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Western Union

Did the rates go up on WU recently? I was going to send myself $200 and the fees were $15.99 to send! Tried dropping it to $100 USD and it was still $10.99 fee! It used to be $5.99 to send $100. Are people running into this same thing? The costs to get money here have really jumped up. I guess it makes sense to go back to cuevas. Last time I used one it was about 4% which beats this high price of WU!
I noticed the same thing. My girlfriend sent money to her mother on Monday and I noticed the same thing. $15.99 to send $200. Horrible. I was going to use a cueva but it takes time to receive it and she needed it ASAP on Monday to pay an overdue bill. I guess this may be the new normal.
 
Did the rates go up on WU recently? I was going to send myself $200 and the fees were $15.99 to send! Tried dropping it to $100 USD and it was still $10.99 fee! It used to be $5.99 to send $100. Are people running into this same thing? The costs to get money here have really jumped up. I guess it makes sense to go back to cuevas. Last time I used one it was about 4% which beats this high price of WU!
8% to send funds is crazy in this day and age. Wire fees have been really high lately. Cuevas were charging as high as 5.5% a few weeks ago and since come down to about 3.75%. USDT seems to be really popular in Argentina. I get updates on Telegram from Reby although I have never used them. They post rates daily.

Screenshot 2024-12-11 at 4.16.59 PM.jpg
 
I noticed the same thing. My girlfriend sent money to her mother on Monday and I noticed the same thing. $15.99 to send $200. Horrible. I was going to use a cueva but it takes time to receive it and she needed it ASAP on Monday to pay an overdue bill. I guess this may be the new normal.
@James Bond i would recommend you use Moneygram instead of WU. You should be able to send to your mother in law a payment for free for the first payment. If you sign up you can send in as much as you want I believe. Just transfer to her Argentine account or if she has Mercado Pago account that should work. I just send into my normal bank account. Rate is always better than WU and fees are free for first one. It comes through quickly so might want to try that instead of WU. I also noticed they keep increasing their fees. I don't understand their business model as maybe it is just tourists. Most locals don't like using them now because of high fees. Tourists are stuck using them. Works well but fees are high.
 
@James Bond i would recommend you use Moneygram instead of WU. You should be able to send to your mother in law a payment for free for the first payment. If you sign up you can send in as much as you want I believe. Just transfer to her Argentine account or if she has Mercado Pago account that should work. I just send into my normal bank account. Rate is always better than WU and fees are free for first one. It comes through quickly so might want to try that instead of WU. I also noticed they keep increasing their fees. I don't understand their business model as maybe it is just tourists. Most locals don't like using them now because of high fees. Tourists are stuck using them. Works well but fees are high.
Thank you @Larry ! I have never used Money Gram. I will check it out. Good to know. Does it ask for any tax info?
 
Thank you @Larry ! I have never used Money Gram. I will check it out. Good to know. Does it ask for any tax info?
I have also used MG to send to my local bank. I had a zero fee offer on my first transfer. I wasn't sure how much you can send but I sent $1k worth. I never like sending too much at once. I have to enter my CUIT and details of my local account. I would assume Mercado Pago works as it works like a bank. The transfer usually shows up in my account within 2 hours.
 
MG never works for me. It always attempts to send and then always fails with some security check. I am not sure but it never works. I have tired my phone app and also computer. Never works.

I sent WU today. Rate has gone up in line with MEP and blue. I got 1,143.25 to $1 USD today.
 
FYI Western Union is probably going to be a bit whacky with rates. Yesterday I sent myself money before the market opened and WU's rate went down 110 pesos. Funny how they are always slow to update when there is an increase but speedy when there is a decrease!
 
I got 1,356 pesos to $1 USD today. Woo hoo.
Me too. The rate is finally going up. It's about time. It is funny that Milei is trying to blame Villarreal. He and Caputo are morons. They should look in the mirror who to blame. I have a feeling we will finally see the exchange rate fall apart before the elections.
 
Me too. The rate is finally going up. It's about time. It is funny that Milei is trying to blame Villarreal. He and Caputo are morons. They should look in the mirror who to blame. I have a feeling we will finally see the exchange rate fall apart before the elections.
I saw that about Milei trying to blame the VP for the exchange rate. I like Milei but that sounded totally desperate. It feels like the exchange rate is going to totally collapse before the election. As someone that has all of my savings in USD it is one of those things I wouldn't be too upset if it does happen but feel sorry for all my local friends. But then again, most of them are saving in USD too.
 
I saw that about Milei trying to blame the VP for the exchange rate. I like Milei but that sounded totally desperate. It feels like the exchange rate is going to totally collapse before the election. As someone that has all of my savings in USD it is one of those things I wouldn't be too upset if it does happen but feel sorry for all my local friends. But then again, most of them are saving in USD too.
I saw that. I have to admit I am not upset to see the dollar go up. It's long past due.

It sounds like the IMF is worried about the futures market. It looks like Argentina is manipulating their currency via the futures market.

 
Are people still using WU to transfer from other countries to Argentina or are there better alternatives out there?

For people with a MACRO banc account there might be one alternative, transfer USD directly as they won't charge commission:


I guess it depends on what your bank might charge for the transaction.
 
I am still using WU sometimes. The fees seem like they have jumped up. I used to get discounted rates to send. But now it is higher. But the blue rate is 1,300.50 to $1 USD as of today which is great.
 
I am still using WU sometimes. The fees seem like they have jumped up. I used to get discounted rates to send. But now it is higher. But the blue rate is 1,300.50 to $1 USD as of today which is great.
Mine when I send WU still gets discounted rates. I am not sure what the differences are. A friend sends similar amounts as I do in similar intervals and his are always much higher. He recently paid $40 to send $600 and I just paid $15. Not sure why/how I am being targeted for discounts. Does anyone know?

WU is so convenient. Here is a screenshot from a payment from this morning.

IMG_6965.jpg
 
Mine when I send WU still gets discounted rates. I am not sure what the differences are. A friend sends similar amounts as I do in similar intervals and his are always much higher. He recently paid $40 to send $600 and I just paid $15. Not sure why/how I am being targeted for discounts. Does anyone know?

WU is so convenient. Here is a screenshot from a payment from this morning.

View attachment 9757
WU sometimes sends discounted offers and rates to some users but not sure how they offer it and select to give it. Some people I know get the discount and some don't. Try using a different email address, phone number and device and sign up for a new WU account and that sometimes drops the rates and fees.
 
WU sometimes sends discounted offers and rates to some users but not sure how they offer it and select to give it. Some people I know get the discount and some don't. Try using a different email address, phone number and device and sign up for a new WU account and that sometimes drops the rates and fees.
The key is to make sure that your email and phone are different. I have done this before and it also started offering my discounts.

I send in $2,000 at a time and my fee is $60.
 
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