Western Union vs PayPal in the UK: Which is better?

If you want to send money overseas from the UK, you’ll have lots of options to choose from. But which is best, cheapest and most convenient?

In this guide, we’ll compare two of the big names in the money world - PayPal and Western Union. The former is a service you might already use for online shopping or paying friends and family, while the second is a specialist in international money transfers.

Read on to find out who comes out on top, looking at everything from fees and exchange rates to currencies, countries, ease of use and safety.

We’ll also throw an alternative into the mix, just to give you lots of different options to compare. You can send money worldwide with Wise for low, transparent fees* and fantastic mid-market exchange rates.

Learn more about Wise

But more on this later. For now, let’s get back to Western Union vs. PayPal.

An overview of Western Union vs PayPal

Before we get into comparing fees and other factors, it’s useful to know a little about each company.

Western Union (WU) is one of the big names in international money transfer. It’s a US-based company with roots dating back to 1861.

It operates in over 200 countries and territories,¹ and has a global network of agents. These agents allow the service to offer convenient services like cash pickup, which is useful if you’re sending to someone who doesn’t have a bank account.

Western Union also offers lots of other delivery and payment methods, including bank accounts, cards and mobile wallets. This gives you lots of different ways to send and receive money between countries.

PayPal is another US-based company, but it’s a little different. It’s a financial technology company specialising in payments and money transfers, and is widely used for online shopping. It has a subsidiary called Xoom which can be used to send international transfers through your PayPal account.

PayPal is massively popular, with over 173 million customers in over 200 countries worldwide.²

Here’s an at a-glance guide to each provider in numbers:

	Western Union	PayPal
Customers	150 million+¹	173 million+²
Countries served	200+¹	200+²
Currencies	130³	21²
Fees	Varies	5%; min £0.99, max £2.99⁴

Availability of Western Union and PayPal

Before looking into each provider further, you’ll need to check that Western Union and PayPal can do what you need. For example, sending a large money transfer to a particular country in the right currency. Or sending a payment as fast as you need to. Otherwise, you don’t want to spend time comparing fees, rates and other details.

So with this in mind, let’s take a look at availability with both Western Union and PayPal.

First up, countries and currencies. Take a look at the table above, and you’ll see that both providers offer transfers to 200+ countries. But crucially, PayPal only supports transfers in 21 currencies² while Western Union supports a huge 130³.

How long it takes to transfer money?

Western Union offers a ‘money in minutes’ service if you pay with your credit or debit card. Otherwise, payments sent to a bank account will take up to 2 days - although it depends on your receiver’s country.⁵

With PayPal, your payment should arrive anywhere from a few minutes up to a few days.⁶ This is according to the company’s linked international transfer service Xoom. If you’re using PayPal to send money to friends and family within the UK, your payment should arrive almost instantly.⁷

What are the transfer limits?

Transfer limits with Western Union are £800 a day, until you’ve verified your identity online. After that, you can send:⁵

• Up to £4,000 every 3 days with your credit card
• Up to £50,000 through your bank.

PayPal doesn’t make its transfer limits publicly available. But as long as you’ve verified your account, you should be able to send as much as you want.⁸

Fees and rates: Western Union vs PayPal

Now we come to the important question - how much does it cost to send money internationally with Western Union and PayPal? There are two key things to look at. These are the upfront transfer fee, and the exchange rate.

Transfer fees

Western Union’s transfer fees vary depending on a few key factors, such as:⁹

• The destination - the country or territory where you’re sending the transfer
• The amount you’re sending
• The transfer speed - how quickly you want the money to arrive.
• Your choice of payment and delivery methods.

The good news is that you can check the transfer fee before you send. Go to the Send Money page of the Western Union website (or use the Western union app) and select your receiver’s country.

Then, you can enter the details of the transfer such as the amount and destination, and check the fee.

You might even find that there’s no transfer fee to pay. What’s more, Western Union also runs special offers from time to time. For example, at the time of writing, the provider is offering new UK customers their first transfer with a £0 fee.⁹

Now onto PayPal’s fees. If you use it to send money to friends and family here in the UK, there’s no fee. But if the recipient lives **overseas, there’s a 5% fee to pay **(min £0.99, max £2.99).⁴

If you use the PayPal service Xoom to send an international transfer, the fee varies just like with Western Union. You can check the fee using the Paypal fee calculator.

Exchange rate

The exchange rate you’re offered for your transfer is just as important as the upfront fee. It can make a big difference to the overall cost of your transfer. This is because it affects how much money is lost in currency conversion, and how much your recipient actually gets on the other end.

So, how do Western Union and PayPal stack up when it comes to exchange rates?

When converting currency, Western Union is likely to add its own margin to the mid-market or interbank exchange rate, one of the fairest rates you can get.⁹ Providers such as WU add a margin in order to make money from the transfer. Unfortunately though, this makes the transfer more expensive for you.

