Frequently Asked Questions

You can pick up the money at any Western Union agent location. You’ll need to provide the following information:

• The sender’s full name.
• The country where the money was sent from.
• The approximate amount that was sent.
• The tracking number ( MTCN – Money Transfer Control Number).
• Acceptable ID documents are also required.

For more information, please visit your nearest Western Union agent location.

You can go to track a transfer. at wu.com. Then type in the sender’s name and the MTCN (money transfer control number). You’ll get an update on the latest status of your money transfer.

You can also call our Western Union Customer Care

You’ll need to present any one of the following identity proofs:

• Your passport
• Your driver’s license
• Your Philsys ID/National ID
• Your Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) ID
• Your government Office/ GOCC ID
• Your National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Clearance.
• Your Postal ID
• Your voter ID
• Your Service Insurance System (GSIS) E Card
• Your Employment ID
• Your overseas Workers Welfare Association (OWWA) ID
• Your overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) ID.
• Your seaman’s book
• Your Social Security System (SSS) ID
• Your student ID (for students 16 – 21 years old)
• Your Integrated Bar (IBP) ID
• Your Senior Citizen Card
• Your Unified Multi-Purpose ID (UMID)
• Your Police Clearance Certificate
• Your Alien Certificate of Registration
• Your Disabled Person Cert/ID NCWDP
• Your DSWD Certificate
• Your taxpayer ID (TIN ID)
• Your Barangay Certification

If you’re a non-resident, you’ll just need to present your passport to receive money.

Note: Acceptable identity proofs are subject to the Banking laws and regulations of the Philippines.

Money transfers will be paid in cash. Other restrictions may apply. For more information, please visit your nearest Western Union agent location.

All fees are paid by the sender. The receiver pays no transfer fees.

Yes. Only use Western Union to send money to friends and family. Never send money to someone you have not met in person. Scammers sometimes encourage people to transfer money. Do not transfer money to anyone who asks you to send them money:

• For an emergency situation you haven’t confirmed.
• For an online purchase.
• For anti-virus protection.
• For a deposit or payment on a rental property.
• To claim lottery or prize winnings.
• To pay taxes.
• For a donation to charity.
• For a mystery shopping asignment.
• For a job opportunity.
• For a credit card or loan fee.
• To resolve an immigration matter.

If you transfer money, the person you’re sending it to gets the money quickly. After the money is paid, Western Union may not be able to give you a refund, even if you are the victim of fraud, except under limited circumstances.

If you receive an email from anyone claiming to be from Western Union and you are unsure about it, do not click on any links in the mail. This may be a phishing attempt to acquire sensitive information from you. Instead, immediately please contact Western Union Customer Service Center. Western Union will never send you emails to ask for your user ID, password, or credit card details.

In some countries, senders are asked to provide a Test Question and its answer when they initiate the transfer. In cases where a Test Question was provided by the sender, the receiver may be required to give the answer when picking up the funds. The Test Question feature is designed for emergency situations where the receiver still needs to provide proper identification. It should never be used as additional security or to delay payment. In many places, we’ll pay the receiver whenever the receiver shows proper identification, even if he/she does not know the answer to the question. Test question is not available for payout in the Philippines.

The Test Question feature is designed for emergency situations where the receiver still needs to provide proper identification. It should never be used as additional security or to delay payment. In many places, we’ll pay the receiver whenever the receiver shows proper identification, even if he/she does not know the answer to the question. Test question is not available for payout in the Philippines.

You should immediately visit our agent location for assistance with a transfer that you believe was sent for fraud, or you could call our fraud hotline number on 1-800-1-888-1200. You should also file a report with your local law enforcement. You should also contact your government’s Office of Consumer Affairs and police station if you are uncertain or suspicious of a telephone, mail, or email solicitation.

• Always make sure you know who you are sending money to.
• Discontinue a call if a caller coaches you to respond to questions asked by Western Union.
• Security is everyone’s responsibility. Stay informed. Keep abreast of new fraud trends.
• Remember, if it seemts too-good-to-be-true, it probably is.
• For more information about how to protect yourself from fraud, click here.

You can start a money transfer online by creating a profile on Westernunion.com. Once you have successfully registered and started a transfer online, you will be asked to visit a participating agent location to pay for your transfer and verify your identity and phone number in person. To do so, you will need to present a valid government-issued photo ID. Make sure you bring the same ID that you have used in your profile.

After presenting a valid government-issued ID at the nearest participating agent location, you will receive a confirmation by phone. If you need to send money before your verification is completed, please visit a Western Union agent location.

You’ll need to present any official government-issued ID, such as:

• Passport.
• Govt Office/ GOCC ID.
• Driver’s License.
• Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) ID.
• National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Clearance.
• Postal ID.
• Voter’s ID.
• Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) E Card.
• Employment ID.
• Overseas Workers Welfare Association (OWWA) ID.
• Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) ID.
• Seaman’s Book.
• Social Security System (SSS) ID.
• Student ID (for students 16 – 21 years old).
• Integrated Bar (IBP) ID.
• Senior Citizen Card.
• Unified Multi-Purpose ID (UMID).
• Police Clearance Certificate.
• Alien Certificate of Registration.
• Disabled Person Cert/ID NCWDP.
• DSWD Certificate.
• Tax Payers ID (TIN ID).
• Barangay Certification.
• Philsys
• Phil ID
• National ID

For non-residents, the documents needed are:

• Passport.

If you started the registration process online at wu.com, please remember to carry the same government-issued ID that you used at the time of registration.

Acceptable IDs are subject to the Banking laws and regulations of the Philippines.

