Up to 1.75% for instant payments
Instant or 1-3 business days
Apple Store and Google Play
Yes
PayPal
Most users
2.9% for personal transactions
1-3 business days
Apple Store and Google Play
Yes
Remitly
International transfers
Transfer costs and express transfers (both vary)
Varies based on where money is coming or going
Apple Store and Google Play
Yes
Venmo
Friends
1.75% for instant transfer
Instant or 1-3 business days
Apple Store and Google Play
Yes
Zelle
Bank transfers
None
Within minutes
With most banking apps
Yes
The AP Buyline roundupSending and receiving money is pretty easy with many money transfer apps available. Electronic transfers are quick and painless, and in most cases, free. You can use one or many different apps, depending on where you're sending money to. Having options also makes sure that if someone is sending you money, there are a few different ways to get it to you.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs) What is the best currency transfer app?If you're sending money internationally, you'll need to convert funds to the local currency first. Most money transfer apps that send money internationally already do this, and there's a chance you'll pay a fee (but not always).
Is Zelle safer than Venmo?Both Zelle and Venmo are safe to send money. Zelle works through your individual bank while Venmo is a separate app.
What app can I use to send money instantly?Most money transfer apps allow you to send money instantly to others.
AP Buyline's content is created independently of The Associated Press newsroom. Our evaluations and opinions are not influenced by our advertising relationships, but we might earn commissions from our partners' links in this content. Learn more about our policies and terms here.
The Art Of Deepening Banking Relationships Via Mobile App
The mobile app is not realizing its full potential as a channel to cross-sell products and deepen relationships with bank customers, some experts say.
"For the longest time banks have been talking about the notion of omnichannel, where you are supposed to do any customer journey across any channel," said Marti Riba, a partner at McKinsey.
But McKinsey research is finding a shift in how bank customers favor different channels for different purposes.
"For some journeys or needs, the branch continues to be king," said Riba, who points to checking account onboarding as one example. In contrast, for servicing, "mobile is taking over," he said.
That is particularly true for existing customers, where McKinsey research suggests that 68% of touchpoints that bank customers have today are with the mobile app, rather than branches, contact centers, ATMs or online banking. More than 40% of credit card and personal loan sales, which are typical cross-sell products, happen in digital channels, a number that is steadily increasing.
For digital-only banks, mobile is the paramount channel for all interactions.
USAA has four physical branches and is thus heavily reliant on digital to reach its customers. Its military members are deployed globally. "Not every bank is solving for that problem," said Hisham Salama, head of bank digital and payments at the San Antonio-based USAA. "We have a different view of what it means to be mobile- and digital-first because of our membership and how we have to serve them."
Brick-and-mortar banks also acknowledge the app's importance. U.S. Bancorp in Minneapolis reports that mobile app penetration, or usage, is higher than online banking penetration, and the number of customers that only use the mobile app rather than online banking has been increasing over time.
Still, there are several reasons the mobile app is languishing as a tool to do more than transact or glance over a balance. Personalized offers and insights are key to successful cross-sell and relationship deepening, but banks need sophisticated analytics to achieve true, individual recommendations rather than broadcasting the same set to a more general category of users. It is also difficult to time offers to reach a user at a moment in their life they are most likely to act, such as pitching a loan when they are seeking home improvements.
There is the lingering question of how to incentivize sales in the mobile app rather than at a branch. Further, certain functions in a mobile app, such as setting up bill pay, are still more cumbersome in some apps than in online banking.
Research from Javelin Strategy & Research backs up the notion that banks have a lot of ground to cover in convincing customers via the mobile app to expand their relationships.
In a May survey to more than 10,000 consumers, Javelin asked respondents why they don't turn to their primary bank instead of nonbank companies for some typical banking activities. Twenty-two percent said they didn't even consider their primary bank; 23% said they weren't sure if their primary bank offered this.
"This should scare the hell out of bankers," said Emmett Higdon, director of digital banking at Javelin Strategy & Research.
While the mobile app is the main way a huge percentage of customers do business with their bank today, "banks haven't really recognized this," said Higdon. "It's still looked upon as, this is how you do your transactions, how you check your balance."
One ideal banks could shoot for is something akin to a "one-click" experience in shopping. In mobile banking that could look like a preapproved loan offer that clients can "accept" in the mobile app. This requires using internal and external customer data sources to assess propensity and to pre-underwrite the loan, to pre-populate product applications, and to build automated processes to provide access to funds in near-real time.
U.S. Bank has invested in fine-tuning what it calls "individualized" solutions for its customers. The $669 billion-asset bank collects and analyzes data of its users — including transactions, goals they set in the app, offers they turn down, searches they perform with Smart Assistant — to tailor the offers it presents online or via mobile to its customers. This could include personalized certificates of deposit rates or specific credit card recommendations, such as a travel rewards card for which U.S. Bank can calculate the reward dollars a user would have earned based on the user's recent spending. For credit products, the offers are often preapproved and information is prefilled for existing customers. The digital versions of credit cards are issued instantly.
"We know there is an expectation from our clients to give them solutions to their specific needs," said Ankit Bhatt, chief digital officer for the consumer segment at U.S. Bank.
USAA segments its members based on where they're at in their life journey — for instance, starting a deployment or retiring from a job — using quantitative and qualitative measures. The goal is "to get them the product information they need and allow them to complete applications online," said Salama.
The app will rotate through content cards with insights or notifications that appear upon login. The $114 billion-asset USAA tracks how they engage with these, including whether they close them out. "Are they taking action? Are they making behavioral changes? If so, those are great insights, and we will keep those running," said Salama.
