How to Receive Money via Western Union in the Philippines

The procedure also applies to those who wish to receive their Google Adsense payouts.

If you are looking for information on how to send money via Western Union, then check out this post from an OFW: How to send Money via Western Union

Long ago, I decided not to blog about my experience in getting my Google Adsense paycheck via Western Union. However, I decided to write this post because I had this one rare chance of receiving money from a friend who is working overseas.

I live in Baguio – a city that’s around five to eight hours away from the Manila, Philippines – but there are plenty of Western Union branches available to claim money. However, most of these branches close as early as 6 PM. It’s always good to make a call to your preferred branch before the closing time. Not all branches are the same.

Before going to your preferred Western Union branch, it is important to be prepared. Here are the things needed before going to any Philippine-based branch.

1. Identification card: One ID is usually enough but I often carry a bunch of IDs in my wallet just in case. Employment and school IDs with the latest photos are accepted as well as government-issued IDs like driver’s license, PRC ID, postal ID… the usual stuff. Also, Western Union employees do not care if you are under the age of 18: what matters most to them is that the ID should belong to the person receiving the money.
2. List of information: Ask the person/institution sending the money should provide this. In particular, be sure to take down the following – MTCN (Money Transfer Control Number), full name of the sender and the exact amount of money to receive. The sender pays for the send charge involved in the transfer; the only deduction to expect is the Documentary Stamp Tax (DST) which is not a huge amount.
3. Fill-out “To Receive Money” form: Use the list of information above to fill out the form.

In any outlet you are given the choice to receive the amount in Pesos or in US Dollars. I usually have the amount converted in Pesos rather than getting the US dollar amount. Some people prefer to receive the amount in US Dollars then go to their favorite money-exchangers, which, they say, gives higher exchange rates compared to Western Union’s exchange rates.

I haven’t personally tried tracking money transfers online but Western Union provides one to their customers: Western Union Money Transfer Tracking

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Gem

Gem is a full-time freelancer who is into WordPress blogs - setup, troubleshooting, custom theming, maintenance and even writing content into her own blogs. In between work, she's battling with the bulge, doing a lot of accidental photography, struggling with the guitar, checking out food and places in her hometown and plenty of other things that she is interested in. Interact with her on Twitter or follow her on Facebook.