WU extortion

zensailor

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Western Union just increased their US transfer fee from obscene to beyond obscene.... example......it now costs $35 to send $300 from the US...this is an example of US policies and regulations that extort every red cent from the bottom rungs to distribute without concern to the higher levels until they ultimately fail.... and we wonder why so many of our financial entities fail on a regular basis......no one, absolutely no one, is protecting the interests of citizens as opposed to the interests of our corporate overlords.....WU may be in the ''too big to fail'' category so they can operate without concern..... worthwhile now to find a suitable replacement.
 
This is the way things work. Capitalism is based on the principles of supply and demand, and individuals have the power to seek out alternatives when faced with high prices.

I had always believed that Western Union would become obsolete with the adoption of cryptocurrencies. It is a miracle it is still here.
 
Western Union US is a cash grab which is why I use the Canadian site, it works for me and the fee is 1.99 CAD and is usually only a few cents off the US version of the site.

The problem with using crypto for pesos is that the rates are meh compared to the CCL, and it requires going somewhere in person like selling blue dollars, either to a cave or paying for them to be delivered to you. While Transferencias are possible, you're SOL if mercadopago or your bank asks you to justify why someone you never met sent you a shit ton of pesos, and touching an Argentine exchange is like asking to be audited by AFIP.

For example, it's $386 ARS for 1 stablecoin vs. $407 at the time of writing. WU takes a 1% off of the CCL roughly meaning it would be ~ $402.93 which is a gap of 17 pesos; not much on a dollar, but at 1K USD it's a lot.
 
I've switched to MG and I have been so happy with them. Hassle free!
I also had no alternative as WU blocked me. WU has no respect for its customers.
 
Western Union just increased their US transfer fee from obscene to beyond obscene.... example......it now costs $35 to send $300 from the US...this is an example of US policies and regulations that extort every red cent from the bottom rungs to distribute without concern to the higher levels until they ultimately fail.... and we wonder why so many of our financial entities fail on a regular basis......no one, absolutely no one, is protecting the interests of citizens as opposed to the interests of our corporate overlords.....WU may be in the ''too big to fail'' category so they can operate without concern..... worthwhile now to find a suitable replacement.
Hmm. Just looked at my Western Union account. 500.$ is still 29.$ for me.
 
Western Union US is a cash grab which is why I use the Canadian site, it works for me and the fee is 1.99 CAD and is usually only a few cents off the US version of the site.

The problem with using crypto for pesos is that the rates are meh compared to the CCL, and it requires going somewhere in person like selling blue dollars, either to a cave or paying for them to be delivered to you. While Transferencias are possible, you're SOL if mercadopago or your bank asks you to justify why someone you never met sent you a shit ton of pesos, and touching an Argentine exchange is like asking to be audited by AFIP.

For example, it's $386 ARS for 1 stablecoin vs. $407 at the time of writing. WU takes a 1% off of the CCL roughly meaning it would be ~ $402.93 which is a gap of 17 pesos; not much on a dollar, but at 1K USD it's a lot.
Thanks,
To use the WU Canadian site ? one must reside in Canada ? or have a Canadian Bank Account ? or else..?
 
Thanks,
To use the WU Canadian site ? one must reside in Canada ? or have a Canadian Bank Account ? or else..?
I've had success with Wise and a US regional bank that works as a correspondent bank for a Canadian one. I've also heard it works with those dynamic travel cards that let you have like 10 different currencies and such since they approve any address/don't require your ZIP to match.
 
Western Union just increased their US transfer fee from obscene to beyond obscene.... example......it now costs $35 to send $300 from the US..
Sending 1000 dollars via Western Union (USA site), with a current exchange rate of 394.45 and a transfer fee of 46.99, would result in receiving 394,450 ARS.

When transferring 1000 you would spend 1046.99 USD and get 394,450 pesos. The effective exchange rate is about 377.

According to ambito.com, the current "dollar blue" rate is 379, and you would likely receive 378 when exchanging locally.

At least currently, the higher exchange rate offered by WU partially offsets their transfer fees. For larger transfers, it doesn't look so bad.
 
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