Are you living in the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Japan, etc., and wondering how to transfer money to another country with crypto? Does it also have to do with crypto transfers in large sums overseas? I’ll show you how whether you’re a beginner or a professional trader! As someone who resides abroad and sends money to family and friends who don’t have a pound, dollar, or foreign account, using Bitcoin to transfer money internationally makes the process easy and seamless.
Why is that? The recipient only needs a crypto address such as the Tether (USDT) or a Bitcoin address to receive money anywhere and anytime. There’s also no limitation to the type of crypto they can receive if they choose a wallet that supports the virtual asset you’re sending to them. However, sending with a stablecoin such as USDT, USDC, or BUSD might be better. This ensures that the amount sent and received is the same or changes only slightly. The transaction fees for sending these stablecoins are cheaper than most altcoins.
So, think of these tips as alternatives to Wise money transfer for transferring money internationally between banks.
Is Bitcoin a Good Way to Transfer Money?
Yes, Bitcoin is a good way to transfer money. But be wary of price volatility since the amount you send can dip or spike based on current market conditions. Thus, it’s important to know the goal of sending these cross-border payments.
If the money is to cover daily expenses, then a stablecoin (USDT, USDC, etc.) is better. The same value sent is what is received, and even will remain the same until the recipient withdraws it. However, if the intent is to store the crypto and hold it for profit, Bitcoin and altcoins are better. The latter are volatile assets whose price is unstable.
Are Cryptocurrencies a Safe Method for Sending Payments Overseas?
Yes, cryptocurrencies are a safe method for sending payments overseas. This is because the blockchain’s high-level security ensures transfers are not intercepted until they reach the final address. Also, crypto wallets have a high level of security especially those that are decentralized. Check out this guide on the best crypto wallets to safely store your cryptos.
What’s more, transfers made via crypto take a couple of seconds to a few minutes to be delivered to the recipient’s wallet. You can also monitor the recipient’s address to know when such payments have been delivered, which offers transparency. All you have to do is, search the recipient’s address on the Ethereuem blockchain explorer Etherscan.io or Tron explorer Tronscan.org and you’ll see the transaction status. Figure 1 shows a completed transaction on Etherscan.
Therefore, no one can claim they didn’t receive your funds when you can see such transaction details on the blockchain. Interestingly, the sender and recipient are anonymous hence the transaction recipient does not reveal anyone’s details or identity.
On the other hand, you need to ensure that it is legal to trade cryptocurrencies in the country you are as with the recipient’s country. As of December 2024, it is legal to interact with virtual assets in several countries including Malta, Canada, the United States, Japan, and Australia. Bitcoin trading is also legal in Germany, India, Singapore, Argentina, the UK, Spain, Mexico, and a list of other countries. A quick search on Google will also present an updated list of countries where cryptocurrency is legal.
How to Use Cryptocurrency to Transfer Money to Another Country
Here are simple tips on how to use cryptocurrency to transfer money to another country.
1. Send Via Payments App
Some mobile apps for payment also feature crypto payment options. Revolut is one of such apps that allows you to buy crypto with fiat such as the Euro (EUR), Swiss Franc (CHF), British Pound (GBP), etc.
Other supported currencies on Revolut are:
- United Arab Emirates Dirham (AED)
- Australian Dollar (AUD)
- Bulgarian Lev (BGN)
- Hong Kong Dollar(HKD)
- INR: Indian Rupee (INR)
- JPY: Japanese Yen (JPY)
- Mexican Peso (MXN)
- Malaysian Ringgit (MYR)
- Philippine Peso (PHP)
- Polish Zloty (PLN)
- Saudi Riyal (SAR)
- Swedish Krona (SEK)
- Singapore Dollar (SGD)
- Thai Baht (THB)
- US Dollar (USD)
- South African Rand (ZAR)
That being said, you can convert these fiats to crypto thanks to the payment app support for various blockchain networks. It supports BTC transfers on the Bitcoin network, ETH, USDC, and MATIC on the Ethereum network, and USDT on both the Ethereum and TRON networks. Support for these blockchains means you can convert your fiat to or store 1nch, AAVE, Shiba Inu (SHIB), Hedera (HBAR), Pepe (PEPE), Cardano (ADA), Algorand (ALGO), Stellar (XLM), USDT, Solana (SOL), VeChain (VET), BONK, and several other cryptos, as shown in Figure 2.
