Sending Money to the Philippines From the USA With Western Union (Is It Worth It?)

Western Union is one of the most well-known money transfer services that allow you to send money to the Philippines from the United States. With Western Union, you can use a bank transfer, credit or debit card, or cash payment in a branch to transfer up to $50,000 USD for currency conversion in one transaction. The recipient can receive the funds through their bank account or in cash.

However, it's important to note that Western Union applies a markup to the USD to PHP exchange rate, which can make their services less affordable. In fact, according to Monito's data, Western Union was a cheap option for less than 0.75% of searches for transfers from the US to the Philippines.

That's why we recommend you use Monito's comparison engine to find the best alternative for Western Union dollar rates today👇

Overview About Western Union to Send Money to the Philippines from the United States

Western Union is one of the world's largest and most well-known money transfer services, operating in over 200 countries and territories and offering services in 150 currencies. They are a trusted and popular method for sending money from the United States to the Philippines. They can transfer up to $50,000 USD to the Philippine Peso.

Western Union is regulated under various authorities, including:

• Registered Money Services Business with US Department of Treasury;
• Licensed as a money transmitter in the US;
• Regulated in the UK and Ireland (for the EU);
• Registered with FINTRAC in Canada.

Western Union provides customers with four money transfer methods: bank transfer, credit or debit card, pay-in-cash, and cash pick-up options. The bank transfer method allows for funds to be transferred directly to the recipient's bank account, while the credit or debit card option enables instant transfers using a card. The pay-in-cash option enables you to pay for the transfer in person at a Western Union agent location, and the cash pick-up option allows the recipient to pick up the funds at a nearby agent location.

To learn more about the company, read our in-depth Western Union review.

What Monito Likes About Western Union

• By far the largest money transfer company on the globe;
• An enormous network of cash pickup locations globally;
• A variety of pay-in options are available.

What Monito Dislikes About Western Union

• Cheap on under 0.75% of USD to PHP comparisons on Monito in 2022;
• Around 90% of fees are hidden away in nontransparent margins;
• Seldom the cheapest service for online bank transfers.

Western Union Transfer Fees to Send to the Philippines From the USA

Western Union charges a service fee for their money transfer service which varies based on the location of the sender, the amount being sent, the recipient's location, and the method of sending.

Have a look below for fees charged by Western Union for sending $1,000 USD from the United States. Fees vary depending on the method used, including through their mobile app, website, physical stores, and phone service.

Western Union US Dollar Rate to the Philippines from the United States

When sending your money with Western Union to the Philippines from the US, the company will apply an exchange rate that is weaker than the market rate. Western Union will pocket this difference, also known as an exchange rate margin.

Western Union Exchange Rate For Dollar to Philippine Peso

Let's look at an example of a transfer from the US to India to understand how Western Union's exchange rates work. On February 20th at 1600 CEST, we used Western Union's online price estimator to find their exchange rates for an in-store transfer. For every one US dollar that you transfer with Western Union, your recipient in India would receive 54.29 Philippine pesos.

• Western Union's Dollar Rate: 1.00 USD = 54.29 PHP

However, the mid-market exchange rate at the same date and time was 54.29 Philippine pesos for one US dollar. This means that Western Union marked up the exchange rate by 1.15% for this transaction.

• Mid-Market Exchange Rate: 1.00 USD = 54.93 PHP

In other tests, Western Union applied around 7% margins on US dollars. Although this is not as high as airport kiosks (which mark up 9% or more), it's not the best option available. You can use Monito's live comparison engine to find other services with lower markups, usually around 0% to 1%:

Compare Western Union Dollar Rate With Other Remittance Services From the US to the Philippines

Although Western Union is one of the largest global money transfer networks in the world, many newer companies offer more transparent and cost-effective methods to send money to the Philippines.

At Monito, we have reviewed and compared hundreds of these services. Our live comparison engine allows users to compare dollar rates and transfer fees in real-time. Based on millions of searches, Remitly was found to be the most cost-effective provider for transferring money to the Philippines from the USA in 64% of comparisons in 2022.  Panda Remit was the cheapest for around 20% of comparisons followed by XE Money Transfer at 5%

We highly recommend Remitly for transfers to the Philippines. To be sure, use our real-time comparison engine below to compare Remitly's USD to PHP rate with other top remittance companies 👇