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Western Union was founded in 1850, making it one of the most established money transfer operators in the business. Western Union built its network of agent locations in the years before digital really came into play.
However, in the past decade or so Western Union has made efforts to modernise with a user-friendly website and app for more convenient money transfers online to blend seamlessly with their physical agent locations in order to compete with theserious competition they face from multiple startups including Remitly.
Quick Summary: Remitly wins
Overall, our findings between Remitly vs Western Union are that you will typically find lower rates, faster transfer times, and more efficient customer service when using Remitly's services. The brand receives excellent reviews, offers competitive rates, and can complete the majority of transfers with minutes. If you are sending to a less well-known destination, however, Western Union may be a viable option for you due to the sheer number of countries it supports.
Which brand has lower fees?
Remitly charges fees for making transfers that will depend on:
How much you are sending
The delivery method you choose
The provider has ‘Express’ and ‘Economy’ options to choose from, and the ‘Express’ method (which has a faster transfer time) will incur more fees than the slower transfer time option.
As an example, if you were looking to send £600 to Greece (Euros), the following fees would apply:
Express fee: £4.99
Economy fee: £2.99
Western Union’s fees will vary depending on:
The country you are sending to
The size of the transfer
Your chosen payment method (debit/credit card will have higher fees than bank transfer)
Payout method
How you are sending you money (online vs at an agent location)
Using the same example as above, a £600 transfer to Greece would have fees of around £2.90 to £4.90.
✅ Verdict: It's a tie
Comparing Remitly vs Western Union, the fees applied by both of these providers are extremely variable depending on a number of factors, so it’s difficult to say which one is ‘better’ when judging solely on fees. Moreover, as both providers add a markup on the exchange rate, we don’t get a true picture of the total charges you can expect to incur for your transfer until we look at this aspect, too.
Which brand offers better exchange rates?
Remitly adds an exchange rate margin typically between 1 and 3.7% on international transfers, which can vary depending on the currency pairs you are looking to make an exchange between.
The exchange rate markup you’ll get on your transfer depends on the currency you are converting to as well as the transfer time you select, although the provider does tend to offer promotional rates for new customers so this is worth bearing in mind if you haven’t used them before.
Western Union charges a markup on the mid-market rate - exactly how much of a markup isn’t always clear and can vary depending on where you are sending your money, how much you are sending, and the payment method you’re using.
While the provider will almost always offer better exchange rates than your bank, they are rarely competitive when compared to other money transfer providers who tend to offer much smaller markups on the mid-market rate.
✅ Verdict: Remitly's exchange rates tend to be more competitive
Although both companies change their exchange rate margin depending on a number of factors mentioned above, when compared to Remitly vs Western Union, Remitly does tend to offer more competitive exchange rates than Western Union.
Which brand covers more locations?
Remitly currently supports international transfers from 17 countries to over 50 countries around the world. However, the company does seem to be expanding quickly, with many countries listed as ‘coming soon’ on their website.
Western Union enables you to send money to over 200+ countries around the world and has over 500,000 agent locations that make cash payouts easily accessible. As one of the longest established money transfer companies on the market, it’s no surprise that the company has an extremely wide reach.
✅ Verdict: Western Union covers more locations
As a long-standing player in the money transfers space, it’s no surprise that Western Union has a wider reach than Remitly.
Which is faster?
Remitly’s option for either ‘Express’ or ‘Economy’ transfers is useful because it lets you decide whether low fees or fast transfer time is more important to you.
With Express transfers, the money will be processed immediately - which is a good option for anyone needing to send money internationally urgently.
The Economy option, on the other hand, can take between 3 - 5 business days to arrive in the recipient’s bank account.
Western Union’s transfer times range from less than a day to up to 7 working days, depending on:
Your payment method
The transfer type (cash is faster than a bank deposit, for example)
The amount you are sending
Where you are sending to
Using Western Union’s transfer tool will provide you with a clearer look into exactly how long your transfer should take depending on the specific transfer you need to make.
✅ Verdict: Remitly has faster transfer times overall
Between Remitly vs Western Union, both operators do offer instant transfers, however, Western Union’s instant transfers are only available under specific conditions (cash pay-outs), whereas Remitly has specifically designed their service offerings to benefit people in need of rapid transfer times.
Equally, on the other end, Remitly promises their transfers will take a maximum of 5 working days, whereas Western Union transfers can take up to 7.
Which brand offers more transfer & payment options?
Remitly supports the following payment options:
Credit or debit card
Bank account (US, Canada, Australia only)
Prepaid cards
Bank transfers (UK)
iDeal (Netherlands)
Klarna (Austria and Germany)
SEPA (Italy and France)
Your beneficiary can receive the funds sent through their bank account, cash pickup points, debit card, their mobile money transfer wallet, or have the money delivered to their doorstep.
