sending money with Western Union

I have send 200 Euros to Colombia via Western Union. While picking it up the bank said that they could give 200 US-Dollar or they exchange it in colombian Pesos. 200 Euros should be about 240 Dollars, so now I am wondering if the bank has cheated or if they charge for the exchange of Euros into Dollars, too. Do they? If so, I don´t know for what do I have to pay the huge fees if they charge the receiver again for exchanging the money. Has someone made similar experiences with Western Union?

By Sportfreunde Stiller on Sep 20, 2004, 23:50 in Friendly Talkzone.

Dolfi says on Sep 21, 2004, 04:51:

I also sent money to Colombia using Western Union and There was no problem. They handed the money in colombian pesos, as I intended. The exchange rate was about the oficial one.

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rfonteno says on Sep 26, 2004, 13:57:

Western Union I live in the States., but they charge 9 dollars for every hundred dollars sent approximately. The office should not charge a fee once the money arrives in Colombia.

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Patrick says on Sep 26, 2004, 15:26:

Real World! The U.S. Dollar is considered a commodity in Colombia and as such the exchange rate can vary widely from bank to bank. You should also know that funds sent from overseas to a recipient in Colombia will be taxed unless the recipient can show that the funds were sent by a relative who is a Colombian citizen. Some banks are worse than others. I have had to negotiate to get the best exchange rate from my bank. It seems they have a walk-in rate and a preferred client rate. For small amounts of money Kinko works well and I have found that Money-Gram is better than Western Union.

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Tinto (Moderator) says on Sep 26, 2004, 15:44:

Tax? I think that 3 or 4% tax was repealed earlier this year. I saw it mentioned in the fine print of some of the money transfer websites, but the party at the other end of my recent transaction did not have to pay it. A couple of years ago when I used Western Union the other party did have it deducted from the payout, though.

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2retirensa says on Sep 27, 2004, 16:42:

I was just in Bank of America and was told they charge $40 per international wire transfer regardless of amount and regardless of where it was going. She said you didn't need to be an account holder, either. Obviously not a good choice for $200, but for large amounts it sounds good. Have not used them yet, but probably will if it works as she says.

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Gringomia says on Oct 7, 2004, 19:26:

I send money to colombia every two weeks I send money to my girl friend in colombia via western union.The fee is $9.99 per transaction here in Miami,the most I have sent is $500usd,it was still $9.99.I we have never had any problems yet thank god.
I hope this might be useful
Terry

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