Wise vs Western Union vs bKash: Remittance Comparison for Probashi

Sending money home from Qatar, UAE, KSA, US, UK, Malaysia or Singapore? Picking the right channel saves you tens of thousands of taka per year. Here's the test we ran sending USD 500 from each major corridor.

Qatar → Bangladesh (QAR 1,820 ≈ USD 500)

• Wise: QAR 8 fee + 0.5% FX margin → BDT 60,200 to recipient
• Western Union: QAR 25 + 1.8% FX margin → BDT 58,900
• bKash via exchange house: QAR 15 + 0.8% FX margin → BDT 59,750 + 2.5% govt incentive (BDT 1,494) → BDT 61,244 (winner)

UAE → Bangladesh (AED 1,840 ≈ USD 500)

• Wise: AED 7 + 0.4% → BDT 60,400
• Western Union: AED 22 + 1.7% → BDT 58,950
• bKash via UAE Exchange: AED 12 + 0.7% → BDT 59,800 + incentive → BDT 61,295 (winner)

Saudi Arabia → Bangladesh (SAR 1,880 ≈ USD 500)

• Wise: SAR 9 + 0.5% → BDT 60,150
• Western Union: SAR 25 + 1.7% → BDT 58,800
• Al Rajhi Bank to BD bank: SAR 20 + bank FX → BDT 59,500 + incentive → BDT 60,988 (winner for big amounts)

USA → Bangladesh (USD 500)

• Wise: $4 + 0.6% → BDT 60,500 (winner)
• Remitly Economy: $3.99 + 0.8% → BDT 60,300
• Western Union: $7 + 1.5% → BDT 59,400

Universal lessons

• Always use official channels — the 2.5% govt incentive is worth more than any fee saving.
• Wise wins from US/UK due to lowest FX margin.
• bKash via exchange house wins from Middle East — combination of low fee + incentive.
• Western Union wins only when you need cash pickup immediately.

Track every send in Moneybag

Log each remittance as a wallet transfer in Moneybag: from your QAR/AED/SAR wallet → to recipient's BDT wallet. The FX rate is saved, so year-end you have an exact log for tax or family reconciliation.