Western Union money transfer

[bobsnowpuppy]

Where have you seen a 5% fee for a Western Union cash pick up transfer?

I received a transfer of $1120 USD (paid in cash in the USA) yesterday that did not involve a local (Argentine) bank account.

The fee was $16 USD, slightly over .014%.

That would be 1.4% not .014%

 

[steveinbsas]

Yes, for a cash pick up. From my US bank to a local bank is free, but I don't have a local bank account. See both attachments.

Even if you don't have a local bank account, the fee is nowhere near 5% for cash pick up.

The fee I paid for a transfer of $1120 was (as bobsnowpuppy pointed out) was just over 1.4%.

At the rate WU offered, I was happy to pay the 1.4%.

The only way to bypass the WU fee that I know of is to amass reward points or have a promo code.

The sender might be able to get points if they are registered with WU and initiate the transfer on line after logging in, so, if the same person sends you X number of transfers, that might generate points which would occasionally result in a fee free transfer.

 

[dsp27]

Sorry if this is redundant, but was there a solution to bypass the WU 5% fee if you don't have a local bank account here?

The only options to pay low or zero fees that I know of, if you have no Argentine bank account, are:
1. Have someone -- friend, relative -- "pay cash in-store" in the US.
2. Use another non-US based debit card, if you have an account in the EU/UK/AU?NZ/etc. Fees originating in Europe, Australia etc. are very low for cash pick ups; 5-10 bucks, here in Argentina.

 

[steveinbsas]

The only options to pay low or zero fees that I know of, if you have no Argentine bank account, are:
1. Have someone -- friend, relative -- "pay cash in-store" in the US.
2. Use another non-US based debit card, if you have an account in the EU/UK/AU?NZ/etc. Fees originating in Europe, Australia etc. are very low for cash pick ups; 5-10 bucks, here in Argentina.

I've had someone "pay cash in-store" in the US for cash pick up in Argentina, and the fees were $10 USD for each of the first two transfers (late last November and early December...both under $1000 USD) and $16 USD for a transfer of $1120 USD two days ago.

PS: XOOM does not charge a fee, but their rate (last time I checked) was $20 ARS to one USD lower than Western Union.

 

[ricerocket99]

New to the forum and will be going to Buenos Aires for the first time in 2 weeks. I currently live in California and my plan is to WU myself money here and pay it in cash, then pick up the money when I arrive in BA. That would give me the best rate as of right now it is 1 to 83.9! I plan to spend at least $1,000 USD while in BA. I read that sometimes the WUs in BA can run out of money or limit the amount you can withdrawal at any one time, and also I do not want to carry $1,000 USD worth of pesos with me at one time when I get there since I'm new to the city.

I plan to break up the $1,000 USD into 2 transactions of $500 or 3 transactions of $330. Can anyone provide advice on this? And which WU would be best to go that would unlikely run out of cash? I'll be staying in Palermo Soho and there is one within walking distance on Armenia. Thank you!

 

[Macanudo]

I've had someone "pay cash in-store" in the US for cash pick up in Argentina, and the fees were $10 USD for each of the first two transfers (late last November and early December...both under $1000 USD) and $16 USD for a transfer of $1120 USD two days ago.

PS: XOOM does not charge a fee, but their rate (last time I checked) was $20 ARS to one USD lower than Western Union.

When I go online to check the WU rate and fees, it shows that the fee to send from California is $8 for $1000, but goes up to $16 when I enter $1001. So you may want to limit your transfer to increments of $1000 or less for a better net rate. Sending $1001 has the same fee as sending $2000. Apparently sending $100 has the same fee as sending $1000.

 

[Macanudo]

New to the forum and will be going to Buenos Aires for the first time in 2 weeks. I currently live in California and my plan is to WU myself money here and pay it in cash, then pick up the money when I arrive in BA. That would give me the best rate as of right now it is 1 to 83.9! I plan to spend at least $1,000 USD while in BA. I read that sometimes the WUs in BA can run out of money or limit the amount you can withdrawal at any one time, and also I do not want to carry $1,000 USD worth of pesos with me at one time when I get there since I'm new to the city.

