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What do you think of Western Union as a form of payment?

Discussion in 'Payment Processing' started by Danielzo, Jun 18, 2014.

  1. #1
    During the time that I have spent as a freelance writer, I have noticed that there are people who won’t take PayPal as a form of payment for various reasons, some often related to their country of residence.

    As I do not currently have accounts on other major payment processors, I thought about using Western Union as a form of payment with those clients who do not have PayPal accounts.

    My question to you is as follows- Have you ever done online work for your clients and used Western Union as a form of payment? What were your experiences while using this service provider?

    Thanks!
     
    Danielzo, Jun 18, 2014 IP
  2. xXxpert

    xXxpert Well-Known Member

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    #2
    I always receive my adsense payments via western union, its fast and reliable and large number of authorized dealers available to pick up money
     
    xXxpert, Jun 18, 2014 IP
  3. Kritoch

    Kritoch Peon

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    #3
    What percentage you give for their services?
     
    Kritoch, Jun 18, 2014 IP
  4. Danielzo

    Danielzo Active Member

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    #4
    I heard that they make their profit through currency exchange, so the percentage should be quite small.
     
    Danielzo, Jun 19, 2014 IP
  5. xXxpert

    xXxpert Well-Known Member

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    #5
    I pay no percentage. its in currency exchange and they charge very small amount.
     
    xXxpert, Jun 19, 2014 IP
  6. Danielzo

    Danielzo Active Member

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    #6
    It seems quite interesting. I wonder why more people don't use it as a way of payment.

    Can there be chargebacks when using the Western Union system? Additionally, have you ever experienced money coming late?
     
    Danielzo, Jun 19, 2014 IP
  7. ndanev

    ndanev Peon

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    #7
    Western Union (WU) is first very expensive, 2nd is non refundable, 3rd is very fast.
    So best thing to use WU for is when you sell a service that you've already delivered, or one that the customer won`t mind not having the ability to refund/claim. Also services that are generally in the range of at least over 500$ to 5000$ (as that's the most cost effective per transaction range).
    Otherwise you can use payments such as bitcoin, which are again fast, cheap and are not expensive, however hide risks of devaluation and others as well as are not generally that well adopted yet.
    Hope that helps.
     
    ndanev, Jun 23, 2014 IP
  8. Matei Gavriluta

    Matei Gavriluta Well-Known Member

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    #8
    WU is fast but pay attention because many fraudulent payments are sent this way and you could end giving explanation where the money are from. Do you pay taxes?
     
    Matei Gavriluta, Jul 16, 2014 IP
  9. Danielzo

    Danielzo Active Member

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    #9
    Hmm, I did think about this to be honest.

    What else except for PayPal do you use when dealing with customers that come from countries where PP isn't accepted as a form of online payment?
     
    Danielzo, Jul 17, 2014 IP
  10. Matei Gavriluta

    Matei Gavriluta Well-Known Member

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    #10
    Bank Transfer and skrill (Ex moneybookers )
     
    Matei Gavriluta, Jul 17, 2014 IP
  11. chinesegirl07

    chinesegirl07 Active Member

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    #11
    they are my alternative payment method especially projects is outside odesk or freelancer or the client does not have paypal account.
     
    chinesegirl07, Aug 1, 2014 IP
  12. Being Prolific

    Being Prolific Member

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    #12
    Online freelancers marketplace like elance and freelancer.com do not support Western Union as their payment method, so I prefer Payoneer as it is specially build for online freelancers.
     
    Last edited: Nov 23, 2014
    Being Prolific, Nov 23, 2014 IP
  13. lifeplayer

    lifeplayer Notable Member

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    #13
    My first option still paypal when doing the freelancer job or hiring freelancer because it can be refund if anything goes wrong. WU is good only if you are getting fix salary monthly or similar. Actually i use only WU when receive money from adsense, it is easy and fast.
     
    lifeplayer, Nov 23, 2014 IP
  14. FokeBox

    FokeBox Active Member

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    #14
    WU will cost you 1-2%, and non-refundable (paypal is free & refundable). If someone cannot get paypal, ask what do they have, in most cases they would suggest some other payment system that is more popular in their country. But I would prefer to find someone else who would agree accept paypal.
     
    FokeBox, Nov 24, 2014 IP
  15. consul

    consul Active Member

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    #15
    Greetings everyone!

    Western Union is a bit costly. My brother who sends me funds for my hemodialysis sessions uses Xoom.com. It has an option to send the funds directly to the bank account of the recipient. I noticed that an amount of $700 will get a deduction of around $5. I think this is a cheaper option. It is also fast and has a tracking facility.

    My number one priority of course is to use Paypal, but my brother does not have a Paypal account. I think I will encourage him to get a Paypal account later. To the OP, do consider Xoom. They also have door to door delivery and an option to send the money directly to your credit card balance. I am not sure about the latter, but you can check it out on their website.

    God bless.
     
    consul, Dec 6, 2014 IP
  16. IG2010

    IG2010 Well-Known Member

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    #16
    Western Union is a good service if you need to send cash from time to time to family (basically getting paid for services or jobs by WU is forbidden by their TOS), yet it is expensive, in the smae country it's usually correct but sending cash abroad could cost you as much as 10% in some cases.
     
    IG2010, Dec 7, 2014 IP
  17. DAWalker

    DAWalker Peon

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    #17
    I received more than 10k in one month when my PP got limited and they banned me.
    Now i have to wait more than 6 months to receive more money
     
    DAWalker, Dec 8, 2014 IP
  18. surname

    surname Member

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    #18
    Western union is fast & reliable, you can use it without any problem........I have received lots of fund through WU. no problem ever.

    You are right that after certain period clients doesn't want to use PayPal or any freelancing sites,then they go for bank transfer or WU & WU is OK.
     
    surname, Dec 17, 2014 IP
  19. Marija00

    Marija00 Peon

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    #19
    in my opinion western union is very expensive way and i reccomended you to find some alternative
     
    Marija00, Feb 1, 2015 IP
  20. consul

    consul Active Member

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    #20
    Update: Xoom's TOS dictates that money sent should not be in payment of goods or services. Thus, it is only good for remittance purposes. Otherwise, there is a big possibility that your transaction may be cancelled.

    If you don't want Paypal, you can try 2Checkout. I believe it is now free to apply.

    I wish you well.
     
    consul, Feb 1, 2015 IP