The Western Union, one of the largest money transfer companies in the world, has launched ‘Direct-to-Bank’ service, which is expected to benefit a large number of Indians resident in the country.
The Service is available at the outlets of City Forex, Fexco and Western Union Kiosks (other than New Zealand Post stores).
Simplicity is the key to personal transactions, with customers filing the full name and account number of the recipient along with the name of the bank, with their remittance.
Western Union Senior Vice-President (East & South Asia) Patricia Riingen said that that recipients in India would find the service convenient.
“They would not be required to visit a Western Union Agent location to retrieve their money. There are no receiver’s fees and the money is generally available in the bank account the next day. Unlike cash-to-cash transfers that are capped at US$2500 (due to government restrictions), the service allows senders to transfer unlimited amounts of money. With a flat fee of $10 per transaction and a sharp exchange rate, ‘Direct-to-Bank’ is an affordable facility,” she said.
Customer choice
According to her, the service was designed for customers who prefer to receive funds directly into bank accounts.
“Our global vision is to offer choice to our customers. Strengthening our retail channel as well as making major in-roads into the banking channel helps us to serve an even bigger part of the community, with reliability, speed and convenience as the hallmarks of our service delivery,” she said.
However, transfer of funds may not be available or may be delayed in the case of some transactions, depending on the amount sent, the destination country, currency availability, agent location hours, difference in time zones or selection of delayed options.
Trade-related transfers to India may be restricted to Rs 200,000 (about $4000) and some taxes may be applicable to transactions.
