Western Union Fees too high- use Promotional Codes, Coupons, 2010

Western Union Rates and Fees - the biggest disadvantage

Western Union is a trusted method of money transfer and with over 350,000+ agent locations,
one almost always manages to find a Western Union branch near the person to whom you are sending money. If you have never used Western Union before, click on How to send Money using Western Union to learn more.

However the biggest disadvantage of Western Union is its fees. For example, Western Union charges about $12 fee for sending $500 from United States to Philippines. Even for sending money within United States, Western Union charges around $12 for transferring an amount up to $200 ! These charges are ridiculously high. The foreign Exchange Rates offered by Western Union are, however, quite good. The exact amount of fees charged by Western Union depends on the exact locations and to find out exactly how much fees you will be charged, and also about Western Union Rates (exchange rates) click on Western Union Fees and Exchange Rates Calculator. If this link does not work then go directly to Western Union homepage and click on Price Service (a button on the top right column). Remember to select your correct country first.

Using Western Union Promotional Codes and Coupons to cut down fees and charges

Sometimes, or rather several times one has the option of getting a Western Union promotional code or a coupon. This is number which you enter while transferring money and then an appropriate discount applies. You can try to get one such Western Union promotional code from one of the following websites.

1. Retailmenot.com Western Union Coupon Codes: This website is by far your best bet. Remember not every code here may work for you. The newer the code the better are its chances of getting through.
2. CouponChief Western Union Codes: I don't know anyone personally who used a code here successfully, but worth a try if the promotional codes in the above do not work.
   

If any Western Union promotional code does work for you, please share the source of the coupon in a comment for other readers. If no working coupons are available and high Western Union Fees remain your concern, then I recommend looking at some Western Union Alternatives.

Western Union Money Transfer Overview

Western Union Money Transfer is a fast an reliable remittance service to send money abroad to your friends relatives or any other person. Money Sent by Western Union Money Transfer is available for pick up at an agent location, i.e. the person to whom you send money will have to personally collect it from a Western Union Location. Western Union has over 300,000 locations or branches world wide, so it is quite likely that a convenient agent location is available for you. Click on Western Union Locations to find out the most convenient agent location for you. Or continue reading for more on how to transfer money using Western Union, what are the exchange rates and fees charged by Western Union, is Western Union really better than other alternatives like Moneygram etc., and many more related things.

Western Union Alternatives: What is better- Western Union or MoneyGram?

Western Union and MoneyGram function in much the same way, but Western Union is a much bigger money transfer service with nearly 3 times more agent locations than MoneyGram. As far as fees and charges are concerned, there is no clear answer as to which is more cheaper, Western Union or Moneygram. Read my posts on Western Union versus Moneygram or Best Options to send money overseas to find out more about other alternatives to Western Union like Bank wire-transfer, Xoom, Ikobo, etc.

How to send money using Western Union?

• Go to an Western Union Agent Location. Pay the agent the money that you want to send overseas. You will also choose a Western Union agent location from where the receiver will collect his/her money.
  
• The person to whom you are sending money by Western Union goes to the chosen agent location from where he/she can pick up the money by simply showing an identity card.

I also remember seeing an Advertisement saying you can send money directly to a Bank using Western Union Money Transfer. Please check Western Union website for more about this possibility.

Using Western Union to Send Money using Debit / Credit Card

You can also send money online using Western Union by a Visa or Mastercard Debit or Credit card if you are located in one of the countries listed below. If your country is appears in this list, this click on that link below, then click on "Money Transfer" tab on the top right, and then finally click on "Price service" to find out more about Western Union Exchange Rates and fees to Send Money online using credit card.

Australia Austria Canada France Germany Ireland Italy Netherlands New Zealand Norway Spain Sweden United Kingdom United States

Western Union Money Transfer Tracking Status

You can also track the status of your money sent by Western Union by click on the following link : Western Union Money Transfer Tracking Status

Western Union Money Transfer Agent Locations

Go to Western Union Locations.

Some advantages of Sending Money by Western Union

There are two clear advantages of transferring money by Western Union.

1. Trusted Money Transfer Service. I remember that once i even paid some fees to the U.S. Government for a visa using Western Union. This will give you an idea of how trusted Western Union Money Transfer Service is. Your Money is safe with Western Union.
2. Quickest Method of Money transfer- This method of Global Money Transfer where the person you are sending money to collects cash from an agent location is sometimes called Cash Transfer method. This is the fastest method of sending money because usually the money you send is available for pick up within a couple a hours (or even minutes?). This beats even the speed of Bank Wire Transfer.
   

However, as mentioned before, high Western Union Fees remain its biggest disadvantage. Depending on which country you are sending money to, for e.g. Philippines, India, etc. there maybe some cheaper or even *free* money transfer or remittance services. Thus unless you want to send money quickly, you can try some of the other cheaper services (listed on the right column of this page).

Western Union Alternatives

Quick Links For this Post Western Union Exchange Rates and Fees How to send money using Western Union? Send Money Online using a Credit Card using Western Union. Western Union Tracking Status Link Find Convenient Western Union Agent Locations or Branches. Pros and Cons of sending money by Western union Articles on Western Union Money Transfer Western Union Rates, Fees, Locations. Comparison of Western Union and MoneyGram How to Send Money using Western Union? Western Union Philippines Articles on Money Transfer Send Money Overseas or Abroad: The most popular and best ways to send money to your home country. Xoom Money Transfer Review Ikobo Visa - A new way to send money abroad where you send a re-loadable visa card to the beneficiary. MoneyGram Money Transfer and Money Order service. Online Remittance to India SBI Remittance Review - My most preferred method of sending remitting money to India. Good exchange rates. Remit2India Options to Send money to India Send Money to India by Paypal HDFC QuickRemit

External Links

Western Union Money Transfer - A trusted way to send money where beneficiary collects cash from a Western Union location.

MoneyGram - International Money Transfer and Money Order. You send money, beneficiary collects cash from a chosen MoneyGram agent or location.

iKobo - Send Money Worldwide Money Transfer by ATM Card. Useful for those who have to send money frequently. Check foreign exchange rates on the homepage of iKobo.

Xoom Money Transfer - Online Remittance from United States to various other countries. Xoom Fees are around $8 per transaction.

Send Money to India

ICICI Remit to India Online Money Transfer to India. ICICI Exchange rates.

SBI Remittance Online Money Transfer to India. SBI exchange rates.

Remit2India Online Money Transfer to India. Remit2India exchange rates.

HDFC Quick Remit Remit Money to India online from U.S., U.K., Europe and Singapore. HDFC Quick Remit exchange rates.

CitiBank Online Remit Remit Money to India from US.

Disclaimer

I have been sending money to India for quite a few years. I have been involved in at least 50 money transfers to India and used 4 to 5 different methods of online remittance. Although I do make efforts to provide accurate information about services related to online remittance, none of the opinion, experience or reviews in this post should be used for making any decisions to remit money to India or any other country. It is easily possible that my experience or opinion about a particular remitting service is different from yours. It is your money that you want to remit. So please verify the information from your own authentic sources before making a choice for remitting your money. I do not accept any liability for incorrect or inaccurate information. Some of the links in the posts may be affiliate links, however the opinions and reviews presented in the post remain honest and unbiased.