Moneygram transfer

made a transfer this morning to BBVA no problem. i have had issues before trying to initiate on weekends, during the weekdays seems to work just fine.
 
usually Moneygram works with 30 min, but this time i have waited for 6 days now, they have created issue to contact santander about this delay, and said investigation might take 15 days. nothing suspicious, just done about 6 transfers of 150$ in 20 days
 
Has anyone been able to receive a transfer? I just sent a test one. Will confirm in 2 hours.
 
sent last week on THUR to BBVA, still has not been credited. Apparently BBVA are taking their time. When I send it to Brubank it takes about 1-2 hs. Even on weekends.
 
I tried a transfer last Friday when I read here that some people were having problems. Received the money in about an hour, as usual. MG -> BNA
 
Just read through the entire thread and have a couple of observations (some of which may be out of date?) and questions.

Observations (opinions/do they still hold water?):

MG is janky - or at least it can be when sending to ARG. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes one person has success while another has x-fers cancelled or their account closed. Success can depend on the web browser. Try clearing cookies if there's a problem. Don't use a VPN. Join the rewards program.

Questions:

I see on the MG website how the exchange rate differs based on whether you do a cash pickup or have the x-fer sent to a bank account with the latter option giving the better rate; right now it's 366.8348 (pickup) or 377.68 (bank). WU is 390.35. Not sure if that difference is normal or if I check again they'll be closer. Regardless, MG is still the better option when the fees get factored in.

After over more than a year I'm still waiting on my residence/DNI and so don't have a bank account - but my mother in law has an account with Santander and my wife a simple Mercado Pago account. My mother in law says that when she received a bank-to-bank x-fer from her bank in Perú to her Santander account (in $US) they did the exchange to pesos at the official rate as opposed to a rate closer to Dolar Blu/MG/WU. Could that be because her x-fer was bank > bank as opposed to MG (or WU) > bank? Perhaps with MG/WU they handle the currency exchange from $US to $ARG and provide the more favorable rate and the ARG banks (not being involved with the currency exchange) don't get to change at the official rate?

Should I expect to receive that 377.68 (or whatever it is at the moment) rate as MG lists on their website when it estimates fees, or is Santander going to pay out in pesos using the official exchange rate no matter what it says on the MG website? I've always done WU x-fers for cash pickup and never had any problems - the amount they said I'd receive on the website was always the amount I'd receive from the agent. Hope the same holds for MG.

I also saw a post about how Crypto is also an option. Any thoughts/opinions on how it compares to MG and preferences as far as who/what to use? Not knowing much about Crypto I'm speaking in terms of using it solely for the shortest amount of time possible and only for the purposes of a x-fer - not as an investment.
 
Should I expect to receive that 377.68 (or whatever it is at the moment) rate as MG lists on their website when it estimates fees, or is Santander going to pay out in pesos using the official exchange rate no matter what it says on the MG website?
I don't think Santander sees your side of the transaction, it just receives an incoming transfer in pesos. Therefore, Santander is unaware whether you are sending dollars or Mongolian tugriks, and cannot apply the official exchange rate.
 
I've been using MoneyGram for a long time now and I've had very few problems. The rate is almost always better than Western Union (after fees, for transfers from the US, at least), and sometimes it's substantially better. Transfers to Banco Nación take a little over an hour, also a plus (for me, it's always a little unsettling to send money to Argentina; the faster that I know that everything went ok, the better).

As far as I've seen, when people have had problems with transfers, they have always been resolved one way or another (either the money arrives late or the transfer is cancelled and the funds returned). I've had these problems twice; once about a year ago for a week, and late last year for a couple of days. Otherwise, smooth sailing.

I would certainly recommend MoneyGram. I think it's good (for all of us) that Western Union should have a strong competitor for the business in Argentina.
 
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