Western Union money transfer

[oldgringo]

you start it online , then they lock the rate for 12 hours , then someone has to go pay for it you have to use a phone number as a reference so they can pull up the transfer , it has to be sent by the person who is paying for it ,as they might ask for i.d , they can pay in cash or debit not credit , The 2 tier is by going in person to pay you get the higher rate . I know that makes no sense . I guess they take advantage of people overseas . The thing I don't understand is its been if you paid in store you got the going rate in Ba and if not you got 5 to 6 pesos lower and now if you pay in store you get much higher than central bank

 

[oldgringo]

basically you have to have someone in the usa that can do all this . You just have to fund them

 

[steveinbsas]

I sent $US to myself and picked up $ARS at Cordoba/Montvedio central location.
In minutes WU confirmed my cash is available for pick up.

I do not have any $US accounts in any Argentine or Uruguay bank.
I do not have any $US Dollars anywhere outside my home $US accounts.
I sent from my home $US account.

This morning I went to the Western Union Website.

There I discovered that it is possible for me to initiate an transfer to send $US from my US bank account my bank account in Argentina at the rate of about $65 pesos to one.

It is also possible to see the QUOTED rate (no glitch) of over $79 ARS to one USD but, as far as I can ascertain, this rate is ONLY available (as oldgringo has indicated) if the funds are received in cash (or paid by debit card) at a WU agency in the United States and ONLY if they are picked up in person at a WU agency in Argentina. No bank can be involved in the transfer.

So, doeadOA, if you were able to execute the transfer on line without having someone pay the US in person in the US, please provide the appropriate link so others can do the same.

 

[Ceviche]

Love your persistence, Steve..to get out the info!

 

[Pierre Smith]

So, if I'm in the US, I can get the best deal by rolling into the Western Union and buying pesos there, then picking them up a day later when I'm back in Palermo or whatever?

Wow, Steve appears to be correct - you're getting 79+ pesos on the dollar if you walk-in and walk-out. That's 12 pesos better than you're getting by their regular transfer.

 

[steveinbsas]

So, if I'm in the US, I can get the best deal by rolling into the Western Union and buying pesos there, then picking them up a day later when I'm back in Palermo or whatever?

Yes, apparently this is the case.

Wow, Steve appears to be correct - you're getting 79+ pesos on the dollar if you walk-in and walk-out. That's 12 pesos better than you're getting by their regular transfer.

As well as about 14 pesos better than XOOM (with no fee) and 20 pesos better than Transerwise (with a fee).

 

[TheDonald]

you start it online , then they lock the rate for 12 hours , then someone has to go pay for it you have to use a phone number as a reference so they can pull up the transfer , it has to be sent by the person who is paying for it ,as they might ask for i.d , they can pay in cash or debit not credit , The 2 tier is by going in person to pay you get the higher rate . I know that makes no sense . I guess they take advantage of people overseas . The thing I don't understand is its been if you paid in store you got the going rate in Ba and if not you got 5 to 6 pesos lower and now if you pay in store you get much higher than central bank

This arbitrage, which is almost like a black market, exists for four reasons. In order of economic significance:

1) if you pay cash or debit, WU saves on the 2%-3% interchange (i.e. commission they pay to payment processor and credit card intermediaries);

2) if the payment is either cash or debit, WU doesn't run currency risk on a depreciating peso;

3) on cash or debit, the payment runs through different "rails" that don't interact with the Argentine banking system, meaning the funds stay out of Argentina and don't get trapped by the currency controls; and

4) given the huge recent peso depreciation, WU expects a deluge of Argentines living in foreign countries to send money to friends/family in Argentina, accentuating 1-3.

As an editorial, I would expect this channel to be shut shortly. I doubt the govt/BCRA will tolerate it for long.

 

[artisans]

Following this Western Union evaluation of Steveinbs I just went on line and opened a Western Union account. The interface is impressive, slick. Just to confirm the results...
The 79+ peso / usd is only available if you walk into the WU office at US and pay cash AND pick up in cash at transfer destination. On U$1000 transfer, it's a $7.00 transfer fee.
The current 67.7166 peso / usd transfer rate is available by paying online with a debit card ($2.99 fee), credit card ($29.99 fee), bank ($0.00) fee. Each payment option has a window of time to process. Debit looks to be immediate.
Further, if you choose to pick up cash at Argentina there's a $7.00 fee. If you send to a bank account it's a $2.99 fee.
Personally not sure I'd trust the receiving Argentina bank not to complicate things under current circumstances.
I remember recently WU had a rep of being more expensive and complicated. Based on their current website, seems not the case.

 

[Neil]

Western union through Scotiabank account....in cad $$ 60.86 to 1 peso!

 

[Weyland]

Coming soon