The need to transfer large amounts of money overseas is growing and beginning a much more common practice. Whether the purpose is for purchasing a second home overseas, buying a car, for business purposes or simply because you are emigrating the need for safe and efficient money transfer services is growing.

One of the most important things to remember when transferring large amounts of money is that even a small differences in exchange rates between currencies can make a significant difference to the amount of money that you will receive at the other end. For example just a 0.5% improvement on $100,000 is $500! Therefore making sure you get the best exchange rate possible should be of prime concern to the sender.

One of the most common ways to transfer large amounts of money is to use a bank wire transfer. The main reason for this is that they are by far the safest way to transfer money. The reasons why this is a very safe method are because every account holder must show proof of identity which will be thoroughly checked. Charge-backs are also unlikely to occur however wire transfers may be recalled. The information sent regarding the transfer is in a highly secure format using encrypted communication methods very are vrey difficult to intercept and interpret.

The price of bank wire transfers varies greatly, depending on the bank and its location; in some countries, the fee associated with the service can be costly.

Bank wire transfers can often be one of the speediest methods to transfer significant amounts of money between bank accounts. The cost of bank transfers can alter greatly between banks so make sure you shop around for the best deal.

The process for bank transfers is as follows:

The bank sending the money sends a message using a highly secure system like Fedwire to the receiving bank with instructions detailing the payment.

Funds may take several hours to be transferred to the recipients bank account so it is not immediate. Usually the banks involved with the money transfer have a reciprocal account with each other or the payment may be sent through another bank that does have such an account

Millions of bank transfers are performed everyday particularly in Europe. Wire transfers within Europe can be very cost effective whereas sending outside of Europe can be a good deal more costly.

Of course there are other ways to wire money not just through bank accounts. western Union are one of the most reputable companies in this regard. With a burgeoning market for money transfers many new companies are entering the market offering new services all the time. Remember cheaper doesn't always mean better so here are a few questions you may wish to consider asking before using a money transfer service as a safety check list:

Are they registered with the official bodies in that country?

How long has the company been doing business?

Do they have a large staff? A medium-large sized company would generally be more reliable than a small recently started up.

What is feedback like from other users of this service on chat forums?

Are audited accounts available for viewing for example at Companies House (UK)?

Is there a designated money transfer account?

Of course a few other safety tips should be added, although they seem fairly obvious. Never send money to someone you do not know for a product or service. The recipient may just collect the money and run. Seems pretty obvious advice but a spate of scams requiring people to do this was very successful for the scam artists. At the time it was known as the Nigerian letters scam, 419 scam or advance fee fraud. Do not be a victim.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation describes the scam as follows:

"Nigerian letter frauds combine the threat of impersonation fraud with a variation of an advance fee scheme in which a letter, mailed from Nigeria, offers the recipient the "opportunity" to share in a percentage of millions of dollars that the author, a self-proclaimed government official, is trying to transfer illegally out of Nigeria.

The recipient is encouraged to send information to the author, such as blank letterhead stationery, bank name and account numbers and other identifying information using a facsimile number provided in the letter. Some of these letters have also been received via E-mail through the Internet. The scheme relies on convincing a willing victim, who has demonstrated a "propensity for larceny" by responding to the invitation, to send money to the author of the letter in Nigeria in several installments of increasing amounts for a variety of reasons."

With that said generally speaking using your common sense and shopping around to get the best price, wire transfers are a very safe method for you to transfer large amounts of money overseas.