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This guide will help you get the best value for your dollar by comparing which services you can use and showing you what you should look for when choosing one.
The table below shows what money transfer services can help you send money from Australia to Somaliland.
The "Rate" and "Amount Received" displayed are indicative rates that have been supplied by each brand or gathered by Finder.
Exchange rates are volatile and change often. As a result, the exchange rate listed on Finder may vary to the actual exchange rate quoted for the brand. Please confirm the actual exchange rate and mention "Finder" before you commit to a brand.
The best way to send money to Somaliland depends largely on who's receiving the money and how they want it.
You can directly use mobile money services such as Dahabshiil to send money to Somaliland from certain countries, but your options may vary depending on where you are. For example, when using WorldRemit the recipient will either have to use Zaad or the WorldRemit wallet.
If the recipient needs it as cash, you may be able to use certain services with agent locations in Somaliland.
Somaliland's banking network is more geared towards business transfers than remittances and consumer payments, but you can still send personal bank transfers if needed. These will often be slower and more expensive than other options.
Somaliland's banking network is more geared towards business transfers than remittances and consumer payments, but you can still send personal bank transfers if needed. These will often be slower and more expensive than other options.
The table below shows how much it costs to send $500 from Australia to Somaliland as US dollars to give a sense of how much prices can vary between options. Although Somaliland's currency is the shilling, USD is often used for transferring money and is accepted in most places.
| Transfer service 1 | Transfer service 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Fee | $5 | $19.99 |
| Exchange rate | 1 AUD = 0.683 USD | 1 = 0.6926 USD |
| Transfer speed | Instant | Instant |
| Amount received | US$338.10 | US$332.45 |
| Receiver gets | US$5.65 more | US$5.65 less |
In this case, both options can get the money there almost immediately and both require the recipient to have a Telesom ZAAD account.
And even though one has fees almost 4 times as high as the other, there's only a US$5.65 difference in the end, due to the service with higher fees also offering better exchange rates.
In this way, the most cost-effective option can depend on how much you're sending.
Mobile money transfers and cash transfers can both get money to the recipient almost immediately, but there are some conditions to be aware of.
Bank transfers will often be slower.
If you want to send cash to Somaliland as quickly as possible, you should note that the speed of a transfer will vary depending on the payment method.
If you pay online with a bank transfer, it will typically take several days. But if you pay with card or at an agent location, it can be almost immediate. Keep in mind that card payments will often attract extra charges.
And in the end, how fast the money arrives depends on how fast the recipient can get to a pick-up location. You may also encounter issues with low transfer limits.
Mobile money transfer services can let you send money to recipients anywhere in Somaliland without them needing to pick anything up.
However, your recipient will need to have a mobile money account with a suitable provider in order to receive the money. As such, your options will vary depending on whether you also have an account with the provider.
For example, you could use WorldRemit to send money to anyone in Somaliland with a Zaad account, even if you don't have one yourself. But both you and the recipient might need a Dahabshiil account to use that instead.
The documentation you will need to provide may vary depending on the service you use and how much you're transferring.
Some things you might need to provide include:
Both cash transfer services and mobile money transfers can be used without bank accounts.
If there are too many options, it can be difficult to compare them all. Some of the things you can look at to make the decision easier include:
Generally, the best exchange rates will be the ones that are the closest to the official exchange rate (shown here) at any given time.
