Modern technology, and mobile tech especially, is making a multitude of lifestyle services easier to deal with; provided you are up to speed with the latest tap, swipe, scan and track technology, many things, including sending money overseas, can be done faster, easier, and cheaper using apps.

Last week, Tech Radar published a list of it’s top 5 apps for money transfer. Where smaller transaction sizes are concerned (for sizeable amounts – 5 figures or more – it’s best to find a broker using a price comparison site), apps are surely the most convenient, cheapest and empowering way to send your hard earned cash to a grateful recipient.

Tech Radar’s top 5 was an interesting cross-section of available payment gateways. PayPal’s money transfer solution Venmo, designed for app-happy millennials, money transfer stalwart Western Union’s new mobile friendly effort; speedy and secure World Remit; fintech upstart Azimo; and last but not least; PayPal itself.

Whilst we agree that each of these apps have much to recommend them; from first-transaction-free introductory offers (World Remit), to refer a friend rewards (Azimo), to convenient card-scanning technology (Western Union), we feel that the list leaves out at least 3 of 2018’s most go-ahead, ground-breaking apps.

In terms of quality of service, disruptive impact, social status, and effective money management, surely no list of 2018’s best apps could be complete without these 3 A-lister services.

Revolut;

This London based fintech brand achieved the fabled “Unicorn” status in April this year, raising a further $250m at a valuation of $1.7bn. Revolut began life as a foreign payments provider, but now has the means to expand into a range of different services and launch a truly global service. Crucially, however, the international money transfer elements of this user-friendly and empowering service remain extremely competitive. Revolut allows customers to transfer money abroad for free, using real exchange rates as opposed to the less competitive rates often used by banks. This makes Revolut up to 10x cheaper than banks, and more competitive than rivals such as Western Union.

TransferWise;

Familiar to most regular senders of money overseas, Transferwise will always be remembered as the first disruptive international money transfer service to truly take the fight to the big banks and established MTO’s such as Western Union, or Ria Money Transfer. Before TransferWise began offering a cheaper alternative, these three enjoyed a virtual monopoly over the international money transfer market.

TransferWise uses a peer-to-peer matching service that allows people looking to send money to a particular country or currency to deal with another user sending money the other way. These “currency swaps” are usually a cheap and efficient way to transfer your money abroad, plus TransferWise keeps adding new services, such as the ability to open an overseas bank account in seconds flat, that ensures the company is always ahead of the game. The TransferWise app is user-friendly, money saving, and the UX and UI are quite simply, delicious!

One Pay FX;

A new, and potentially game-changing money transfer service, released by Santander, which uses blockchain technology, could be the most significant launch of 2018. Currently only available in the UK, Spain, Brazil and Poland, Santander has promised to keep rolling the service out to more countries over the course of the year. One Pay FX uses a payment protocol called XCurrent, developed using the cryptocurrency Ripple, in which Santander have made a $200m investment. Using One Pay, customers can complete transactions in less than 24 hours, with instant transfers a distinct possibility, and thanks to the new technology, fees may be some of the lowest on the market. It’s early days, but One Pay is a service that regular users of money transfer apps should be getting excited about.

This content is sourced and brought to you by The Money Cloud – comparing the best rates for sending money overseas offered by hand-picked, regulated brokers and money transfer agencies.