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Panama plays a key role in Central America with its positioning that allows trade to be connected between South and Northern America, as well as the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Much of Panama’s consistently high annual GDP (above 6%) is made from tolls allocated to these connecting ports, but commerce, banking, and tourism are major and growing sectors. It is one of the countries that has benefitedd from development assistance from Australia, which saw Australia provide A$100 million in funds, and a further trade investment of A$242 million. Panama is one of the Central and South American countries that falls within the operations of the Council on Australia Latin America Relations (COALAR).
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This council focuses on increased economic opportunities between Australia and countries like Panama and includes education, corporate growth, and social relations. Total imported and exported services trades between the countries came in at A$55 million in 2015.
Shanade is an investor from Melbourne, Australia, that has recently been contacted by a group of investors in Panama. Part of her feasibility analysis of the opportunity is to make sure she will not lose massive amounts of money in the process of sending capital through Panama. She has gone ahead and made some comparisons with available companies that will send money to Panama. She could only do comparisons in USD that is supported in Panama and used an amount of 1,000 AUD to evaluate the differences in transfer cost.
| Money transfer company A | Money transfer company B | |
|---|---|---|
| Exchange rate | 1 AUD = 0.682506 USD | 1 AUD = 0.68410 USD |
| Transfer fee | 60 AUD | Free |
| Amount of USD received in Panama for 1,000 AUD | 682.51 USD | 684.10 USD |
| Transfer time | 10 Minutes | n/a |
| Transfer options | Online, phone, agent | Online, bank to bank |
| Difference in X | - 1,59 USD | + 1.59 USD |
You can use the following services to send the PAB currency to Panama: Compass Global Markets, MoneyGram, Western Union and Xpress Money. It should be noted though, that Panama also works with the USD and, therefore, many services can be used to send the USD.
Citibank and HSBC both have a reach that extends to branches into Panama. Visit your nearest branch to see whether you can do a bank to bank transfer to a branch in Panama. Most banks in the world also support the USD that can be used in Panama. You will need to visit your local bank to verify whether you can send USD to a bank account in Panama to be used there.
Back to topEmergency cash transfers can be done using the services described above, except for Compass Global Markets. MoneyGram, Western Union and Xpress Money are all companies that can send a cash transfer within minutes and make for great emergency cash options. Please take note that these companies send the money in USD and if PAB currency is required, choose a location below that is close to a local exchange bureau with the correct currency availability.
Anyone visiting Panama is cautioned to move with high degrees of safety measures and attention to personal safety. When going to pick up a cash transfer, go with a fellow associate, friend or family member if possible. Keep your personal belongings safe and especially take care with bags that carry your tracking or reference numbers, receipts and ID.
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