How is Western Union treated by Westpac?

[albatross710]

Over the past couple of months have been transferring some funds to a new business in Philippines. Some days they Western Union exchange rate is superior to other rates so I send A$5000 via this method.

• If I do this transaction via the WU website, it appears on my Westpac card as a Purchase.

• If I do this transaction at a Travelex office where they are a WU Agency, it goes through as Cash Advance.

Certainly in my mind both transactions would qualify as cash advances. Unfortunately due to the former one always going through as a Purchase meant that I merrily didn't check the Travelex transaction until my statement arrived and discovered the cash advance fee plus interest plus the interest on my other purchases.

Playing the credit card game can be an expensive game.

Alby

 

[Nutcase]

Over the past couple of months have been transferring some funds to a new business in Philippines. Some days they Western Union exchange rate is superior to other rates so I send A$5000 via this method.

• If I do this transaction via the WU website, it appears on my Westpac card as a Purchase.

• If I do this transaction at a Travelex office where they are a WU Agency, it goes through as Cash Advance.

Certainly in my mind both transactions would qualify as cash advances. Unfortunately due to the former one always going through as a Purchase meant that I merrily didn't check the Travelex transaction until my statement arrived and discovered the cash advance fee plus interest plus the interest on my other purchases.

Playing the credit card game can be an expensive game.

Alby

Sounds like a lot of hassle for a $5,000 transaction. I don't know why you would bother to save a few bucks and now its blown up by being a cash advance. Sounds like a giant waste of time.

 

[albatross710]

Sounds like a lot of hassle for a $5,000 transaction. I don't know why you would bother to save a few bucks and now its blown up by being a cash advance. Sounds like a giant waste of time.

Exactly.

But that's the challenges of doing business in a developing country. International money transfers take from 3-14 days. A deposit at one branch of a bank, may not be recognised by a different branch of the same bank. Cheques are not always accepted so we end up going back to our home branch to cash a cheque in order to settle an account by cash. Cash is still king.

And with day labourers being available for about $10 per person per day...that $5000 can achieve a lot more in minutes (with Western Union) than it can waiting for 14 days via bank transfer.

Happy days.

Alby

 

[Nutcase]

Exactly.

But that's the challenges of doing business in a developing country. International money transfers take from 3-14 days. A deposit at one branch of a bank, may not be recognised by a different branch of the same bank. Cheques are not always accepted so we end up going back to our home branch to cash a cheque in order to settle an account by cash. Cash is still king.

And with day labourers being available for about $10 per person per day...that $5000 can achieve a lot more in minutes (with Western Union) than it can waiting for 14 days via bank transfer.

Happy days.

Alby

Paypal?

I was managing payment processing in Myanmar through Bangkok.

It can be done

 

[Cruiser Elite]

alby you need to sign up for AMEX com FOREX - extremely competitive, efficient, quick and so simple to use - and your earn a few KF miles along the way.

 

[hummel]

alby you need to sign up for AMEX com FOREX - extremely competitive, efficient, quick and so simple to use - and your earn a few KF miles along the way.

CE,

Does the work like a normal bank account? What is the miles earn rate?

We currently use ANZ for fx and I am not a huge fan and am trying to push different options onto the table.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Using any of the big 4 for FOREX and you are washing $$$s down the drain. AMEX FOREX beats them hands down - fee free - on the spot rates - instant purchase / processing - extremely reliable. KF pt earn rate I think is 40pts/$1K - I might be wrong - it's not much but is significantly more than the parasitic big 4 banks will ever give you.

 

[hummel]

Using any of the big 4 for FOREX and you are washing $$$s down the drain. AMEX FOREX beats them hands down - fee free - on the spot rates - instant purchase / processing - extremely reliable. KF pt earn rate I think is 40pts/$1K - I might be wrong - it's not much but is significantly more than the parasitic big 4 banks will ever give you.

Cheers, it's a struggle to teach the old dog new tricks but always looking at ways to save a bit of $$

 

[albatross710]

Using any of the big 4 for FOREX and you are washing $$$s down the drain. AMEX FOREX beats them hands down - fee free - on the spot rates - instant purchase / processing - extremely reliable. KF pt earn rate I think is 40pts/$1K - I might be wrong - it's not much but is significantly more than the parasitic big 4 banks will ever give you.

I'll check it out. How do people pickup the cash immediately?

One of the advantages of Wu is that there are lots of agencies for people to get their cash.

Alby