International Money Transfer

Money ....Money....Money....this is one very important thing that you should constantly have in mind, while studying in Australia. Emergencies can arise any time to any one and the one best thing that can save you when you are faced with one is money.

Im quoting these examples from personal experience and also from peer experience. what sort of emergencies can arise? (my intention here is not to scare you but to make you feel mentally prepared for the worst)
a) you have been in ozland for 4 months now, and have found accomodation and are happily settled with uni, and have a part time job in a petrol station with a decent pay and you are able to manage your expenses reasonably with it. you work weekends in the gas station and manage uni work well in the week. one evening while returning from work, you are attacked by a few drunk people in the road. they steal your phone and your money, and also injure you badly. you could have a fracture or be bleeding severely in which case you need medical attention. yes, you have insurance cover but you will always need to pay upfront and then get it re imbursed later. thats how it works. you might even need to have a surgery done and it is extremely costly.

b)you have been spending money casually without planning for one whole semester ...but towards the second semester realize that you may not have enought to pay the fee

c) your room rent could go up suddenly and so could other items like groceries.

d)your room mate could leave in between and the shared rent will now have to be paid just by you ...could mean you pay 200 or so extra

e)your parents or immeadiate family member is not well and they need you to visit them or send money for support or do both. when some thing like this happens, you will automatically be under emotional stress and it can partly be relieved if you have money and can transfer it as per requirements. you must remember that in such a situation, traveling and sending money at the same time can be a huge financial burden which you must be willing to face.

f)when you arrived in australia, you might not have had friends but your new good friend of 6 months might require urgent financial help ...dont you think its your duty to assist?

All Banks in Australia have provisions for internet based money transfer (Nationally and Internationally). all of them have their own procedures and protocols for how to go about doing money transfer. doing a local transfer is easy and is relatively hassle free. if you know the account holders name, bsb and acc no: you can do a local transfer in a jiffy. however, international transfer involves more steps, more procedures. you will need to show 100 points of ID (passport), you might have to go to a teller in a bank to do it. doing an international transfer online is not adviceable. Also, there are lots of private money transfer agencies who promise you to give the best rates. Western Union is one of the most prominent agents with a very good track record. the fund transfer process is extremely efficient and takes very little time. you will simply need to know the name of the person and location and you can simply fill out a form in which you specify how much you would want to send and youre done.  within minutes money can be received at the other end. you will be given a unique number called "Money Transfer Control Number" which you must give to the receiver to enable authenticate the transfer. the transaction through banks can cost around 26-28 $ while Western union would charge $30 for the same. actually the commission you would pay WU depends on the amount you intend to send. so check the rates table before going to a WU counter.