Those that do not trigger action may get edited or pulled entirely.
"We believe the more personalized we are, the more engagement we will drive," he said.
To streamline the mobile experience, USAA has shortened the number of pages credit card applicants cycle through in the app from four to one. The bank says it has reduced the average time it takes to apply for a credit card by more than 50%.
Truist, in Charlotte, North Carolina, says it places targeted marketing ads in contextually relevant locations in the app. The ads offer personalized guidance and insights underpinned by artificial intelligence to help customers learn about new products. The $520 billion-asset bank offers more than 60 personalized insights based on monthly spending habits, including better ways to save or overdraft coverage alerts. It can also prefill forms in the app.
App logins are up 8% this year over 2023.
"Among our authenticated clients, Truist's mobile solutions represent the large majority of our new digital product applications, and we expect that to continue to grow as we listen to clients and use data and insights to improve our app based on what our clients tell us they need," said Sherry Graziano, head of digital, client experience, and marketing, via email.
A best practice for banks is to use discipline to push fewer but more personalized offers at the right time rather than a laundry list of options. Relationship deepening is not just about selling a product but about widening the aperture of a relationship, some consultants say.
"It's to get the customer to engage in more activities," said McKinsey partner Shital Chheda, such as paying bills, creating financial goals, and setting up direct deposits — a few of the elements McKinsey has found that help banks increase lifetime value for a customer.
"Not everything has to be sales oriented," said Bhatt. "It's also about helpful, insightful content that resonates with the user."
Another best practice is combining different forms of outreach centered on one offer rather than presenting multiple offers in the mobile app. That could include push notifications or emails with "deep links" that have a specific offer; when these links are opened on a mobile device, they take the recipient to the mobile app or mobile web to close the deal.
"The magic is to stick with one thing until it lands," said Riba.
Higdon wants to see a more consultative approach. According to Javelin data covering the top 20 banks in the U.S., only 20% have a mechanism for recommending checking accounts; 15% have the same for credit cards and 10% provide one for savings accounts.
"The only thing most offer through a mobile app is an alphabetical list of products," said Higdon.
He finds most banks spend more time and effort trying to hook new customers by filling their public-facing websites with more substantial information.
"I have no data to support this but my serious belief is if I am a customer and I have a new need, I probably won't go to the public site," said Higdon.
In U.S. Bank's case, customers can schedule co-browsing appointments with bankers to get live guidance, online and in the app.
"Co-browsing is one of the highest satisfaction capabilities we have at the bank, both for the end client and for our bankers," said Bhatt.
Best Online Banks (July 2024)
All America Bank, Alliant Credit Union, Ally Bank, Amerant Bank, America First Credit Union, American Airlines Credit Union, American Express National Bank, Apple Bank, Arvest Bank, Associated Bank, Axos Bank, Banesco Bank, Bank of America, Bank of Hope, Bank Purely, Bank5 Connect, Barclays, Bask Bank, BECU (Boeing Employees Credit Union), Bethpage Federal Credit Union, BMO, BMO Alto Bank, Bread Savings (formerly Comenity Direct), BrioDirect, Capital One Bank, CFG Bank, Charles Schwab, Charlie Financial, Chase Bank, Chime, CIBC USA, CIT Bank, Citibank, Citizens, Citizens Bank, Colorado Federal Savings Bank, Comerica Bank, Connexus Credit Union, Consumers Credit Union, Credit One Bank, Cross River Bank, Current, Customers Bank, Delta Community Credit Union, Discover Bank, East West Bank, Emigrant Direct, EverBank (formerly TIAA Bank), Federal Savings Bank, Fifth Third Bank, First Citizens Bank, First Internet Bank (of Indiana), First National Bank of America, First Tech Federal Credit Union, FNBO Direct, Frost Bank, Golden 1 Credit Union, Heritage Bank NA, HSBC, Huntington Bank, KeyBank, Lafayette Federal Credit Union, Lake Michigan Credit Union, LendingClub, Limelight Bank, Live Oak Bank, Lonestar Bank, M.Y. Safra Bank, M&T Bank, Marcus by Goldman Sachs, Mercury Bank, Merrick Bank, Michigan State University Federal Credit Union, Milli, Morgan Stanley Private Bank, Mountain America Credit Union, My eBanc, MySavingsDirect, National Bank of Kansas City, Navy Federal Credit Union, NBKC Bank, North American Savings Bank (NASB), Northpointe Bank, Patelco Credit Union, PenFed Credit Union (Pentagon Federal), PNC Bank, Popular Direct, Presidential Bank, Provident Bank, Quontic Bank, Quorum Federal Credit Union, Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union, Regions Bank, Ridgewood Savings Bank, Rising Bank, Salem Five Direct, Sallie Mae Bank, Santander Bank, SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union, Security Service Federal Credit Union, Service Credit Union, SoFi Bank, South State Bank, Spectrum Credit Union, Spring Bank, Star One Credit Union, State Bank of Texas, State Department Federal Credit Union, State Employees' Credit Union, Suncoast Credit Union, Sutton Bank, Synchrony Bank, Synovus Bank, TD Bank, Texas Capital Bank, Third Federal Savings & Loan, Transportation Alliance Bank (TAB Bank), Truist Bank, U.S. Bank, UFB Direct, Umpqua Bank, Upgrade, USAA Bank, USAlliance Financial, Valley National Bank, Varo Bank, Vio Bank, VyStar Credit Union, Webbank, Webster Bank, Wells Fargo, Western State Bank, Zions Bank, Zynlo Bank
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