I plan to break up the $1,000 USD into 2 transactions of $500 or 3 transactions of $330. Can anyone provide advice on this? And which WU would be best to go that would unlikely run out of cash? I'll be staying in Palermo Soho and there is one within walking distance on Armenia. Thank you!

I would recommend to have a backup plan in place in case the first transaction doesn't go through. Someone on the sending side that could correct any error that may happen. One very important thing is to have the transfer sent in exactly the way your whole name is printed on your passport. There seems to be a WU offices on almost every other block in the city. Don't think you'll have trouble finding one that can handle a thousand dollar or less transaction. Look for one where the employees were WU uniforms. You should be all right carrying a thousand dollars in pesos from the WU office to your apartment, if possible bring a friend along. Also, things change rapidly here regarding rates and how to get the best rate, so also be prepared for the possibility that WU may or may not continue to be so far ahead of most every other option for changing money. Bring at least a couple of hundred dollars cash just in case you need to change it for pesos if there is a delay with WU.

 

[ricerocket99]

I would recommend to have a backup plan in place in case the first transaction doesn't go through. Someone on the sending side that could correct any error that may happen. One very important thing is to have the transfer sent in exactly the way your whole name is printed on your passport. There seems to be a WU offices on almost every other block in the city. Don't think you'll have trouble finding one that can handle a thousand dollar or less transaction. Look for one where the employees were WU uniforms. You should be all right carrying a thousand dollars in pesos from the WU office to your apartment, if possible bring a friend along. Also, things change rapidly here regarding rates and how to get the best rate, so also be prepared for the possibility that WU may or may not continue to be so far ahead of most every other option for changing money. Bring at least a couple of hundred dollars cash just in case you need to change it for pesos if there is a delay with WU.

Thanks for the advice! Yes, I plan to have at least a few new and crisp $100 dollar bills to exchange just in case there's any issues with my WU transfer. I've done WU transfers before to other countries, so I'm not new to their system. But first time to see WU rates so much higher than official and blue rates.

 

[another]

New to the forum and will be going to Buenos Aires for the first time in 2 weeks. I currently live in California and my plan is to WU myself money here and pay it in cash, then pick up the money when I arrive in BA. That would give me the best rate as of right now it is 1 to 83.9! I plan to spend at least $1,000 USD while in BA. I read that sometimes the WUs in BA can run out of money or limit the amount you can withdrawal at any one time, and also I do not want to carry $1,000 USD worth of pesos with me at one time when I get there since I'm new to the city.

I plan to break up the $1,000 USD into 2 transactions of $500 or 3 transactions of $330. Can anyone provide advice on this? And which WU would be best to go that would unlikely run out of cash? I'll be staying in Palermo Soho and there is one within walking distance on Armenia. Thank you!

Palermo Soho has WU offices pretty much in every block, the problem is - most of them wouldn't have a 1000 bucks worth of pesos and not even a 500. The one that does have more money is on Scalabrini Ortiz between Gorriti & Cabrera, a few doors down from the police station. You can whatsapp them and ask if they have the funds and they can hold them for half an hour for you. 54911-3355-7733. All you need is a passport and a copy of the first page of it - you can make it next in the shop door for 3 pesos. Takes less than 5 minutes to get the cash.

 

[ricerocket99]

Palermo Soho has WU offices pretty much in every block, the problem is - most of them wouldn't have a 1000 bucks worth of pesos and not even a 500. The one that does have more money is on Scalabrini Ortiz between Gorriti & Cabrera, a few doors down from the police station. You can whatsapp them and ask if they have the funds and they can hold them for half an hour for you. 54911-3355-7733. All you need is a passport and a copy of the first page of it - you can make it next in the shop door for 3 pesos. Takes less than 5 minutes to get the cash.

Thanks, that’s the main issue for me since I plan to make large withdrawals to save on multiple transaction fees and get it done in one trip. Thanks again for the WU location and info. I’m so tempted to transfer the money now since I don’t know how long this rate would last, but then it’s been ticking up. I got to be patient and wait it out.