Recommendations for global money transfer

I have an account with www.xe.com/fx and it has worked very well for me. Money is taken from my checking account by electronic transfer and a bank draft in the currency of my choice is sent by US mail directly to the recipient of my choice. The exchange rate is only slightly higher than the international rate on the day the transaction is initiated and there are no other fees.

Tim, how often have you used XE, how quickly does the transfer take place, and have you ever had any problems with a transaction not arriving in the recipient's account?

How good is the documentation of the transfer?

Xoom has given me the run-around on this and I very nervous about sending money again!

I have used XE twice to send Christmas gift money to relatives in the UK and once to pay the deposit at a London B&B that didn't accept credit cards. For security reasons, setting up the account took some time and effort (well worth it for everyone's peace of mind, IMO). Once you initiate a transaction, you can check the progress online, including the date the draft is delivered. It's been two years since my last transaction. If my memory serves me correctly, it took around a week--maybe a little longer--from the time I initiated each transaction for the draft to be delivered to the recipient. No problems whatsoever; but since the draft arrives by mail, the recipient has to go to the bank and deposit it in his or her account. If you need faster service, you can do a wire transfer; but you'll have to pay a fee for that. When I've needed to talk to a customer service person, I've had no trouble getting connected.

Have you thought of using Western Union? I used it to send a couple of deposits for travel in Croatia last year and it worked well. Cost per transfer at RiteAid was $15. Sending it through Western Union's website would have cost double that amount.