Most people pick a delivery method last. They choose a provider, type in an amount, and only then see a dropdown: bank deposit, cash pickup, mobile wallet, card. The choice looks like an afterthought. It isn’t. It changes how fast the money lands, what it costs, and if your relative has to stand in a queue.
So let’s do it in order. Work through the steps below and stop at the first one that gives you an answer.
Step 1: Find out what the receiver already has
Don’t start with what you prefer. Start with what is already in their pocket and on their phone.
Ask them three things. Do they have an active account at a bank or similar institution that is in their own name? Do they have a smartphone, or only a basic handset? Do they carry a government-issued photo ID that a pickup agent will accept?
If the answer to the first question is yes, you probably want a bank deposit or a card transfer, and you can skip ahead to Step 2. If it’s no, but they use a mobile wallet every week, jump to Step 4. If it’s no to both, cash pickup is the likely route, and Step 3 is where you slow down.
One more thing before you move on. Ask for the details in writing, copied from their banking app or wallet screen, not read out over a bad phone line. A single wrong digit in an account number is the most common reason a deposit goes astray.
Check this: can the receiver show you, today, a screenshot of the account or wallet they want to use?
Step 2: If they have a bank account, choose between deposit and card
A bank deposit is the default for a reason. The money goes straight into an account the receiver already controls. No pickup, no agent, no cash to carry home. Depending on the country and the route, you’ll need an account number plus a bank code, or an IBAN in places that use them. Your provider’s form will say which.
Speed varies. Some corridors settle within minutes, others take a business day or more, and bank holidays on either end can stretch that. Our guide to how long international transfers take covers the reasons, so we won’t repeat them here.
Then there’s the card option, sometimes called push-to-card. Instead of an account number, you enter the receiver’s debit card number and the money is sent to the account behind it. Visa describes its version as needing only the recipient’s 16-digit Visa Debit card number, with funds usually arriving within about 30 minutes, though it says timing depends on the receiving bank, the account type and whether the payment crosses a border. It also says the card has to be an eligible one. Not every card, bank or country qualifies, so a provider will tell you at checkout whether it works.
Which is better? If the receiver’s card number is easy to get and your provider offers the option, card can be quicker. If the card isn’t supported, or if the receiver is nervous about sharing a card number with anyone, account details are the normal alternative. Never ask for a card’s security code or PIN. A genuine transfer to a card doesn’t need either.
Before you confirm: read the account name your provider shows (if it shows one) back to the receiver before you confirm.
Step 3: If they have no account, think carefully about cash pickup
Cash pickup means the receiver walks into an agent location, such as a shop, exchange house, post office or bank branch, and collects notes. You get a reference number, you pass it on, and they show ID.
It reaches people that other methods don’t. It’s also, on average, the more expensive route. In its fourth-quarter 2024 data, the World Bank’s Remittance Prices Worldwide programme put the average cost of sending the equivalent of $200 at 6.26%. Non-digital services averaged 6.92% and digital ones 4.64%. Those are averages across a lot of corridors, so your own route may be better or worse. But the direction is a useful warning: paying with cash at a counter, or collecting cash at the other end, tends to cost more than a fully digital path.
Practical points on cash pickup:
- The receiver usually needs valid photo ID, and many providers want the name on it to match the name you entered. ID rules differ by country and provider, so check the provider’s help page for that exact corridor.
- Agents hold limited cash. Large amounts sometimes need notice, or are paid in more than one visit.
- The pickup code is effectively the key. Treat it like cash. Send it only to the receiver, never post it anywhere.
We cover the safety side in more depth in our guide to sending money to a family member with no bank account.
Your check: does the receiver have the exact ID the provider names, and is the pickup point reasonably close to where they live?
