This post contains comparison notes, the pros, and cons of all efficient alternatives to the Western Unions which can be used in sending money to anyone from regions such as Australia, UK, and Canada. And there you have it, list of the best Western Union alternatives for making money transfer.

Western Union remains one of the most popularly used and very convenient company for sending and receiving money. The International fund transfer market has many different companies all out to provide services for that purpose but Western Union finds its way as one of the most preferred.

The Western Union is preferred for many reasons:

• It has been around for more than 160 years
• It makes transfers to the US and a wide range of countries, more than 200 countries and 500,000 agents in the world
• You can send money in a split of minutes
• It allows you a minimum transfer of $1
• You have multiple transfer options all suited to your needs and pocket size
• It gives you access to a competitive range of live exchange rates which are updated

This and many more are the reasons why Western Union has been on the front line for many years. However, the Use of Western Union falls short when you have a lot of funds to deal with and therefore, the service has been shown to be more expensive than many other companies. This is why we bring you the top 10 Alternatives to Western Union that can be used in sending money to Australia, UK, and the US.

15 Best Western Union Alternatives in the UK, Australia & US

1. Currencies Direct

Currencies Direct is based in the UK and began proffering services in 1996. This makes it a lot older than many other transfer companies. This exciting alternative to Western Union has its physical operations in the US, Spain, Portugal, South Africa, India, and France. It also has specific websites dedicated to countries such as Spain, Italy, Portugal, Norway, Sweden, and China. Here is their website: https://www.currenciesdirect.com

Pros

• Services are provided to individuals, businesses and online services
• It is a UK based establishment but proffers services to other selected countries
• Gives access to a multilingual website ( local languages of the different countries are available)
• Provides access to the account manager feature
• Allows for scheduled transfers
• Offers options between forwarded contracts, limit orders, and spot orders.
• Gives efficient money solutions in the UK

Cons

• Some American states may not register as its customers
• It does not proffer cash pickup centres

2. OFX

The OFX company began its operation in 1998 as OzForex before changing its name to OFX in 2015. It is an Australian based money transfer company proffering offices in countries such as New Zealand, UK, US, Canada and Hong Kong. The OFX also proffers a different websites include CanadianForex, NZForex, UKForex, and USForex. This is their official website: https://www.ofx.com

Pros

• For individual and business purposes
• Provides local phone customer care services in some countries
• Proffers better rates when compared to many other competitors
• Transfer over a particular threshold gives no fees
• Lets you begin the transfer online or over the phone
• Allows for transfer scheduling
• Offers options between market orders, forwarded contracts, and spot orders.

Cons

• Not a multilingual website service (English Only)
• No cash pick up centres
• Some currencies may only be traded by phone assistance

3. CurrencyFair

CurrencyFair began its operations in Ireland in the year 2009 and since then has given offices only in the UK and Austrailia. It proffers a single website which is synchronized and can be translated to other languages such as English, Polish and French. It has a unique marketplace called CurrencyFair MarketPlace, one you cannot find anywhere else. This platform allows you to bid for preferred exchange rates and provides the ability to access better market rates. Their official webpage is: www.currencyfair.com

Pros

• You can use the site either as an Individual or as a business
• It is based in Ireland but proffers services to the UK and Australia
• It proffers a multilingual website
• Access to a unique Currency Marketplace for bidding of preferred market rates
• Transfers can be made to as little as €8
• Access to the “schedule transfers” feature

Cons

• Residents in the US cannot register as its customers
• It requires a transfer fee of about €3 flat fee plus 0.35% of the transfer amount
• It offers no cash pickup centres
• No forward contracts and limit orders
• Not a very efficient phone customer service

4. WorldFirst

WorldFirst began its operations in 2004 and proffered its services to the Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia and the US. It also proffers dedicated website to individual countries like France, Canada, Australia, the UK and the US. This is their webpage: https://www.worldfirst.com.

Pros

• Provides services to individuals, businesses, and online merchants
• Offers promotional offers from time to time
• It is a UK based establishment with offices in the Netherlands, US, Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore
• Provides a multilingual website
• Gives access to phone assistance
• Fees may not be applicable over some preset threshold limits
• Gives access to the scheduling transfers feature
• Options such as forward contract and spot orders are available
• You can receive bills in different currencies when you use the “WorldFirst” account.