PayPal does the same. Its rates are likely to include a margin too.¹⁰

Both can be beaten on exchange rates by providers like Wise which always stick to the mid-market rate. This means no margins, markups or hidden fees. It could make your transfer cheaper overall. Compare rates and fees for your transfer here.

Cash transactions with Western Union and Paypal

One of the big differences between Western Union and PayPal is cash pickup. Western Union offers it, whereas PayPal doesn’t - or at least, it didn’t used to.

With Western Union, you can send money for your recipient to collect in person at one of thousands of agent locations all over the world. This is ideal if your recipient doesn’t have a bank account.

PayPal specialises in digital-only payments. However, now that the PayPal service Xoom is more integrated into the platform, cash pickup is an option. It uses partners such as Ria Money Transfer to offer this service at agent locations in certain countries. In some cases, home delivery of cash may even be available.¹¹

With Western Union, you can also pay for your transfer in cash at a WU agent location. But with PayPal or Xoom, you’ll need to pay digitally using PayPal.¹²

Money transfer safety

How safe is your money and your personal details when you use either Western Union or PayPal? Let’s run through the security features for each provider.

Western Union safety features

Western Union is regulated in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and also offers the following safety features:¹

• PCI DSS compliant
• SSL encrypted transfers
• MTCN tracking numbers and notifications to monitor transfers
• Biometric login to the WU app
• SCA/3D Secure multi-factor payment authentication
• Fraud Resource Center for advice and info on avoiding scams
• Automated fraud warnings
• 24/7 support, including dedicated fraud hotline.

PayPal safety features

PayPal is known for its high-level security and consumer protection methods. This includes:

• Robust Buyer and Seller Protection policies
• 24/7 transaction monitoring
• Next-level encryption
• Dedicated team of security specialists.

Find out more about PayPal’s security measures here.

Accessibility and ease of use: Western Union vs PayPal

Ease of use is important when choosing a transfer provider, especially if you plan to use it regularly. Here’s a little info on accessibility with both providers using their website, mobile app and physical locations.

Website

Both Western Union and PayPal have user-friendly websites from which you can send money online. You’ll need to sign up for an account and verify your identity, but this should be reasonably straightforward.

Mobile app

If you prefer to manage your money and transfers on the move, you can download the Western Union Money Transfer App or the PayPal App.

Western Union’s app is purely focused on setting up and tracking money transfers, while PayPal’s offers more services. You can use it to send money and manage your PayPal account, but it’s also a digital wallet for real-world spending.

Physical locations

As we’ve mentioned earlier, PayPal doesn’t have physical locations. It is possible to send money for cash collection using Xoom, but there aren’t any high street locations you can visit to set up a transfer or pay in cash.

Western Union is different. It has thousands of physical agent locations all over the world. Find your nearest here.

Which is better for sending money, PayPal or Western Union?

Ultimately, which provider you use for your money transfer is up to you. But after reading this guide, you should have a better idea of what each has to offer - and how much it costs.

If you’re looking to do an occasional transfer, and prefer to use a service you already have an account with, you might want to go with PayPal. It does so much more than Western Union, including payments when shopping online.

But if you just need a fast, affordable and convenient way to send money internationally, a specialist like Western Union is the one to go for. It offers more ways to pay and collect, including in cash at physical agent locations. And the fees are likely to be lower than using PayPal.

However, these are not the only options out there. A cheaper alternative could be Wise, which lets you send money worldwide for low fees* and those all-important mid-market exchange rates.

Open a Wise multi-currency account online and you can also manage your money in multiple currencies at once. Plus, you can get a Wise card for low-cost spending at home and abroad.

For your peace of mind, Wise uses sophisticated security measures to keep your money, details and transfers safe.

FAQ

Can I use Western Union with PayPal?

No, at the moment it’s not possible to link together your Western Union and PayPal accounts. WU doesn’t support PayPal as one of its payment methods.

Can I withdraw money from PayPal to Western Union?

You can’t directly withdraw money from PayPal to Western Union. You’d need to transfer it from PayPal to your bank account, then use this as a funding method for your WU payment.

Can I transfer money from Western Union to PayPal?

It’s not possible to send money from Western Union straight to PayPal. However, if someone pays you using WU, and the transfer goes to your bank account, you can use this for PayPal purchases provided your bank account is linked to your PayPal account.

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Sources used:

1. Western Union - Home
2. PayPal - What is PayPal?
3. Western Union - Financial Information
4. PayPal - Fees
5. Western Union - FAQ - Send money online
6. Xoom - When will my money get there?
7. PayPal - Send money
8. PayPal US - Help - What‘s the maximum amount I can send with my PayPal account?
9. Western Union - Money transfer fees
10. Wise - Send money
11. Xoom - Help - Xoom basics
12. Xoom - Help - How can I pay?

Sources last checked on date: 05-Jun-2023