Western Union vs WorldRemit

Western Union

To use Western Union, go to its site, enter how much you're transferring and to where, and see how much you'll pay for the exchange. You also have the option of visiting an office, calling or using a mobile app to initiate a transfer. Once complete, Western Union converts and delivers your money to a bank account or makes it available for cash pickup at locations worldwide.

Read review: Western Union

WorldRemit

With WorldRemit, you go to its site, enter how much money you'll be transferring and then send your funds to WorldRemit. When setting up your transfer, you provide a mobile number for both yourself and your recipient, as well as a copy of your personal ID. Once approved, WorldRemit converts your currency and sends it to your recipient, who collects it via bank transfer, cash pickup or Mobile Money.

Read review: WorldRemit

Western Union

Western Union's remittance fees depend on how much money you're sending, where you're sending it and the payment method. It uses a tiered fee structure, so transfer fees increase at round numbers as the amount you send increases. Despite this, in recent years Western Union has become more competitive and offers discounts to new customers.

When sending money from Australia via bank transfer, fees start from $0. Western Union offers a "Price Estimator" tool on its website which you can use to check the exchange rate and transfer fee before proceeding.

WorldRemit

Similar to Western Union, WorldRemit's transfer fees will vary depending on where you're sending money. WorldRemit's bank transfer fees start from $0.99 and charge a fixed-rate transfer fee. Whether you're sending $1,000 or $10,000 the transfer fee will be the same.

Western Union

Western Union's exchange rate markup typically ranges between 1.5% to 5%. When we checked rates for converting $2,000 AUD to USD, they added a markup of 1.76% to the exchange rate. Western Union offer strong rates for USD but added a markup 4.55% to AUD/GBP and 3.88% to AUD/Euro.

WorldRemit

WorldRemit's exchange rates are around 1% to 2% above the mid-market rates for major currency pairs. For AUD/USD, WorldRemit adds a markup of 1.27%. Currently, WorldRemit doesn't support AUD/Euro.

Western Union

The speed of your transfer will depend on the delivery method. Some transfers might take a day or two, while the fastest transfers can arrive at their destination in just minutes, although sometimes these will cost more.

The slowest are typically bank transfers, which can take up to five business days.

WorldRemit

WorldRemit's transfer speeds also depend on your transfer method. Cash pick-ups, mobile money and airtime top-ups (when you top up someone's mobile phone airtime) can arrive instantly.

Bank transfers and cash home delivery are slower though. Home deliveries can take up to seven days depending on the location, while bank transfers can take several days depending on where the money is going and what day of the week it is.

Western Union

Western Union locations can be found all over the world, making it relatively easy to drop in and make a cash transfer. You can also send funds over the phone or at Western Union online.

You can track your remittance and receive confirmation that it has arrived at the other end via email or SMS.

WorldRemit

You'll need to add a recipient phone number when making WorldRemit transfers. This is to ensure they're automatically updated on the progress of their transfer.

Both senders and recipients will be notified when a transfer is sent and again when it's received.