Western Union is nearly synonymous with international money transfers, and if your recipient needs cash pickup, it might be the way to go. But depending on the currency, PayPal may offer a better exchange rate and fast transfer speeds. We compare Western Union and PayPal to help you pick the best option for your transfer.
Go to the Western Union site, enter how much you’re transferring and confirm how you’re sending it and how it should be received. You also have the option of visiting or calling an agent.
Once you’ve approved the exchange rate and fees you’ll pay, Western Union converts and delivers your money to your recipient’s bank account or for cash pickups at locations worldwide.
To transfer money through PayPal, you’ll need to create a free PayPal account. You then send a transfer to your recipient’s PayPal account, funding the transfer with your PayPal balance, bank account, credit or debit card or PayPal Credit. After your recipient receives the money, they can either keep the funds in their PayPal account or withdraw the money to their bank account.
Which offers lower fees?
Western Union
Figuring out much you’ll pay to transfer money internationally with Western Union can be muddied. Sending directly to your recipient’s bank account is free for transfers to most countries. When sending money for cash pickup, most fees start at $5, although they can be as much as $100+ when sending large amounts, assuming you’re paying by credit or debit card.
PayPal
How much it costs depends on how much money you send, where you send it and how you pay for the transfer.
When you pay for an international transfer using your PayPal balance or linked bank account, you’ll pay a fee of either $2.99 or $4.99 — the fee is waived if you’re sending to within Canada. If you’re sending to certain countries and paying by credit or debit instead of your paypal balance, you’ll have to pay an additional 2.90% fee plus a small fixed fee (usually around CAD$0.50).
Winner: Western Union
For most countries, you pay $0 transfer fees with Western Union if you send money directly to your recipient’s bank account. With PayPal, sending large amounts to many regions in the world could cost you a flat fee + a percentage fee + a fixed fee, which can add up really quickly as the transfer amount increases. Western Union is our winner here.
Compare other transfer services
Our table below lets you compare services you can use to send money abroad. Compare fees, exchange rates and discounts from different money transfer services, and when you have made your choice, click Go to site.
To understand who offers better exchange rates, you’ll need to first look at the mid-market rate. This is the true exchange rate that averages the buying and selling rate of a global currency — and the rate banks and transfer services use when they trade among themselves.
Western Union
Depending on the country you’re sending money to, a typical exchange rate at Western Union could be up to 6% above the mid-market rate. If you’re sending a large amount overseas, this means hundreds of dollars straight into Western Union’s coffers.
PayPal
To calculate the exchange rate it offers to customers, PayPal takes the wholesale rate it gets from its bank and adds a 3% or 4% margin. PayPal updates this rate twice a day.
But because you can’t know what PayPal’s wholesale rate is, it’s difficult to determine on your own what exchange rate you’ll get. The best way to find accurate exchange rates is by using PayPal’s currency exchange calculator, which you can find after you log in to your account.
Winner: Paypal
For your typical overseas transfer, you’ll get a stronger exchange rate with PayPal.
Who’s faster?
Western Union
Delivery speeds vary with transfer options. Your transfer could take minutes if you send money online (and pay by credit or debit), at an agent location or by phone. Although this could come with higher costs. Your cheapest options could take up to 3 business days, depending on the country.
PayPal
With PayPal, transferring among existing PayPal accounts is instantaneous. Payments from your PayPal account to another bank account are delivered by the next business day.
Winner: PayPal
Whichever way you send your money, it’ll get to your recipient faster with PayPal. For some transfers, this could be up to 3 business days sooner than Western Union.
Who offers more options?
Money Transfer Service
Payment Methods
Minimum and maximum transfers
Delivery methods
Transfer speeds
Countries and currencies
Credit card, debit card, cash
Minimum is $1.00
Maximum is $7,500 for cash pickups or $999 for direct deposit to a bank account
Deposit to bank account, cash pickup, e-wallet
Varies from minutes up to 3 days, depending on the types of transaction
200+ countries
Credit card, debit card, PayPal credit
Minimum varies by country (about $0.02)
Maximum is unlimited for Verified accounts, though anywhere from $10,000-$60,000 can be sent in a single transaction. Unverified account limits vary.
PayPal transfer (can be deposited into bank account afterwards)
Almost immediately or up to several minutes
200+ countries
Bottom line
That you’ll get stronger exchange rates with PayPal is clear-cut. But depending on how much you’re sending, you could pay higher transfer fees with PayPal. Then if your recipient doesn’t have a bank account, Western Union’s cash pickup may be your best option.
Kelly Suzan Waggoner is editor-in-chief at Finder, where she works with a talented team of expert writers and editors focused on helping readers to save money, earn money and grow their wealth. She joined Finder in 2016 as an editor, germinating the site from money transfers to include the wide scope of personal finance.
Kelly has worked with publishers, magazines and nonprofits throughout New York City to develop best practices around editorial, SEO, plain language and accessibility, including Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, HauteLife Press and Queerty. She is quoted on such sites as Lifehacker and CertifiKid, and ghostwrote Copyediting and Proofreading for Dummies, published by Wiley.
Kelly earned a BA in English from Russell Sage College and a Poynter ACES Certificate in Editing from Poynter News University. She is trained in digital and website accessibility and plain language, and is a member of ACES: The Society for Editing and the Center for Plain Language. Between projects, she toys with words, flips through style guides and fantasizes about the serial comma’s world domination.
If you’re looking for a secure way to send money overseas, an international bank draft could be for you — but if speed is important, consider using a money transfer service instead.
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