Question for Western Union users

[PJ]

Hi All,

 

I noticed that the pickup locations for Western Union in China seem to be either:

 

1. China Post or

2. Agricultural Bank of China

 

If we send money to my wife's family and specify a pickup location of Agricultural Bank of China, do they have to have an account there? Has anyone who has done this before know about this?

 

I did research all the old posts about sending money and didn't find an answer to this.

 

Thanks,

 

P.J.

[DocMartin817]

I always send money to Liwen throught Western Union. At least in Wuhan, the only place she can get money is at China Post. Every time she has gone to the Agricultural Bank they say they can not do it and send her over to China Post. I do not know if people have had luck with the Agricultural Bank of China in other places. And she does not have an account at either bank.

[warpedbored]

I have sent money using WU to Bing on several occasions before she came and to her family since she got here. They have never had any problems picking up the money and I am reasonably sure she doesn't have a bank account with either of those banks.

[Trigg]

The way it is supposed to work is you send it Western union and she can pick it up at ANY western union outlet. you don't send to a particular Western union. My so and her family have picked it up at several stations in china.

[Dan R]

What is the advantage of Western Union over direct wire between your bank and the recipient's account?

[Trigg]

Heckifino Dan but therre are several of the SOs who don't have a bank account. My wife had never had one until she came to the US.

[johnxiaoying]

It's a lot cheaper if you call Western Unions toll free number and use a debit card instead of a credit card. I believe the fee is $12 or $14 for sending up to $1000 including the fee.

[Guest Gene]

What is the advantage of Western Union over direct wire between your bank and the recipient's account?

WU is 14 dollars for up to 1000 dollars sent and recipient can pick up money in 5 minutes. My bank, Washington Mutual charges 30 dollars and it takes a few days to process.

[Trigg]

WU is 14$ but not if you use the online service. Then it is VERY expensive-cloase to 10%

[PJ]

Every time she has gone to the Agricultural Bank they say they can not do it and send her over to China Post. I do not know if people have had luck with the Agricultural Bank of China in other places. And she does not have an account at either bank.

 

Uhh so "China Post" is a bank? I thought this was the post office. Shows what I know.

 

You mentioned that the Agricultural bank would send her over to China Post.

 

So if you send it, you don't send it to a specific Western Union then? You just "send it"?

 

P.J.

[Feathers268]

I have had quite an experience with this recently. Problems with sending money is that many states here require that the rate of exchange is locked at the time of sending the transfer. AG bank will not accept this and therefore won't pay out in most cases. This caused a lot of trouble last time I sent money to Jennifer. China Post will do it, but sometimes the employees are too afraid to do anything unless managment is holding their hand. I finally resolved it by having the transfer pay out in US funds so rate of exchange did not apply. You have to ask for that by phone so you can't use the internet site. Hope this is helpful.

Jim

[Trigg]

Correct PJ. Just give them the name of the person recieving it and city--the money can be picked up at any western union. They often change the name and get it backwards. If this happens you can call WU and fix it--no problem.

[philb]

I agree w/ Trigg....(doesn't everyone?):

 

Just list the city and she'll get to a WU outlet. Make sure to pass on the amount sent as well as the MCTN # for her. I made the mistake of trying to surprise her and WU would not pay out unless she knew the exact amount she was planning on receiving. Two trips instead of one will count as one wet mop swing down the road somewhere....I'm sure.

 

Phil

[oregonknl]

"Two trips instead of one will count as one wet mop swing down the road somewhere ... I'm sure....

 

Phil ~! ONLY IN CHINA ~! (all deals are off when she gets here...)

[John & Hai Yan]

I recently sent money to a China Post. I gave the local WU a specific China Post location. She picked up the money with no problem. She needed her ID and she also needed to know the tranfer # that was on the western union form. She was able to pick up the money in RMB or US dollars.