Western Union and Revolut are two of the biggest companies in the online money transfer market, and they have a number of similarities and differences. The main difference is, of course, that Western Union is a global corporation, while Revolut is a start-up. While the latter has significant momentum and has grown in stature since it was launched in 2013, it is nowhere near as old as Western Union, which was founded back in the 19th century.
In some ways, the two firms are on an equal footing. They both offer local settlement options across the world, and transfer speeds are between one day and three days for each. However, Revolut can still hold its own in many ways – and especially in terms of fees. No fees are levied on cross-border payments transactions with Revolut, and this isn’t the case for Western Union. There, fees can range from £1 to closer to £5 depending on the nature of the transaction. Revolut also offers a distinctive product portfolio, including cryptocurrencies – meaning that there is, in some ways, more choice for the end-user.
For many customers, and especially those in locations where underbanking is a problem and there is little digital penetration, the main advantage of Western Union is that it offers physical branches for customers to use. Western Union ‘agents’, as they are known, are scattered all over the globe and are a crucial node in the firm’s ability to ensure that cash is transferable in more than 200 nations. Some customers may also avoid Revolut because it uses what is known as the ‘interbank’ rate for settlements made at weekends – this could cause significant losses if the market moves in the customer’s favour before the real rate has a chance to catch up.
Varying tariff plans available.
Extensive integration.
Developer Tools.
Universal payment system.
Problems with account reliability.
Poor customer support.
Not intended for high-risk business.
The relatively high cost of services.
14 years of history in the FX space
New online offering
Wide range of products and services for businesses
Products for receiving international payments
Personal account team to support larger transactions
Fees charges for smaller transaction sizes
Online account maximum transfers of 20,000GBP
No mobile transaction offering
OFX provides secure and speedy international money transfers to over 300,000 people in 55 currencies at better-than-bank rates.
Use the code '3FREE' and pay no fees on your first three money transfers
WorldRemit is an online service that lets people send money to friends and family living abroad, using a computer, smartphone or tablet.
Average of the top US Banks costs as compiled by our own FXC Intelligence group
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