The problem is that in a world where everyone expects instant results with little or no effort, going to a money agent to send funds overseas takes planning and can be time consuming. First, you have to go to your bank or an ATM to withdraw the funds you want to send, then when you get to the money agent you have to fill in a long handwritten form and possibly stand in-line for a while. When you get to the cashier, you may find you completed the form wrongly so you have to start over, and all the time you have just spent has been wasted!
Times have changed: you can still use your favorite money agent to send money, but you can do it online from anywhere that there’s an internet connection. The process is simple, convenient and fast and you can pay using your checking account, debit card or credit card. The money gets transferred from your account instantly and arrives in the recipients account in a few hours, or whenever they want to go and physically collect the cash from thousands of outlets around the world.
Always ensure you use your chosen money agent’s official website. Check it out before you proceed, and in particular you should look for an “s” after the “http” at the start of the website address. Look at this example from Western Union – the “s” after http refers to it being a secure webpage:
https://wumt.westernunion.com/WUCOMWEB/osMTOptionsAction.do;jsessionid=IUjQy2y0R_WZ-OsSW4YxGx-?method=load&countryCode=US&languageCode=en&nextSecurePage=Y
Once you’re on your chosen money agent’s website, navigation is fairly simple. You’re asked what you want to do then you follow the straight-forward instructions on the screen. One main benefit is if you regularly send money to the same person, you can store some of the details securely so when you need to send more money you don’t have to fill the whole online form in again.
You do need to register before you can use these services, but it is straight forward and very quick, plus you don’t need to do it again. You can then proceed immediately to the online form for sending money, which is very similar to the one you’re used to in the money agent’s shop, except they tend to be simpler and faster to complete. Enter the recipient details and the amount you need to transfer. You can select the amount in US dollars for conversion to the currency of your recipient’s country, or input the local currency of the country you’re sending the money to and it will convert it into US dollars.
The next step is to enter your method of payment. You can choose to have the money taken directly from your bank account, or you can enter your debit or credit card details. Be careful when using plastic as your card provider may charge you additional fees for a cash withdrawal. You will be asked to confirm the details and then you submit them through a confirmation request. The payment source is verified and taken, and the money is transferred. You receive an onscreen confirmation of the transaction and a copy is also sent to your email address. You can even have an email sent to the recipient to advise the money is on its way. Always print a copy for your records just in case a problem arises and make a note of the transaction number, usually referred to as Money Control Order Number.
The whole process typically takes between five and ten minutes once you are registered, with no queues, no waiting and none of the inconvenience of visiting the agent’s or bank’s offices.
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