Western Union, what's the point?

[jknight8907]

I've been seeing a lot of commercials for Western Union, advertising a holiday special that you can send up to $50 for $5. My question, why? Why not mail a check for 44c or whatever it is now. Or buy a money order for $1 or so and mail it?

 

[jmann]

Some people like to send money internationally...

 

[Nugget]

Western Union is also "instant." As soon as they've received the funds from you, the recipient can make the withdrawal. In an emergency sometimes you don't have time to wait for the USPS to deliver a check.

 

[ucfgrad93]

Western Union is also "instant." As soon as they've received the funds from you, the recipient can make the withdrawal. In an emergency sometimes you don't have time to wait for the USPS to deliver a check.

Agreed. But a 10% fee seems a little expensive.

 

[MooneyFlyer]

Agreed. But a 10% fee seems a little expensive.

For people in unusual circumstances 10% may actually be cheap if it saves a few days. For instance, if you were to send a relative a check it would often take 1-2 days to get there and another 2 days to clear their bank. If for some reason they needed that money immediately this would save them 3~4 days or so...

 

[rowsdower]

A big reason for some people is that they don't have checking accounts. Some people are not too averse to paying a high fee for financial services (check cashing, cash advance on checks, etc.), either because they don't know any better or they don't have good enough credit to qualify for better services.

 

[bruinsrme]

Cmon how else would these internet scammers get your money

 

[jemeinc]

Emergencies & scams..