
When using a credit or debit card, you’ll typically pay a higher fee, but your money can arrive in as little as 10 minutes. Pay for your transfer with a credit or debit card and have it sent for cash pickup.
Fastest option - as little as 10 minutes. You can send your transfer a few different ways, depending on the amount of fees you want to pay and how quickly you need it to arrive. How long does a Western Union money transfer take? Not all options are available for all markets. It also uses stronger or weaker exchange rates based on the currency you are transferring. Western Union applies different exchange rates to different transfer types. Picking up cash is typically more expensive than having money sent straight to a bank account. Additionally, if paying with a credit card, you may be charged fees by your credit card provider too. Paying with a credit card versus a debit card or a bank account will have different fees. The fees you pay will be different when sending to different countries around the world. Agent location fees typically aren’t posted online, but Western Union’s online fees are based on: These fees also depend on how you are paying for the transfer and how the transfer will be collected. Western Union has different fees for nearly every country it sends to, and we’ve seen fees range from as low as $3.50 (about R50) up to $100 (about R14,500) or more. Western Union fees and exchange rates explained Occasional promotions and coupons may help recover some of this fee amount, but expect to almost always pay a fee when sending money through Western Union. Nearly all transactions through Western Union will have a transfer fee attached, ranging from $3.50 (about R50) to $100 (about R14,500) or more. Agent locations typically have no limit, however, so long as you can provide adequate identification while sending. You can send a maximum of $2,500.00 (about R36,000 at time of writing) per online money transfer. So be sure to shop around when sending large amounts of money. Exchange rates offered by Western Union can be as high as 20% - worse than the mid-market rate. Unfavorable exchange rates will lead to less money going to your recipient and more to Western Union.