What is an Email Money Transfer?

An email money transfer is a banking service offered by financial institutions in some countries. People can use this banking service to transfer money to others who hold bank accounts in the country from which they are initiating the transfer. Essentially, the service works like a bank-to-bank transfer, except that it is handled online and doesn’t require the sender to have the receiver’s bank account information. The sender usually only needs an account at a bank that offers this service and the recipient’s name and email address.

Some people might be hesitant to perform email money transfers because they worry that the transfers won’t be secure. They are often concerned about placing sensitive information in emails that could possibly be intercepted. The truth is the money isn’t actually being transferred by email and no account numbers are sent via email messages. These transfers are referred to as email money transfers because the recipient receives an email notification that lets him know that someone has sent a money transfer to him.

The way an email money transfer works is fairly simple. An individual logs into the account he has with a participating bank or other financial institution and clicks a button or tab to go to the Web site’s money transfer section. He then completes an online form to set up the money transfer. The form is usually relatively short and asks for the exact amount of money the person wants to transfer, the email address of the recipient, and a security question. This security question is used to make sure that only the intended recipient gains access to the transferred funds.

Once the initiator of the transfer has completed the required form, he usually clicks submit to start the transfer. The recipient receives an email notification of the transfer and must accept it before the banking institution will complete the money transferring process. He must know the correct answer to the security question in order to access the money, however. If the email money transfer notification goes to the wrong email address, the unintended recipient won’t be able to retrieve the money unless he knows the answer to the security question.

There are some services that allow consumers to send email money transfers internationally. These services may charge higher fees or employ additional security measures, however. In some cases, sending an email money transfer this way may take a little longer than same-country transfers.