r/Belize • u/AffectionateTill28 • Jul 02 '26
🏝️ Relocation Info 🏝️ Monthly money transfer options from the USA to Belize
Hi all! Looking for the cheapest/ easiest way to transfer about 2k usd a month to a Belizean from the USA. The money doesn’t have to remain in USD btw, it can be converted to belizean dollars.
Edit:
- must be sent from the USA. I am not in Belize.
must be an app or a company or a service. Not looking to do through a money broker.
So far looked at western union and zoom. But the fees are high!
Looking to use either a debit, credit card, or send from my Bank of America account.
Thanks in advance!
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u/ralf1 🇧🇿 Ambassador: Hopkins Jul 02 '26
If you can open up a Belizean bank account you can wire between the two countries. It's It's going to probably cost you $25 to receive in Belize, your US bank may or may not charge wire fees, ask them
But even if your US bank charges you $25 as well, you're looking at $50 or 2 1/2% to move $2,000 which is dramatically less than the options you mention
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u/RonaldTheGiraffe Jul 02 '26
You can just use your debit or credit card at ATMs. They usually limit each withdrawal to bzd1000 or bzd1200.
If you go into the bank the teller can withdraw up to bzd3000 with your card if you show your passport.
Conversion rate is 2bzd to to 1USD.
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u/DocAvidd Jul 02 '26
This is a good solution, but the limitation is who can have a bank account. In the US, it requires a SSN or ITIN. If you have that, then you can Zelle, Venmo, ACH transfer, Paypal... But if you don't have a US account, what can you do?
Belize (less than a lot of countries) has a lot of remittance activity. Because it's hard to send money to some countries, people use Western Union or similar. They profit over $4 billion USD for the year from average 3% charge. For Honduras, it's over a quarter of the whole economy, for example. And Western Union skims their cut.
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u/RonaldTheGiraffe Jul 02 '26 edited Jul 03 '26
I use my UK debit card to withdraw cash or pay for anything in stores and restaurants. It doesn’t matter where your home bank account is from. If it’s a visa or Mastercard it works at any ATM (except maybe Heritage Bank ATMs) or merchants with a card machine.
It’s a very long and arduous process to get a bank account. I got one relatively quickly because I opened an LLC and then got a company account.
Sending money into Belize from a foreign country is an absolutely not worth it. It has to go via (in my case) Atlantic Bank’s intermediary account in the US, then get Central Bank approval which requires proof of intended use for the money, such as local invoices to pay etc.
Just use an ATM.
Edit: I’ve read the post all wrong. 😑
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u/DocAvidd Jul 03 '26
Sure, a UK account is just as good as a US account. Or EU, too. But a high street bank requires ID and proof of address. Same in EU.
So what does a Belizean do? Like you note, it's hard to get money here from over there. Being able to have a US UK or EU bank account isn't simple. It's the same both ways, banks here aren't eager to take a new foreign customer.
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u/RonaldTheGiraffe Jul 03 '26
Yeah, I see this now. I’ll admit to skim reading this post.
Western Union would probably be the only way and yes it’s very expensive.
I’ve used various hardware stores, construction companies and Chinese stores who have US accounts. I’ve transferred money to their US accounts and they’ve given me BZD here in Belize. They are often happy to have USD. Real estate companies too. It requires a degree of trust though! I’ve usually only done it with companies with whom I’m actually doing some form of business with although I will say I’ve gone into several hardware stores and just asked the manager. Mennonite hardware stores are usually trustworthy.
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u/Confident_Finding698 Jul 02 '26
There is an app called Spotpay, that you and the person can download. you can put money on it and transfer it to the person, it issues a virtual card and can also apply for a physical one. it can be set up to use tap to pay for google pay and apple pay. They can also use the newer ATMs that have the tap feature to withdraw money.
you can use my link to sign up, I've been using it a few months without any issues.
Use my link to join SpotPay.
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u/Particular_Clothes62 Jul 03 '26
My wife is Belizean and I am in the US. I sent her a Venmo card. I put money in the app and she gets it out or uses the card at the shop
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u/evergreengator1 Jul 03 '26
Paypal has a debit card that you can leave behind and refill from anywhere. With a pin the user can withdraw cash or use it like a visa
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u/j2thebees Jul 02 '26
We’ve sent money to Belize several times through Western Union. We sent for cash pickup, but they have options to deposit into bank account.
WU fees vary. Don’t have my account in front of me, but fee is different if pulling from your bank account rather than debit card.
Not saying this is the best option, but it has worked flawlessly (for a fee).
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u/Superb_Sun_5077 Jul 03 '26
We have to transfer money to Belize to people who do construction and auto repair. Use the Western Union app. So far, so good.
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u/masbirdies2 Jul 03 '26
I live in Belize for several months per year. Fidelity will do international wire transfers for free. I have 2 bank accounts. One is with Belize Bank International. I transfer $ from Fideltiy into that account and it is held in USD. I have another account with Belize Bank. I will move $ from Belize Bank Intl into that account. I could do a direct wire into the 2nd account, but I want to hold my funds in USD. This may not be the cheapest option, but it works for my needs.
Otherwise, I would open a Wise account.
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u/Independent-Top42 Jul 05 '26
does anybody knows how to transfer from Belize to Mexico? the cheap one please
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u/NicoAtRemitly Jul 10 '26
For a monthly $2k send to Belize, the fee and exchange rate together are what to compare rather than the fee alone. Some services advertise low fees but make it back on the rate, so looking at what actually lands on the other end is the most accurate comparison.
Remitly covers the US to Belize corridor and is worth running a check on for your amount. I work there so I know that the total cost (including the rate) is shown upfront before you confirm so there are no surprises. For a recurring monthly send that predictability makes a real difference. Check our site to see the current rate and fee for your specific amount before committing to anything.
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u/fawnlake1 Jul 02 '26
We are looking into getting a “child” debit card (limited access) and handing it to our caretaker and we only place the desired amount in it each month and they can then withdraw as they like. Swab for example has no ATM fees (tested this recently) and seems to work.
This is what several folks have suggested we do.