Western Union money transfer

[Wade K.]

Not today you won't. When you go to convert the 927,00 pesos to dollars you are assuming the cost per dollar is the 'official rate'. No it isn't. The official rate amounts to a bookkeeping entry....and nothing else.

Not converting Pesos to Dollars. I'm saying if I'm in Argentina and send myself $1000 USD through WU I'll get currently 927,000 Pesos. Divide that by the current official exchange rate, 349.something, and it works out to $2649 and change USD worth of Pesos at the official exchange rate. Makes Argentina very cheap for those with Dollars, Euros, or Pounds. And well worth paying a fee to WU for.

 

[Quilombo]

Not converting Pesos to Dollars. I'm saying if I'm in Argentina and send myself $1000 USD through WU I'll get currently 927,000 Pesos. Divide that by the current official exchange rate, 349.something, and it works out to $2649 and change USD worth of Pesos at the official exchange rate. Makes Argentina very cheap for those with Dollars, Euros, or Pounds. And well worth paying a fee to WU for.

You're getting $1,000 dollars in a developing country, that's why it's very cheap for people with dollars/euros/pounds, not because of what said pesos are "worth" at the "official" exchange rate.

Prices here track the blue/MEP/CCL, not the "official" dollar, this is why prices increased in pesos when Martín Guzmán resigned despite the "official" dollar staying the same, the blue shot up so did everything else because the "official" dollar is meaningless as Caribbean Cool said.

 

[Wade K.]

You're getting $1,000 dollars in a developing country, that's why it's very cheap for people with dollars/euros/pounds, not because of what said pesos are "worth" at the "official" exchange rate.

Prices here track the blue/MEP/CCL, not the "official" dollar, this is why prices increased in pesos when Martín Guzmán resigned despite the "official" dollar staying the same, the blue shot up so did everything else because the "official" dollar is meaningless as Caribbean Cool said.

Is it meaningless for you or for all Argentineans? The average Argentinean doesn't have access to Dollars. If he withdraws money from an ATM he's not getting the blue rate. It means a lot to expats to get those extra Pesos.

For example if you lived in Colombia and had a $1000 USD sent to you by WU you'd get a little less than a $1000 worth of Colombian Pesos. There is no blue rate. Colombia is a developing country and its overall cost of living is considerably less than the U.S. so you would still do well there.

However Argentina is, using the official exchange rate, a little more expensive than Colombia according to the website Numbeo. But, because you have extra Pesos due to the blue rate, Argentina for those who have access to Dollars, Euros, or Pounds is extremely affordable. Much more affordable than Colombia.

I realize there are exceptions to that. Landlords keeping rent in Dollars so that those paying rent are paying ever higher amounts. That sort of thing. But there's not another country doing the blue rate thing other than I believe one country in Africa. So there's really no other country one can go to that's as affordable for the quality of life. I have no desire to live in the average African village or in India or Nepal on what a few hundred dollars would get me.

 

[Patrick2006]

The fee for WU is higher than before right now. Is there any way to find a promotion code?

 

[TonyTigre]

If you don't need the money right away, I would suggest you login to your Western Union account, fill out the form for the transfer, and just do NOT click on the Transfer confirmation. Exit the site or app. Chances are, you'll get a promotion code for a free transfer or a half off the transfer fee through email within a few days.

If you're not physically in Argentina now, of course you can do the transfer at a much lower fee by filling out the form online and bringing the cash to a local agent instead of paying with debit or bank transfer.

If you are going to pay the full price WU transfer fee right now, you might as well just pay with a foreign credit card that has no foreign transaction fee. The transfer fee basically negates the higher exchange rate between the rate you get from WU and foreign credit card MEP rate.

I wrote the above back in May when I was only suspecting that the trick works. Now I am convinced it works. I didn't get an email this time, but I automatically see a 61% discount on the fee when I login. Make sure you login and do NOT use the Estimate Price (Price Estimator) page; start from the main home page.

 

[pitipur]

On Android I have 3 google accounts for 3 different countries with payment methods set up. When I need to download some app from the Play Store that is only available in one particular country, I switch to that country profile. It works without VPN.

THANK YOU for this. I have been searching for years for a way to be able to access the US and argentinean play stores since you can only change countries once a year and just tried this out and it appears to work!!!!!

 

[PatriotsFan]

And now a buying/converting opportunity arises.
Blue just dropped to 900-910 and WU still at 927.
Does one wait to see if WU rises? It has not budged in like 4 days.
Or....does WU drop. Timing, timing, timing.

 

[Redpossum]

And now a buying/converting opportunity arises.
Blue just dropped to 900-910 and WU still at 927.
Does one wait to see if WU rises? It has not budged in like 4 days.
Or....does WU drop. Timing, timing, timing.

I'm seeing 885/905 now
what a drop!

 

[Jtee125]

I'm seeing 885/905 now
what a drop!

Any idea of the cause of the drop?

 

[PatriotsFan]

WU up to 935.00