Sending money between people became much easier and more popular with the triumph of Bizum, a tool run by the main Spanish banks that allows transfer up to 500 euros instantly and just by knowing the recipient’s phone number. But it is not the only way to make instant shipments: if you are not convinced by Bizum, there are alternatives.
Bizum is the best way to send money, but there are good alternatives
Bizum has not become the most used transfer tool by chance: thanks to the fact that it is available in most Spanish entities, because it has no cost, due to its extreme simplicity and also thanks to the fact that a phone number is enough to make the shipment, the service created by Redsys for banks covers most needs. However, it does not hurt to know other ways to transfer money.
From the classic ones that are available to any bank account to those offered through apps: you don’t have to be anchored to Bizum if you want to send money to a contact. Let’s see the most recommended, those that you can use without problem in Spain.
Send money by PayPal
It is, without a doubt, the best alternative to Bizum: PayPal allows you to transfer money instantly and without commissions, all you have to do is know the other person’s PayPal address. If you have an account on this platform, and your contact too, the process is so simple that you can do it with two steps in the app.
- Open PayPal on your phone.
- Click on the “Send” button.
- Choose one of the contacts from the list. In the event that it does not appear, ask the recipient to send you their PayPal address or email that they use on the platform.
- Select the amount and write the message you want as a concept.
- Make sure that the account or card that PayPal is going to use for the transfer is the one you want to use (it must have funds) and press send.
The money is transferred to the other person’s PayPal account instantly and without any commission.
Sending money by PayPal Xoom
That your contact does not have a PayPal account? Well, that’s what Xoom is for, a service integrated into PayPal itself. It allows you to send money to anyone in many countries. To do this, you must activate Xoom as follows:
- Open PayPal and look at the “Send money to other parts of the world” section.
- Select “To bank account”.
- The PayPal Xoom activation form will appear. Click on “Accept and continue”.
- Choose the country of destination and mark the money to send. Xoom has a cost as a commission, you must take it into account.
- Click on next and select the transfer mode.
- Complete the recipient’s information and finish the transaction by accepting the shipment.
Send money by Verse
This transfer platform is very similar to Bizum, although less well known. It offers a more or less similar service: sending money to contacts with a Verse account (it also allows the transfer to those without an account). It even offers split the money between groups of friendsin order to make it easier to pay for a restaurant, for example.
To use see you must do the following:
- Download the Verse app: it’s available for both Android and iPhone.
- Open the app and register an account with the phone number and email.
- To transfer money you will need to verify yourself within Verse. Scan your ID and wait for said verification.
- Once you have the service ready, click on the arrows icon and go to “Add money to Verse”. You need to have money in the service to transfer it.
- When everything is ready, click on the arrows icon again and go to “Pay”.
- Choose the contact from the list or scan their VerseTag, the QR code provided by the app.
- Select the amount of money to transfer, accept and the other person will receive it instantly.
Send money by bank transfer
There is no reason to forget the classic ways of sending money to another contact: they still work perfectly and, thanks to the apps, you can send directly from the phone. You need to have your bank’s application installed and with an active user. The rest should be like this:
- Open your bank’s app and go to your checking account section.
- Find the menu of available operations. Its location and name varies with each banking app.
- Choose the “Transfer” option.
- Select the type of transfer you are going to make. If you need the payment to be immediate, your bank will charge you a commission.
- Select the recipient from your address book or, if you haven’t made transfers yet, enter their bank account. Obviously, you have to ask for it.
- Mark the amount you want and click next.
- Confirm that all the data is correct and accept the money transfer.
This is the universal option and it is valid for anyone who has a current account. Although, since your bank probably has Bizum, the transfer is still a more cumbersome and slow alternative (or expensive if you choose immediate transfer). It’s up to you.
Alternatives to Bizum that are not yet available in Spain
The previous options can be used perfectly in Spain. And there are other platforms that plan to land without it having happened yet. Some of the most important are:
- WhatsApp payments. The messaging app is experimenting with sending money in some countries, such as India and Brazil. It will surely arrive in Spain in the medium term, but at the moment there is no news.
- Send money with Google Wallet. This money transfer method is only available in the United States at the moment. It is very similar to Bizum: once the contact with Google Wallet has been selected, the app allows you to transfer the desired amount.