Sending money refers to moving funds from one person to the other. You can send money to buy goods and services, pay someone their salary, give someone a prize and so on. There are various platforms that you can use to transfer funds. They include banks, credit unions, and mobile wallets. In most cases, when transferring funds, the recipient will always know who has sent them money as their transaction message shows the sender. Today we want to see how to send money anonymously.
Anonymous means unknown. When talking about sending money anonymously, it means that you do not want the recipient to know that you are the one who has sent them money. Maybe you want to pay someone’s hospital bill and do not want them to know the source, you want to send funds to a children’s home without them knowing your real identity, and many other reasons why you would wish to remain unknown when you send funds.
Nowadays, the internet has brought about the possibility of sending money online. You can open a bank, credit union, or mobile wallet account online, recharge online, and transfer funds to various recipients. You only need to have the correct information about the recipient, and you are good to go. Depending on the platform, you can send money with a checking account number, username, phone number, or email address.
Which are the best platforms to send money?
You can use various platforms to move funds from one person to another. They include the following.
i) Banks
Banks are financial companies that allow you to open accounts and deposit money for various financial companies. You can have a checking or savings account with your bank. There are also other types of accounts that you can open for your transactions. When sending funds, a checking account is more beneficial.
You can send money with a checking account number instantly to account holders within your branch. You can also send money to accounts within other institutions by using the account and routing numbers. Send funds online upon logging in to your bank’s website or using a banking app. Alternatively, you can send money to someone else at a physical branch with the assistance of bank tellers.
ii) Credit unions
Credit unions are member-owned financial institutions that aim to uplift the financial capability of their members. You can join a credit union if you have a common bond with the existing members, such as worshiping in the same church, living in the same locality, or working in the same place. The institutions use the same formats of sending money as those used by banks.
Banks and credit unions allow you to write checks to send money to others. The recipient then cashes out or deposits the check at a bank, in a mobile wallet, or credit union.
iii) Mobile wallets
Mobile wallets are financial institutions that allow you to manage your funds online. Examples include PayPal, Payoneer, Venmo, and Cash App. They are easy to use, and you only need to add a bank or supported payment card to top up your balance for your transactions.
For example, PayPal allows you to send money to others using their email ID. Cash App allows you to use the recipient’s $Cashtag, phone number, or email associated with their accounts when sending funds.
Sending money using mobile wallets is fast since the funds can arrive instantly at the recipient’s account.
iv) Prepaid cards
Prepaid cards are payment cards that do not link to any financial institution. However, you may link them at will to a bank, credit union, or mobile wallet account. The fact that the card does not necessarily link to a bank account is the main difference between it and debit cards.
Prepaid cards allow you to manage your account online using a mobile app whereby you can send money to others from the app. If transferring money from one card to another, you may require the phone number or the email address associated with the receiving card account.
v) Money orders
A money order is a document that resembles a check but is a bit different. When sending funds via money order, you pay the amount to send to the cashier; then, they get the check ready. You should sign your check before sending it. The recipient can get it through postal services and deposit or cash it out at the nearest bank.
How to send money anonymously?
If you want to send funds anonymously, then that can be easy as there are various ways you can do it. Let us look at the various ways below.
i) Use PayPal
You can create a PayPal account with an email address not tied to your name. PayPal accepts any functional email address as long as you use the proper documentation and bank account to open your account.
Since recipients will only see your email ID when you send them money, it is an excellent opportunity to send funds anonymously. Payoneer, similar to PayPal, also allows you to transfer funds to others anonymously. You can send money to someone else and what they see is your email ID.
ii) Use money transfer services such as Western Union and Xoom
Western Union allows you to send funds to others at a physical branch or online. You do not have to tell the recipient who you are, as the funds will reflect in their bank account. If they inquire, their bank can tell them that the funds entered their account from Western Union or whichever transfer service you use.
iii) Have someone else deliver money
You can have someone deliver funds to someone on your behalf. You can tell them not to tell the recipient who gave them funds, especially if you wanted to help them anonymously. Even though it is an old way of sending money, it is still effective even today if you use an honest person.
How to send money using a bank account?
You can send funds from a bank account online or at a physical branch, as I mentioned earlier. When sending money online, you need to log into your account online or in your mobile banking app, navigate to the transfer funds section, and enter the necessary details to complete the transfer. There are two ways you can send funds to others. They include;
- Wire transfer
- ACH transfer
- Zelle
A wire transfer allows one to transfer funds fast between financial companies. You can send finances from your account to another using the routing and account numbers of the concerned institution. Domestic wire transfers take around 24 hours to complete, while international transfers can take 3-5 business days.
Wire transfers require direct interaction between the sending and receiving bank officials to facilitate the transfer. Again, the money transfer method is suitable for moving large amounts of money.
Since money moves instantly, the method is a little bit insecure since it is almost impossible to recover your funds when you send them to the wrong recipient. The method also charges sending and receiving fees and is thus a bit expensive.
When sending funds online, you may need to verify the transfer using the two-way verification method, whereby you have to receive a code in your phone number to allow a transfer. However, you can send money from a bank account without verification when transferring funds over the counter.
ACH transfer involves moving money to other banks through the Automated Clearing House, a third-party institution that facilitates transferring money across banks. When sending funds domestically, it takes 3-5 days for the transfer to complete. It can take even longer when sending finances internationally using the method. However, you can send and receive money for free using ACH in most cases.
When it comes to sending money using Zelle, then things are easier. You only need the recipient’s phone number, and the funds will instantly reflect in their linked bank accounts. However, Zelle does not allow you to send funds internationally.
How do you send money with a check?
As I mentioned earlier, a check allows you to send money to others. In this era, most people do not know how to send funds with a check since the method is becoming outdated. However, it is easy to carry out the process.
When writing a check, you need to write the amount of money you need to transfer to someone both in words and figures, the date of writing your check, to whom the check is for, and then sign. An unsigned check is invalid.
You can either write the regular check whereby upon writing, the beneficiary has to deposit or cash it out in a bank account, credit union, or mobile wallet. Money is not deducted from your account until they deposit or cash it out.
Alternatively, you can purchase a cashier’s check whereby you must pay for the check immediately after purchasing it. Such checks have low chances of bouncing as already, the bank has the funds with them.
Bottom line
Sending money refers to moving funds from one person to the other through various platforms such as banks, credit unions, prepaid card accounts, and mobile money wallets. Banks are the most familiar ways of sending funds to others, whereby you can use wire or ACH transfer methods. You can also transfer money to someone else by writing a check. Online transfer of funds is fast and convenient.
