PFA: A wire transfer is one of three common ways of moving funds across national borders. It is used to transfer funds from the sender's account to the recipient's account in the same currency that it is sent.

This usually takes three to five business days. As you have said in your email, it is costly as both parties to the transfer pay, each to his bank, in their respective countries. Our local banks charge a flat fee to receive and a flat fee to send money by wire transfer.

A draft is a foreign currency cheque. Like the wire transfer, there is no limit to the amount that may be sent and it is a cheaper option to the receiver, who is not required to pay. Senders using our local banks pay a flat fee.

The cheque may be sent by post or other means, is less convenient because the receiver or someone else must make an effort to take it to a financial institution to negotiate or deposit it, and may take more time to move from sender to receiver.

Remittance service

The remittance service is another option. The money is wired from the remittance company, some of which are linked to commercial banks. The transfer can be effected in 10 minutes, but this would require the recipient to be at the reception point to access it promptly.

The recipient does not pay, but the cost of this type of transaction to the sender is determined by the size of the transfer and is set by bands.

Such funds do not automatically go to a bank account as with a wire transfer and there is a limit to how much money can be transferred in a single transaction. Generally, funds remitted in this way are paid to the recipient in the currency of the receiving country.

Of the two investment options you have cited, the money market account seems the better choice, but let's take a closer look at both of them.

The mutual fund/unit trust option will normally result in some growth in the value of your investment. There is a challenge though: time. You need the money in September - September 2008, I assume.

These funds usually require that you keep your money invested for a minimum of 90 days. You will notice that such funds have just one price as opposed to a capital growth fund, for example, which has a bid price and an ask price.

If you encash before 90 days, you may be required to pay a penalty in some form. One fund, for instance, charges a fee equivalent to five per cent of the sum being encashed.

A money market fund gives you an opportunity to get a good return by investing in a variety of interest-earning securities, just like the unit trust or mutual fund. You can access your funds readily without any risk of a penalty.

Jamaican dollar securities

Should you convert and invest in Jamaican dollar securities to benefit from the higher rates on those investments? That is the more worthwhile option it seems to me, notwithstanding the risk of currency devaluation. In any event, your financial obligation is in Jamaican dollars.

As I mentioned before, time is a serious problem for you: September is knocking at your door. You will not likely have sufficient time to meet your objectives.