Step 4: If they use a mobile wallet, check the wallet is the right kind
Mobile money means a balance held on a phone account, usually linked to a mobile number, and usable to pay bills, buy airtime, send to others or cash out at an agent. It’s huge in some regions. The GSMA’s State of the Industry Report 2026 counts 2.3 billion registered mobile money accounts at the end of 2025, with 593 million active in the last 30 days, and 30 million registered agents. International remittances through mobile money were about $45 billion that year. It also says sub-Saharan Africa accounts for roughly three-quarters of mobile-money remittance value.
Notice the gap between registered and active accounts. A wallet that exists on paper isn’t necessarily one your relative uses. Ask whether they used it this month.
Next, check three things. First, does your sending provider support that specific wallet brand in that country? “Mobile wallet” isn’t one network; it’s many, and coverage is patchy. Second, will the wallet accept money from abroad, and is there a cap on balance or monthly inflow? Limits depend on the wallet’s verification level, so ask the receiver what theirs is. Third, what does cashing out cost? The money may arrive cheaply, then lose a slice at the agent counter. The GSMA report gives a global average mobile-money remittance cost of 3.63% in the first quarter of 2025, but 8.78% for sub-Saharan Africa. Treat your own corridor as a separate question.
Ask this: ask the receiver what the agent charges to cash out, for the amount you plan to send.
Step 5: Compare the real outcome, not the label
You’ve now narrowed it to one or two options. Compare them by how much the receiver ends up holding in their own currency.
Here’s an illustrative example with made-up numbers. Say you send 300 US dollars, and the mid-market rate is 50 units of the receiving currency per dollar. Three offers appear:
| Method (illustrative) | Fee | Rate offered | Cash-out cost | Receiver ends up with |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bank deposit | $2 | 49.5 | none | 14,751 |
| Cash pickup | $6 | 49.0 | none | 14,406 |
| Mobile wallet | $1 | 49.5 | 1.5% at agent | 14,578 |
The ideal figure at the mid-market rate with no fees would be 300 x 50 = 15,000. Bank deposit: (300 – 2) x 49.5 = 14,751, so the receiver is 249 short, or about 1.7%. Cash pickup: (300 – 6) x 49.0 = 14,406, short by 594, about 4.0%. Wallet: (300 – 1) x 49.5 = 14,800.5, then 1.5% comes off at the agent, leaving about 14,578, short by roughly 2.8%.
The wallet had the smallest sending fee and still came second. That’s why you add up the whole route. For a rate check before you start, our USD to PHP and USD to KES pages show where the mid-market rate sits. Rates refreshed hourly, so the number you see is a reference point, not a quote.
Do the sum: multiply it out, from your amount to the receiver’s final cash or balance, for every option before you pick.
Step 6: Decide, then do a test run
If you’re still torn, use this quick path:
- Receiver has a bank account they use: choose bank deposit. Choose card only if your provider supports it for that card and the receiver is happy to share the number.
- No bank account, but an active wallet that your provider supports: choose the wallet, after confirming the cash-out cost.
- Neither: choose cash pickup, with ID and location confirmed first.
- Urgent, and the receiver is near an agent: cash pickup is often the fastest handover, but ask the provider what “available” means on the receipt.
Send a small amount first. It costs a little in fees, and it tells you whether the details, the ID and the agent all work.
Know your rights too. In the United States, for example, the CFPB’s remittance rules give senders a right to cancel within 30 minutes of paying, as long as the money has not been picked up or deposited, and to report an error within 180 days of the date the money was meant to be available. Other countries have their own rules, and some have none that help much. Check with your provider.
For a broader look at pricing, the currency grid is a good place to see several pairs side by side.
Keep this: save the receipt, with the reference number and the stated delivery time, until the money is confirmed in the receiver’s hands.
Sources
- GSMA, The State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money 2026
- World Bank, Remittance Prices Worldwide, December 2024 report
- World Bank, SDG 10.c.1 metadata
- Visa, Send money to an eligible Visa Debit card
- CFPB, Helping consumers understand remittance transfers
Checked: November 2026
