Xoom vs. Western Union - Pros and Cons - Other Options?

[NYCExpat]

Hi, All!
I've been using Xoom for money transfers from the US (monthly). The process and conversion rate seem great to me. However, I notice more posts about WU on this site. Am I missing something? Any guidance would be great or any other options to explore. Thanks, Tim

 

[Quilombo]

Hi, All!
I've been using Xoom for money transfers from the US (monthly). The process and conversion rate seem great to me. However, I notice more posts about WU on this site. Am I missing something? Any guidance would be great or any other options to explore. Thanks, Tim

WU is way better IMO, better rate, better customer service, faster, etc.

For example, at noon today (November 17th, 2021) Xoom is offering $182.4062 ARS per USD, while WU is offering $209.00

No competition.

 

[steveinbsas]

I've been using Xoom for money transfers from the US (monthly). The process and conversion rate seem great to me. However, I notice more posts about WU on this site. Am I missing something? Any guidance would be great or any other options to explore.

Go to both websites anytime you want to make a transfer and compare the rates and the fees.

Today's XOOM rate is 1 USD = 182.4062 ARS

The fees for a $500 XOOM transfer:

PayPal balance	5.99
Bank account	2.99
Debit card	10.50
Credit card†	10.50

The fees for a $500 XOOM transfer:

PayPal balance	12.99
Bank account	0.00
Debit card	24.50
Credit card†	24.50

Today's Western Union rate is 1 USD = 209.000 ARS

Recently, one member here has posted codes which result in 0 fee Western Union on line transfers, though I am not sure if the last one is still vaild.

If not, the WU fee for bank to bank transfers using a debit or credit card or cash pick up transfers is about 5%

 

[wjacobs]

Currently WU has the best rates. However the majority of the time you'll get the best rates by sending cryptocurrency to yourself. Check rates at criptoya.com, in the right-most column that says "dolar."
There are other more detailed posts on this site about how to do that operation. But basically you need a bitcoin account at home (Coinbase is good) and a bitcoin account in Argentina (Ripio, ArgenBTC, Cryptomkt, Satoshitango). Buy bitcoin at home, send it to Argentina, cash out in pesos or dollars. So it goes US, EU, etc. bank acct>>Coinbase>>Ripio>>Argentina bank account. Sounds complicated but it's really not bad, same difficulty level as buying a stock or bond if you've never done that before.

 

[Quilombo]

Currently WU has the best rates. However the majority of the time you'll get the best rates by sending cryptocurrency to yourself. Check rates at criptoya.com. There are other more detailed posts on how to do that operation. But basically you need a bitcoin account at home (Coinbase is good) and a bitcoin account in Argentina (Ripio, ArgenBTC, Cryptomkt, Satoshitango). Buy bitcoin at home, send it to Argentina, cash out in pesos or dollars. So it goes US, EU, etc. bank acct>>Coinbase>>Ripio>>Argentina bank account. Sounds complicated but it's really not bad, same difficulty level as buying a stock or bond if you've never done that before.

There's now the check tax that's being applied to crypto, so you need to take that in to consideration, and some if not all those companies are registered with AFIP so you most definitely shouldn't be doing this if you're working abroad, as it will be clear you're violating both MULC regulations and not issuing the proper facturación (Factura E).

 

[SecretShopper]

FYI western union fees are cheaper from a store in the US. Today I sent 330 from a store and the fee was 8 usd. It would have been like 30 if I had done it online.

Basically if I need more dollars while in Argentina I can Zelle someone in the US money for free and they can send that to me WU with a much lower fee than doing it online.

 

[Aztangogirl]

Go to both websites anytime you want to make a transfer and compare the rates and the fees.

Today's XOOM rate is 1 USD = 182.4062 ARS

The fees for a $500 XOOM transfer:

PayPal balance	5.99
Bank account	2.99
Debit card	10.50
Credit card†	10.50

The fees for a $500 XOOM transfer:

PayPal balance	12.99
Bank account	0.00
Debit card	24.50
Credit card†	24.50

Today's Western Union rate is 1 USD = 209.000 ARS

Recently, one member here has posted codes which result in 0 fee Western Union on line transfers, though I am not sure if the last one is still vaild.

If not, the WU fee for bank to bank transfers using a debit or credit card or cash pick up transfers is about 5%

212 today WU

 

[steveinbsas]

This is a corrected version of my previous post (Wednesday), The first list of XOOM fees was for a $200 transfer, not $500.

Today's XOOM rate is 1 USD = 182.4062 ARS

The fees for a $200 XOOM transfer:

PayPal balance	5.99
Bank account	2.99
Debit card	10.50
Credit card†	10.50

The fees for a $500 XOOM transfer:

PayPal balance	12.99
Bank account	0.00
Debit card	24.50
Credit card†	24.50

Today's Western Union rate is 1 USD = 209.000 ARS

Recently, one member here has posted codes which result in 0 fee Western Union on line transfers, though I am not sure if the last one is still vaild.

If not, the WU fee for bank to bank transfers using a debit or credit card or cash pick up transfers is about 5%


PS: As Aztangogirl noted, the WU rate is creeping back up towards its all time high of $215, but I'm not sure if the previos zero fee promo code (DIGITAL0FEE) is still working.

 

[Delaluz26]

Apologies if this is something that has already been addressed here, but I just attempted to send my husband $500 through the WU website with our credit card and got the fraud alert department. Should I instead try sending to myself? Are we allowed to send ourselves money through WU? THanks!

 

[Quilombo]

Apologies if this is something that has already been addressed here, but I just attempted to send my husband $500 through the WU website with our credit card and got the fraud alert department. Should I instead try sending to myself? Are we allowed to send ourselves money through WU? THanks!

I would call the financial institution that issued your card and advise them that it's a legitimate charge. The reason it got flagged is because many people fall prey to scams online telling them to send payment for IRS debt/family emergencies/apartments that don't exist, etc. via WU. It happened to me the first time too, now it's never an issue.