Western Union offers the following payment options for international transfers:
Credit or debit card
Bank transfer
Cash
You can select for your recipient to receive the transfer either as a cash pickup or as a bank deposit. Cash pickups are typically available instantly, whilst bank deposits can take between 0-2 working days.
✅ Verdict: It's a tie
Between Western Union vs Remitly, both companies offer an excellent range of payment options and payout options, so you should be able to find an arrangement that benefits you and your recipient with either of these two operators.
What do users have to say about each brand?
Remitly has over 29,000 reviews on Trustpilot and an overall ‘Excellent’ rating of 4.5 out of 5. Positive reviews frequently mention:
Excellent conversion rates
Fast transfer times
Hassle-free service
In terms of poor reviews, customers most frequently comment on the lack of accessible customer service after initiating a transfer, and Express transfers taking longer than promised in some circumstances.
Western Union has over 17,000 reviews on Trustpilot and an overall ‘Average’ rating of 3.3 out of 5 - a somewhat surprising score for the size of the company and how long it has been running. Elsewhere on the internet, the provider has mixed reviews.
While many users are loyal to the service and particularly like the ease of having a physical agent location to visit for cash pickups and payments, the company has many negative reviews from customers who have had issues with their transfer being delayed, paying expensive fees and exchange rates, or simply not being able to contact an agent for help with their transfer.
✅ Verdict: Remitly has better reviews
Despite being a newcomer to the scene compared to Western Union, Remitly already has glowing reviews for it's competitive rates and efficient service.
What brand offers a better ease of use, accessibility & security?
The Remitly website supports 11 different languages, including English, Spanish, French, and Mandarin. Remitly also has an app for more convenient money transfers, and this is available on both iOS and Android. For customer service, you have the option of live chat 24/7 or calling the support centre by phone.
When using Remitly, you will likely be asked to verify your identity in order to keep your money safe. This will normally be in the form of uploading a photo of your passport and driving license.
In terms of security, the company uses Secure Socket Layer (SSL) with 256-bit encryption, the industry-standard in secure server protection. Your account is also protected by a unique password that you create.
Western Union has designed its services to be extremely accessible to people all over the world. The app is available in English, Spanish, and Mandarin and is available on both iOS and Android.
In terms of security, the website or app (whichever you’re using) both take you through a series of steps to verify your identity, which may include uploading a photo of your passport and driving license as a form of ID.
In addition, the provider has implemented Software Composition Analysis (SCA). This is a customer authentication security layer applied to both payment booking and account access and manipulation. It is part of the two-factor authentication (2FA) security protocol.
✅ Verdict: It's a tie
Between Western Union vs Remitly, both providers have a number of security and verification steps in place to protect your identity and bank accounts, and have accessible apps to make transferring money a convenient process for people all over the world.
Additional features you might be interested in...
Remitly offers additional promotions to entice new customers to use its services, such as no fees on your first transfer.
If you haven’t used the operator before and are looking for a low-cost transfer option, this could be a good option for you.
After setting up your international transfer, Western Union provides you with a tracking number, with which you can track the progress of your transfer.
This is useful if you have a deadline to send your money or simply want to keep in touch with the recipient to let them know when they can expect the money to be available in their bank.
Case study: sending various amounts
In these Remitly vs Western Union case studies, we'll look at the fees, exchange rate, and transfer times you could expect when transferring money from the US to the Philippines with each provider.
Sending $200
$3.99 transfer cost (unless you are a first time customer) for an express transfer which would be processed immediately, or no fee for an economy transfer which will take up to 5 working days.
Sending $1,000
The exchange rate for transferring $1,000 would be the same as if you were sending $200, but with no transfer fee for either Express or Economy transfer if you are a first time customer.
Sending $20,000
Again, new customers benefit from no transfer fee with Remitly, while existing customers will need to pay a $3.99 fee for this transfer. The exchange rate margin remains the same as the smaller two transfers, around 1 - 3% more than the mid-market rate.
Sending $200
Sending this amount via Western Union would incur a fee between $0 (for bank-to-bank transfers) to $9.99 when paying with a credit card, plus an average exchange rate markup of up to 6% – the exact markup is not clear. This transfer could be processed with 0 – 7 business days.
Sending $1,000
This sum would incur a fee between $0 and $29.99, again, depending on what payment method you opt for. It’s important to note that the more expensive option – credit card – and debit card has a transfer time of up to 3 business days, while bank transfer has no fee but could take up to 7 working days. This transfer would still be made at Western Union’s exchange rate markup.
Sending $20,000
Sending this sum is only available on Western Union as a bank transfer, which has no fees (but still an exchange rate above the mid-market rate). The transfer would take between 0 – 7 days.
Final Verdict: Remitly vs Western Union
Overall, Remitly tends to recieve better reviews from previous customers, offer faster transfer times, and more competitive rates when compared with Western Union.
These variables are all dependent on the type of transfer you are making, however, which is why we always recommend using our comparison tool (scroll to the top of this page) to compare the right provider for you based on your needs.
