alternatives to Western Union for collecting cash?

I use wise.com to move from my English account to Colombian account. No idea how competitive the rates and fees are but it’s the best option I’ve found. Instant transfer too

I mean, what if you don't have a Colombian bank account and want to pick up cash.

I used Ria, xoom, and remitly in the past and they were able to get the money at an Exito or other stores. Not sure if still works or what the ID requirements are. Faster transfers are more expensive

Charles Schwab or a Fintech card to get cash form a davavienda ATM at close to Visa and MC rates.

Or remitly. They have  apick up option at banks, for non account holders,  but it can be a hassle, but I have done it. Need a cedula at Davivienda. They prefer you having bank accounts

Best to have capitol one, Charles schwag, or Fintech card and get your mone at a Davaienda ATM. There have been lots of threads on this subject on this forum and others.

The amount of money you can pick up with Remitly at exito and other places is pidly-like 750 mil COP max.

Never tried the actual pick up at exito, etc.  myself-only at banks, and they give you a hassle

@emerald788 I have been experimenting and using various money transfer services for over a decade now. Western Union, Ria, Xoom, Remitly, WorldRemit, and a few others.

Forget about Western Union, the rates are basically highway robbery.

The best money transfer combination I have experienced is:

USA Bank Account 👉 Remitly 👉 Colombian bank account ($0 fee, 5 business days)

For ATM withdrawals:

Charles Schwab or Ally Bank Account 👉 Davivienda ATM 👉 Decline Conversion Rate

(Both my banks refund ATM fees at the end of billing cycle)

For cash pickup (I have done this only once in my adult life):

USA Bank Account 👉 Remitly 👉 Cash pickup ($$ fees, available within minutes)

(However if your SOURCE is a debit card, expect higher fees. If your source is a credit card, expect even HIGHER fees)

Good luck!

For ATM withdrawals:
Charles Schwab or Ally Bank Account 👉 Davivienda ATM 👉 Decline Conversion Rate
(Both my banks refund ATM fees at the end of billing cycle)

-@ChineduOpara

Does Ally Bank refund ATM fees? Do you need a brokerage account with them?

@Mr. Barley Just a regular checking account.

@Mr. Barley Just a regular checking account.
-@ChineduOpara

I am skeptical:

Will I pay a fee for using an ATM overseas or in a foreign country? Yes, there is an international transaction fee of up to 1% when using an ATM located outside of the U.S. When using a non-Allpoint ATM overseas, an additional fee may be charged by the ATM owner.

For cash pickup (I have done this only once in my adult life):

USA Bank Account 👉 Remitly 👉 Cash pickup ($$ fees, available within minutes)

Thanks for the advice!

Where did you pick up, Exito? Was 750k the max, like @nico peligro said?

Also, this doesn't require a cedula, does it? Just passport ID?

The amount of money you can pick up with Remitly at exito and other places is pidly-like 750 mil COP max.
Never tried the actual pick up at exito, etc. myself-only at banks, and they give you a hassle
-@nico peligro

Check out: https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.p … =2#5722118

@USAmario says he can pick up US$1000 using Xoom at Exito or Carulla.

Can anyone confirm?

@emerald788 Ah, sorry, I should have been more specific... I did the cash pickup when I was visiting my hometown in Nigeria, and I picked up cash from a local bank. I've literally never picked up cash in Colombia, I just purchased things with my credit card. Then later when I opened a Bancolombia account, paid with my Debit card. I then "refilled" my Bancolombia account using Remitly bank-to-bank path (0 fees, 5 days turnaround).

Funny guy.

@emerald788 I tdoubt it.I tried with Remitly once and they only allow like  750 mil at those places for pick up

@ChineduOpara however, others should note that your procedure for getting cash from Davaienda with Charles Schwab , Capitol One or a foriegn pre-loaded Visa or MC Fintech card is 100% correct.