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Cons

• Residents of some selected states in the US such as Alabama and Nevada cannot register to use it
• No cash pick up centres
• There are sending limits which depend on the place of residence and payment method

5. FrontierPay

The FronteirPay is a UK based alternative to the Western Union which began its operations in 2009. It gives access to a single website open to all of its customers worldwide in English. Visit their website: https://www.frontierpay.com

Pros

• Access as an individual or a business
• Access to a personal manager or dealer
• No fees on personal transfers
• You can transfer funds over the phone or online
• Multiple options including limit orders, spot orders, option dates forward contracts, fixed forward contracts, and multi-forward contracts

Cons

• Minimum transfer is very high, about £500
• No cash pick up centres
• The UK based with no international premises beyond the internet
• The website is only available in English
• Phone assistance proffered in only a UK based phone number

6. HiFX

HiFX began its operations in 1998 and till today is a UK based money transfer company. HiFX is one of the best Western Union alternatives in the UK which proffers one of the largest money transfer companies in the word. It operates region specific websites to the U.S, UK, Australia and New Zealand. It gives access to transfers up to £75,000 when using credit and debit cards. This is their website: https://www.hifx.com, https://www.hifx.co.uk

Pros

• Services to individuals and businesses available
• UK based but offices in countries like Spain, New Zealand, and Australia
• Region-specific websites for UK, US, New Zealand and Australia
• No fees above a specific threshold limit
• Provides a better rate than much other money transfer company, ideal for large transfers
• Allows you to schedule transfers
• Gives options such as spot orders and forward options

Cons

• Website available only in English
• No cash pick up centers
• No Mobile app

7. TorFx

TorFX is a UK based money transfer company which began its operations in 2004 but has offices in mainland Europe, South Africa, and Australia. It provides a website for the UK and another for Australia of which both are only available in English. This is their official webpage: https://www.torfx.com

Pros

• Business and individuals may use this service
• Offers better competitive rates than most
• No fees for personal transfers
• Can schedule transfers easily
• Money travel solutions available in the UK

Cons

• Based in the UK with an only international presence in Australia
• The website only in English
• No cash pick up the center
• No mobile app for Android devices

8. TransferWise

TransferWise is a UK based money transfer company with offices in Estonia and US. This company can be considered as one of the best alternatives to Western Union because it offers a single website that can be accessed in multiple languages including Dutch, Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, French and of course English. It also accepts payments via the use of Credit cards. This is their official webpage: https://transferwise.com

Pros

• Individual and business access
• Sign up options from PayPal, Google or Facebook account
• It is UK based with offices in Singapore, Japan, Australia, Ukraine, Hungary, Estonia and the U.S
• Multilingual website
• No minimum transfer limit
• Funds can be sent and received using online email addresses
• Payment methods are expansive such as credit cards, debit cards, bank transfers, POLI, direct debits and SOFORT
• It offers a “TransferWise borderless account” which gives you access to lower fees when transferring in well over 15 currencies.

Cons

• No peer to peer transfers in all countries
• schedule transfer feature is not avaliable
• No options such as forward contract or limit orders
• No cash pick up offices
• Transfer fees depend on the mode of payment, a method of transfers or country of the recipient.

9.WorldRemit

WorldRemit is among the best alternatives to Western Union offering access to a multilingual website in French, Spanish or English. This money transfer company began in 2010. It has its headquarters in the UK but also offices in Australasia and North America. Payment can be made in varieties of methods. Here is their official website: https://www.worldremit.com

Pros

• The UK based but offices also in Canada, U.S, Australia and New Zealand
• The recipient can receive funds in multi options such as topping mobile wallet, Airtime, transfers to cash pick up centers and bank transfers
• Transfers can be made to as little as £1

Cons

• Not the best option for businesses
• Transfer limits are region specific
• Cost of transfers may be higher depending on currency, transfer amount and method of transfer
• No Schedule transfer option
• No forward contract or market order features.

10. MoneyGram

MoneyGram is the second largest establishment that offers money transfer services to the world. It operates in well over 200 countries and has well over 350,000 agents worldwide. In the U.S alone, it has 40,000 offices. This is their website: https://secure.moneygram.com

Pros

• Extensive network
• Services include sending, receiving and financing (very Expansive)
• Offers fast transfer options, such as same day service to a lot of other locations

Cons

• Maximum transfer online of $2,999
• Fees may vary depending on the type of payment and location of the recipient
• No exchange currencies available, transfers are only made in US currency
• Local Exchange rate varies by transfer destination.

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And there you have it, some of the best alternatives to the Western Union, This money transfer companies offer very efficient services. Feel free to let us know about many more options and why you do prefer your favorite money transfer service.