Western Union Money Transfer

About Western Union

The Western Union Company is an American financial services and communications company. Its North American headquarters is in Meridian, Colorado and can trace its history back to 1851. Up until it discontinued the service in 2006, Western Union was the best-known US company in the business of exchanging telegrams.

Western Union has several divisions, with products such as person-to-person money transfer, money orders, business payments and commercial services. As perhaps the best known operator in the money transfer business it has revenues of over $5.5bn in 2013 and employees directly over 7,000 people.

Services

Online - Western Union's website, westernunion.com, allows users to send and receive funds to others, pay bills, or purchase gift cards.

Sending and receiving funds - In order to send funds, a sender goes to a Western Union office and presents funds (plus fees) for "Next Day" or "Money in Minutes" service. The sender provides his or her name and address, the recipient's name, and a designated payment destination. Western Union then provides the sender a 10-digit Money Transfer Control Number (MTCN) that the sender must provide to the recipient. The recipient then proceeds to a Western Union agent office in the designated payment location, presents the 10-digit MTCN, and a photo ID. Money is then paid out to the recipient. In some locations, if a recipient lacks identification documents, the sender and receiver can set up a pre-arranged password. Funds are paid out in cash, although if payment exceeds a local maximum or cash on hand, a check is issued. Alternatively, a sender may forward funds to a recipient by using Western Union's website or by phone. In some countries, the recipient doesn’t need the MTCN number if he has sufficient identification.

Regulation
In Europe, Western Union is regulated by the Austrian Financial Market Authority and the Financial Services Regulatory Authority in Ireland.