@ChineduOpara however, others should note that your procedure for getting cash from Davaienda with Charles Schwab , Capitol One or a foriegn pre-loaded Visa or MC Fintech card is 100% correct.
-@nico peligro

Indeed. Both my Charles Schwab and Ally cards work well with Davivienda... decline conversion, get cash. And both banks refund ATM fees (if any) at the end of your month.

It does NOT work with Bancolombia ATMs, sadly... at the Bancolombia ATMs if you decline their unfavorable conversion rate, they cancel the transaction and give you back your card 😅

Side-note: today about an hour ago, I bought groceries at my local Olimpica grocery store here in Barranquilla, and paid with my Ally Bank debit card. It worked fine. I did the math, and it was charged at the pretty favorable foreign exchange rate of 4,010 × $1

Hopefully that additional info helps someone out, if they really don't *need* to pull out cash.

This may or may not work for you depending on your circumstances. I have withdrawn $5,000.00 US from my bank account in Barranquila. You will need your passport, banking information, and a fiador with a Colombia cedula. In our case we taxied from Santa Marta, stood in line about twenty minutes or so then spent another thirty minutes in a mangers office as he called and confirmed details and then off we went. Now would you want to be walking around with that much cash is another matter. I don't remember the difference in exchange rates but is was not so drastic one way. May not work in your case; but, it is an option.

elp

For almost every Expat, the likelihood of

enlisting a fiador  to guarantee repayment

of 5,000 USD as a real estate property owner ..

is probably nil. 

As for  walking around in Colombia with

5,000 USD in one's pocket .. fuggedaboutit.

cccmedia

@cccmedia It was a few paranoid days until the cash could be distributed to be sure and not for the faint to heart as well. As I said not for everybody.

elp

You know the way in the US, if you pay for groceries with a card, you can get cash back?

Is there any store in Colombia where that works?

By the way, I was just looking at Global66 and they require a cedula for signup from Colombia.

Do all cash pickups require a cedula?

You know the way in the US, if you pay for groceries with a card, you can get cash back?
Is there any store in Colombia where that works?
-@emerald788

Great question. I've always assumed "no", since I've literally never heard of anyone doing that. But, I've never actually tried!

Hi, I need to send myself some money from a bank account overseas, but heard that Western Union fees/exchange rates are exorbitant. What's a good alternative? I'm in the Coffee Zone.
-@emerald788

Hello emerald788, is your bank account in the USA?

I know your post says "alternatives to Western Union" but decided to reply anyway, because you said "but heard that...".   

In my experience, WU rates are not bad, and their service is the easiest to use, with a few caveats:

First, if transferring to yourself, you will have to make an online account with WU, and it's quick and easy to do.

The tricky part:  When sending money to yourself or anyone else in Colombia,  WU tells you that the recipient can pick up the money at any WU location.   THIS IS NOT TRUE, IN MY EXPERIENCE!

Sorry for the all caps, but it's such an important point, because not all WU locations in Colombia participate in receiving foreign transfers for personal pickup, and those that do might have limits on the amount of cash they can give you.

So best to visit the location first and ask them first if they participate in receiving international transfers from your bank in your country, then ask them the maximum cash they can give to you in any one day.

Then:  if you have or a trusted friend has a Colombian bank account, and if that bank is hooked up with WU for transfers, then you can transfer to that account using your debit or credit card online right from your WU account.   This is what I have been doing and it is so much easier than running around the city trying to find a WU office that can actually carry out the transfer.

One final point:   Just because the bank (Banco de Bogota, as an example) accepts international money transfers from WU, it does not mean that the individual account is cleared.   There are usually some prerequisites, such as the type of account and the age of the account.   In my case, my wife set up an account of Banco de Bogota and we had no restrictions and for a couple of years now I have been sending money to that account by internet using only my debit card from  inside my Western Union account.     I hope this information has been helpful and good luck!

