How do remittance agents remit money or send money to other countries?

Probably by crediting the funds to an agent in this country who either has funds on deposit in that country or has correspondents in that country from which the money eventually can be paid out from the final link in the chain. Or, if the bank you take the money to actually has a correspondent relationship with the bank where the money is being sent, they can credit the funds to that bank's account at their own bank and request that the other bank draw the funds out of that account and pay the money to the party that you're sending it to.


So if you go to Bank A and request that a wire transfer be made to a certain country, Bank A probably deposits the money to an account at their own bank in the name of Bank B, a correspondent of theirs who they know either has banking offices, correspondents, or funds on deposit in that country, instructing them that the funds are eventually to be paid to Bank C, D or whatever, the bank you requested the money be paid out at. Bank B would do similarly to Bank A until the last bank is finally reached. So, say when it gets to the final bank, that bank can take the money out of their account that they have with the previous bank in the chain to pay the party the money was sent to.


Just a guess, don't take it as gospel, but probably something like that. I did work in banknote trading for years, but that's cash. Did take orders for wire transfers, but didn't do any of the back office processing of them. I would presume if it were something like Western Union, it wouldn't work much differently, but being one company, there may be fewer links in the chain- the money would have to be deposited somewhere and eventually be taken out of an account at the final destination.|||It is a service for people who need to send money to other countries. Out of this service, they earn a fee. Hence, it is a business for them.