Making the most of the diaspora

Whether you're going to see money coming in, or you're sending money out, make sure you, your business connections, friends and relatives get the best exchange rates.

Ireland, relative to its population size, has one of the largest diasporas of any country in the world. This number is around the 3 million mark, using the official government figures for everyone living overseas entitled to Irish citizenship - not counting everyone who claims Irish ancestry.

So, we're talking about an impressive sum of money coming and going through inter-personal transactions, where roughly $750m comes in, as per the latest estimates from the World Bank. Most of this comes from the UK, the US, Australia and Canada. And there is an estimated $2.8bn heading out, the lion's share of this heading to family and friends in the UK.

But this money is going to have to go through international money transfers and the foreign exchange market. This could lead to it potentially losing much of its value through unfavourable exchange rates and high transfer fees.

This is where the Irish Times International Money Transfer Service can help. The service is provided by exchange experts Moneycorp, specialists with over 35 years experience of helping individuals get great rates for foreign exchange and save money on their international money transfers.

The service can save you, your relatives, your business or investors hundreds, even thousands, on international money transfers. This is because Moneycorp can deliver much more competitive exchange rates, typically saving as much as 2-3% vs a bank on a money transfer.

Not only are the rates more competitive, but the fees are also much lower too, as low as €5, which compares favourably to a typical high street bank charge of €20-€40  to make an international transfer.

Importantly, Moneycorp also provide all customers with a personal account manager who can give expert guidance on the foreign exchange market to help you transfer your money at the right time to get the best exchange rate. With exchange rates fluctuating dramatically over the course of a year, sometimes even within a few days, this kind of professional help can save you a great deal of money.

Moneycorp can also offer specialist services for your transfers that can protect you from market fluctuations in advance, or enable you to automatically target better rates, so you can sit back and relax, knowing your money transfer will be made at the exchange rate you want.

With the global economy set to get moving again, start planning now on how to make the most of moving money around the world, whether to, or from, friends and family, into investment opportunities or expanding your business.