The crypto can be sent to another Revolut user or an exchange of your choice. Revolut-supported exchanges include Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, eToro, Bittrex, Bitstamp, and other popular platforms. At the time of writing, Revolut does not support transfers from Gate.io, KuCoin, ByBit, Huobi, Bitfinex, Bittrex, and Roqqu, as shown on Figure 3.
Now you may wonder if converting directly with Revolut is cheaper than using a P2P exchange. I’ve discovered that the crypto equivalent you get on Revolut is less than a P2P exchange. However, the difference is not significant. Hence, if you want to save time while losing 5 to 10 dollars, that might sit well with you.
How to Send Crypto with Revolut
Download and sign up on the app to start sending and receiving crypto internationally with Revolut.
Select the ‘crypto’ option on the app, a separate crypto wallet will be created for you.
There’s a ‘Send’ button that will enable you to transfer cryptos internationally. You can either input the recipient’s crypto address to send to them, or ask them to create a Revolut account which they can use to receive crypto. The crypto can then be converted to their local currency.
Interestingly, your regular Revolut account is connected to the crypto wallet which enables you to make conversions between fiat and crypto. Also, the recipient can choose to convert the received digital asset to their local currency. Thus, this method is easy and fast. However, it’s more ideal if the recipient is in developed countries since Revolut has some limitations to the number of countries it accepts.
On the other hand, you can receive crypto with your Revolut account using the ‘Receive’ button.
Simply copy the address of the token you want to receive and give it to the sender. The funds will be deposited in your Revolut crypto wallet once it’s been received. You can choose to hold this funds as crypto or convert to fiat.
2. Send Via Peer to Peer Exchanges
Based on my experience, I’d often send Pounds from Revolut or Llyods bank to Lemonade Finance (Lemfi).
Lemfi is an app that allows users to send money from the US, UK, and Canada African, Asian, South American, and European countries. Thus, you can send money to Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Benin, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, China, Pakistan, India, Spain, Belgium, Italy, and other countries.
I use Lemfi to send money from the UK to Nigeria. Once I’ve converted Pounds to naira on the app, I can then buy USDT from Gate.io or ByBit.
How to Convert Fiat to Another Currency with Lemfi
Here are detailed steps on how to convert a foreign currency to another currency with lemfi.
- First off, download the Lemfi app and set up an account if you haven’t before this time.
- Fund your account with money. You can either link your bank to Lemfi for instant transfers or send via account details.
- Select the three-dotted icon on the app’s homepage.
- Next, click on ‘Exchange Currency’ to trade your local currency to the currency you want to transact on P2P with. In this example, I’m using the naira.
- Enter the amount you want to exchange and click on ‘Continue’ The base currency should be at the top.
Withdraw the fiat by selecting ‘Send to bank account.’ Proceed to enter your account details to send the funds.
Apart from Lemfi, Nala is another app to convert foreign currencies and send to other countries. Their rate is just as competitive as Lemfi’s.
How to Buy Crypto From P2P Exchanges
Now that you have successfully converted your money to a fiat of your choice, it’s time to head to crypto exchanges that support P2P transactions. I use Gate.io and Bybit to buy and sell crypto with fiat. In this example, I’ll show you the steps you can use to purchase crypto from Gate.io.
Start by downloading the Gate.io app or visit the platform’s official website.
Once you have access to the exchange’s p2p section, choose a credible seller to purchase Bitcoin or USDT from. I often buy USDT due to the stability of its price. Once you’ve initiated a transaction, you’ll be prompted to send your local currency to the user’s account. You’ll then have to mark the payment as completed for the seller to release their crypto to your Gate.io or ByBit account.
Now you may be wondering? how do you know if the seller is credible? Consider the following:
- Is their rating above 90%
- Have they made more than 100 transactions?
- Is their transaction completion time fast?
While these two are not full proof that the seller is reliable, it gives them some credibility over others since your purchase would go more smoothly than others. The rating time is important especially if you want the transaction to complete within minutes because I’ve had to wait for six hours for my funds to be released.
On the other hand, you can use Binance for these P2P transactions. There are, however, limitations to the number of countries that can use Binance for P2P. Nigerians for instance, can no longer use the platform to buy and sell crypto for fiat.
Conclusion
Now that you know how to transfer money internationally using crypto, go ahead and try it. These are simple methods you can fund family and friends within a couple of minutes. The transfers are either free or cost very little to move these funds. It’s your decision to make whether you’ll be using a crypto app for these transfers or settling for a P2P exchange. The former will save time while the latter allows you to choose various rates to convert your fiat to crypto.
