Enviando Dinheiro para Casa: Compare Custos e Conheça Seus Direitos

Muitas famílias na região de DC enviam dinheiro para parentes em El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Etiópia, Nigéria e muitos outros países. Empresas competem por esse negócio, e algumas anunciam "sem taxas". Mas a taxa é apenas uma parte do custo.

O dinheiro enviado para outro país é chamado de transferência por remessa. Seu custo tem três partes:

• A taxa de transferência que a empresa cobra de você.
• A margem de câmbio. Muitas empresas oferecem uma taxa de câmbio menor que a de mercado e mantêm a diferença. Você não vê isso como uma taxa, mas sua família recebe menos.
• Impostos e outras taxas, como o imposto federal de 1% sobre transferências pagas em dinheiro, ou taxas cobradas por um banco no outro país.

A melhor forma de comparar é simples. Por um valor igual de dólares, qual empresa entrega mais dinheiro para sua família depois de todos os custos?

Se o outro país usa o dólar americano, como fazem El Salvador e Equador, não há taxa de câmbio. Então basta comparar as taxas.

A federal rule, the Remittance Transfer Rule, protects people who send money from the United States to other countries. It covers most transfers of more than $15. Companies that make 500 or fewer transfers a year do not have to follow it, so use a well-known provider.

Before you pay, the company must give you a disclosure, on paper or on a screen. It must show:

• The amount you are sending
• The fees and taxes the company collects from you
• The exchange rate
• The amount your family will receive
• A note if other fees or taxes in the other country could lower that amount

If the company advertises its transfers in your language at that location, ask for the disclosure in your language. It must give it to you in that language.

After you pay, you get a receipt. It shows the date the money will be available, your rights, and how to complain. Keep it until your family has the money. Keep it longer if there is a problem.

1. Cancel within 30 minutes. After you pay, you usually have up to 30 minutes to cancel for free, as long as the money has not been picked up or deposited. You get your money back, including the fees.
2. Report errors within 180 days. Contact the company if your family got less than the receipt promised, the money never arrived, or it arrived late. You have 180 days from the date the receipt said the money would be available.
3. The company must investigate. It has 90 days to look into the problem, and it must tell you what it found. If it made an error, it may have to refund your money or send the transfer again at no cost to you.
4. Complain if needed. If the company does not fix the problem, file a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) at consumerfinance.gov/complaint or by phone at (855) 411-2372.

What to say when you report an error

Hello. My name is [your name]. I sent a transfer on [date]. The confirmation number is [number]. The receipt says [amount] would be available to [name of the person receiving it] in [country] by [date]. [The money has not arrived.] or [My family received less than the receipt says.] I want to report an error. Please investigate and send me the result in writing. What is my case number?

A federal law passed in 2025 created a new 1% tax on some transfers to other countries. It applies to transfers made on or after January 1, 2026. You pay the tax when you give the transfer company cash, a money order, a cashier's check, or a similar paper form of payment. The company collects the tax from you when you send the money.

$300 paid in cash × 1% = $3 tax

$3 × 12 months = $36 a year, if you send $300 in cash every month

The tax does not apply when the money comes from an account at a U.S. bank or credit union, or when you pay with a debit card or credit card issued in the United States. If you have an account, sending from it avoids the tax.

Be careful with credit cards. Some card companies treat a money transfer as a cash advance. Cash advances often have an extra fee, and interest often starts on the first day.

There are three common ways to send money to another country:

• Banks and credit unions. Useful if you and your family both have accounts. Prices vary a lot, so ask for the fee and the exchange rate.
• Money transfer companies with stores. Your family can often pick up cash. There are many locations in DC-area neighborhoods. If you pay in cash, the 1% tax applies.
• Apps and websites. These often cost less. You usually pay from a bank account or debit card, which avoids the 1% tax.

Before you send, go through this checklist:

• I compared at least two companies on the same day, for the same amount.
• I compared the amount my family will receive, not only the fee.
• I know whether the 1% tax applies to the way I am paying.
• I know how fast the money will arrive and how my family will get it.
• I checked the name, phone number, and account number of the person receiving the money.
• I kept the receipt and the confirmation number.