Western Union money transfer

[GreenEgg]

I need to send $2500USD, converting to pesos. Do they limit the amount one person can take at once or anything?

 

[LuckyLuke]

The limit is $5,000 USD per transaction but I've never been able to get even close to that because no WU I've been to actually holds that much cash.

It helps to understand that WU places are not banks in that they don't hold deposits. They are RapiPago type places that facilitate paying small bills in cash. When you are taking your WU funds, you are just taking the cash other customers came in and gave. Most pay their bills before the 10th, so you are more likely to get higher cash on hand during that week.

IMO a good idea is to have the receiver show up with identification, ask how many pesos they currently have on hand (in a denomination that doesn't require a suitcase) and if the answer satisfies the both of you, then initiate the transfer for that amount. It requires some luck for large amounts. Some have offered to contact me when they have the cash limit I want, but I don't trust advertising the time/place of a large withdrawal.

 

[AdrianB]

But there are also large main WU offices right?

 

[Patrick2006]

Isn’t the exchange rate almost the same now when shopping directly with a foreign credit card?

 

[Redpossum]

But there are also large main WU offices right?

Summary of how to use Western Union in 2022

PLEASE DO NOT POST QUESTIONS IN THIS THREAD. The purpose of this post is to serve as a pinned set of instructions. If you have helpful tips to add, or corrections to errors or omissions I may have made, by all means post them here. But please post questions elsewhere, so this thread does not...

baexpats.org

I wrote this 2 and a half years ago, and much has changed since then, but if you look about 2/3 of the way down the page, I list the two biggest WU offices and nearest subte stations.

 

[Stantucker]

Today I tried to do a US bank to Arg bank transfer using the WU website and everytime I got to purpose of transfer, family support appeared as the only option, but it would never take it and I was not able to finish.

Could this be because I was in the States recently, changed my country to US in Google Play, and downloaded the US WU app, or is this just some temporary glitch in the system?

 

[Frank2000]

Today I tried to do a US bank to Arg bank transfer using the WU website and everytime I got to purpose of transfer, family support appeared as the only option, but it would never take it and I was not able to finish.

Could this be because I was in the States recently, changed my country to US in Google Play, and downloaded the US WU app, or is this just some temporary glitch in the system?

What exactly was the error message? Family support is always the only option. Take a screen shot where the error happens. You say "using the WU website", so I assume you are not using the WU app on your android phone. In either case, the country selection of google play would not interfere with how Western Union functions.

Using the website, repeat the attempt but use a different browser. Again take a screen shot. Write down the time and exactly which page produced the problem. Then, using the chat function of Western Union contact them and ask for help. The initial operator probably will try to BS his way through. But insist that he opens a case with the technical team. At a minimum they will give you a promo while they attempt to solve the problem.

 

[Ronnie Hotdogs]

I need to send $2500USD, converting to pesos. Do they limit the amount one person can take at once or anything?

You should be able to get this much fairly easily at the WU on Montevideo y Cordoba.

 

[pmacay]

FYI, I just made my 2nd Western Union transfer from my USA bank to my Arg Santander account. After the first transfer, which took 8 days they asked me to fill out a profile form with my DNI and other pertinent info. On Nov 27 2024 I made my second transfer and it said it would be deposited a week later. I was hoping after filling out my person profile info the transfer would be quicker, but it wasn't, it still took a week to be deposited into my Arg account.

After my first transfer I did get a promo code in an email, which gave me $30 off the total transfer fee of $60 USA.

Transfer amount 2,000.00 USD
Transfer fee Please read Disclaimers+ 60.00 USD Promotional discount- 30.00 USD
Total 2,030.00 USD
Exchange rate 1 USD = 1,103.5000 ARS
Transfer amount 2,207,000.00 ARS

On the same day I made the transfer I checked xoom.com's rate which was 1 USD = 1,050.3698 ARS
no fee
$2,000 - 2100739.60 ARS

Remitely
1 USD = 1,050.00 ARS
Fee: $2.99
$2,000 - 2,100,000.00 ARS

So even with the $30 transfer fee, WU still gave me the best rate.

 

[Stantucker]

What exactly was the error message? Family support is always the only option. Take a screen shot where the error happens. You say "using the WU website", so I assume you are not using the WU app on your android phone. In either case, the country selection of google play would not interfere with how Western Union functions.

Using the website, repeat the attempt but use a different browser. Again take a screen shot. Write down the time and exactly which page produced the problem. Then, using the chat function of Western Union contact them and ask for help. The initial operator probably will try to BS his way through. But insist that he opens a case with the technical team. At a minimum they will give you a promo while they attempt to solve the problem.

Thanks a lot. I never got an error message, it simply would not fill in the space, so to speak, with "family support" and let me continue. I was using the website on my phone but will try next time on my tablet, or I will do as you suggest and call CS and get them to elevate it to the technical team.

I didn't mention in my first post that I had tried first using the US WU app. It had allowed me to get only so far. No error message, just couldn't finish.

Because I could get neither the website not the app to work, and because the last time I sent my regular amount, it took quite a few days and this time I was sending more money (and that often takes longer), I ended up using Remitly. The rate wasn't as good, but I need the money by Friday to cover cc bills here. Remitly is so much more user friendly and their website is so much faster. Plus the money arrives within a few hours, if not immediately, even if it's a large amount. I am blocked from using MoneyGram online.

I tried the WU app later and it worked. Go figure. I would have been able to send the money, but Remitly was the safer choice anyway given the circumstances.