Can I make a suggestion that whatever service anyone uses, first make sure that you can make all of your transactions online from a web browser, and not only from some app.  You really want full control from a computer or laptop and to not be restricted to a cell phone app.   Just imagine how your life would be in Colombia and you need money and your cell is dead, damaged, lost or stolen.  Just my 2 cents.

Western Union rates are the worst ever, I would lose around 80 dollars every month if I used them.. Wise, or Remitly give the best rates you can send to a Coñombian account or to pick it up yourself at an exito or Carulla with a cedula or Passport.

@rf2023 I agree, I once nearly lost all my Revolut money because they don't have a Web interface. Also, even when a fintech has a web interface they want you to validate login with your phone. It's really annoying. Your bank account and your phone number, those are two different things.

I've seen Western Union rates fluctuate a bit.  What I like about them is the transfers always work within the time frame promised, and before you committ to a transfer, they lay out the whole thing, the rate, any fees, etc.   They also have different transaction types like bank to bank, credit card to bank, debit card to bank, and all of those categories with the destination being a cash pickup instead of to a bank.  They have points and rewards too.    To be fair I've never used any other service.  I signed up for wise once, was accepted and then the next day, my having not yet even used the service, they cancelled me, closed my account and would give me no explanaton as to what happened  (sort of like th Cancilleria does jaja).

@rf2023 I agree, I once nearly lost all my Revolut money because they don't have a Web interface. Also, even when a fintech has a web interface they want you to validate login with your phone. It's really annoying. Your bank account and your phone number, those are two different things.
-@emerald788

Hi emerald788, in my humble opinion, the global powers that be want us all living our lives, especially our financial lives, out of a cell phone.  They have motives much deeper than just providing us with a convenience.    Try telling them sometime "Thank you, but I waive the benefit of the convenience." and they will tell you, "Sorry, you don't have a choice;  either download the app or get lost.".

@rf2023 Experience has shown me that Wise is rather picky and finicky about how they operate and deal with our money. I can't "hold" COP in it, which limits its usefulness a bit. And it's SO DIFFICULT to put money INTO ypur Wise account! I am not sure WTF the Wise business product owner/team is thinking! 🤔

I have given up on using my Wise account in Colombia or for money transfers. I think they are best used as a simple charge card in EUROPE and some parts of ASIA (or USA, if you want). They don't seem that interesting in making it easy to transfer money, to be honest. So I just parked some "emergency funds" there and let it earn 4% interest.

Regarding the whole cellphone thing: all 3 services I use the most (Remitly, WorldRemit, and Ria) have both apps and websites. I use either/or interchangeably. The only time that they ask me to authenticate with my cellphone is when I have been away for 6+ months. And even then, they provide an "authenticate by email" option (at least as of last year... dunno if they have changed).

In any case it's good to have multiple stashes of funds exactly for this reason (losing your mobile device and yet the companies want you to re-authenticate via mobile).

@rf2023

Regarding the whole cellphone thing: all 3 services I use the most (Remitly, WorldRemit, and Ria) have both apps and websites. I use either/or interchangeably. The only time that they ask me to authenticate with my cellphone is when I have been away for 6+ months. And even then, they provide an "authenticate by email" option (at least as of last year... dunno if they have changed).
-@ChineduOpara

ChineduOpara that's another good point you brought up, that any service should also allow you authentication and resetting of lost password options that do not require the use of a cellphone.  I guess we could say they have to have a "Lost your cellphone?"  policy!

The ultimate answer is Bitcoin.

International and no tie to your personal details if you set it up right.

The ultimate answer is Bitcoin.
International and no tie to your personal details if you set it up right.
-@emerald788

Too tricky? Very volatile in value. And alot of work.  You have to have people in Colombia willing to give you cash for your bitcoin.  Are they really privacy advocates like you and me?  Or could they be honeypot government agents working to red flag you?  How many of the visa facilitators and attorneys could be honeypot agents?  How many of the websites?   How far do you like to go down the rabbit hole?

My favorite part of any boxing match is at the center-ring meetup of the fighters, when he says to them:

"Protect yourself at all times!"