Remitly vs Western Union

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.