You can find all locations for physical verification here.

Agent locations are places where you can transfer money using Western Union. Agent locations may be in supermarkets, grocery stores, check cashers, mailbox centers, drug stores, travel agencies, depots, and other retailers. In some countries, they may be in banks, travel agencies, post offices, airports, train, and bus stations, and currency exchange offices.

Use this link to find an agent location near you.

You’ll need to provide a valid government-issued identification document, transfer details, and pay the agent the amount you want to send, plus fees, in cash.

Western Union agent locations offer the ability to send and receive money around the world using cash.

You can usually send up to 7,500 USD equivalent PHP to S.W.B (South West Border States¹), USA and up to 15,000 USD equivalent PHP to all other countries. However, for certain amounts and transfers, you may be required to provide additional information or documentation as follows:

• Passport.
• Govt Office/ GOCC ID.
• Driver’s License.
• Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) ID.
• National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Clearance.
• Postal ID.
• Voter’s ID.
• Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) E Card.
• Employment ID.
• Overseas Workers Welfare Association (OWWA) ID.
• Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) ID.
• Seaman’s Book.
• Social Security System (SSS) ID.
• Student ID (for students 16 – 21 years old).
• Integrated Bar (IBP) ID.
• Senior Citizen Card.
• Unified Multi-Purpose ID (UMID).
• Police Clearance Certificate.
• Alien Certificate of Registration.
• Disabled Person Cert/ID NCWDP.
• DSWD Certificate.
• Tax Payers ID (TIN ID).
• Barangay Certification.

For non-residents:

• Passport.

My WU is a free loyalty program from Western Union.

• Transfer fee discounts on qualifying money transfers.
• Special promotions on money transfers.

Learn more about My WU program.

Earning reward points is currently disabled in the program. If you are a My WU member, we will notify you about our new rewards program.

Via the My WU portal:

1. Log in to your profile and go to My WU Rewards.
2. Go to the Rewards section to view your reward options.
3. Choose your reward and select Use reward.

The discount will be applied automatically to your next transfer fee.

You can use your My WU points till they expire as per My WU terms and conditions.

Earning reward points is currently disabled in the program. If you are a My WU member, we will notify you about our new rewards program.

Yes, you can continue to redeem your My WU points until their expiry.

To protect our customers, we review every money transfer to make sure it’s safe. For a variety of reasons, we may ask you to provide us with more information before we can allow you to continue using our services.

We need additional information to understand why you use Western Union and the relationship between you and the person or entities you’re transacting with. The more information you provide, the quicker we’ll be able to complete your request.

To have access to our services again, follow the steps below:

1. Gather the required documents. Please note that these will vary depending on your reason for using Western Union and your relationship to the person or entities you’re transacting with. At minimum you must be prepared with your government-issued photo ID, documents that relate to your purpose for using Western Union, proof of the source of the funds, and any additional documents that may provide support for the answers provided on the questionnaire. For more information, go to Help section at westernunion.com.
2. Go to westernunion.com/gcr and start the customer questionnaire.
3. Complete the customer questionnaire:

• Personal information:
  – Provide your first, middle (optional) and last names as they appear on your ID.
  – Share your current email, physical address and mobile number. Please make sure you provide an active email address for communication purposes.
  – Specify your country of birth.
  – Select your occupation and provide additional clarification if needed.
  – Enter a recent tracking number (MTCN) if available.
  – Upload a copy of your valid government-issued photo ID.
• Relationships:
  – List people or entities you’ve transacted with using Western Union.
  – For each person or entity, enter the full name, relationship, purpose of transaction and upload supporting documents.
• Source of funds:
  – Choose the source of funds from the drop-down list and upload supporting documents.
• Third party details (if you are transacting on behalf of someone else) (if applicable):
  – Explain the purpose of transaction(s) and your relationship to the third party.
  – Provide the details related to the third party.
• Fraud (if applicable):
  – Indicate if you’ve been a victim of fraud or scam.
  – If yes, share a brief description of what happened.

4. Review the accuracy of the information you provided.
5. elect Submit questionnaire to complete the process.

a. Valid government-issued photo ID is needed to verify your identity.

• Examples: passport, driver’s license, national ID.

b. Source of funds is needed to make sure that the money transfers are not related to illegal acts and correspond to the nature of your activity.

• Examples: at least the latest 3 months of bank statements, at least the latest 3 months of pay slips, employment contract with salary, loan papers, sale agreement, winning receipt, tax return statement, etc.

c. Purpose of money transfer or intended use of money is needed to understand the basis for making the payment and the type of relations between the sender and the payee.

• Examples:
  • Personal remittance/family support – the following documents are suitable to prove relationship: pictures with persons you transacted with, marriage certificate, counterparty’s birth certificate, counterparty’s government issued ID, etc.
  • Business remittance/payment for goods/services – bills, receipts, sale or purchase agreements, etc.
  • Education – evidence of tuition fees, etc.
  • Medical expenses – hospital bills, pharmacy receipts, health insurance premiums, etc.
  • Charity support – written acknowledgment from the charity, etc.
  • Purchase home – purchase agreement, mortgage documents, etc.
  • Gift – receipts, etc.
  • Travel expenses – travel tickets, hotel bookings, etc.

d. Third party activity (sending or receiving money on behalf of individual or business) information is needed to understand the purpose and nature of your relationship with Western Union.

• Examples: business registration documents, letter of authorization by the company or notary, bank statement showing access to third party funds, etc.

After we’ve received your completed questionnaire and required documentation, we’ll email you a response within 3 business days.

In case we have additional questions, we may contact you via the email address provided in the questionnaire.

We’re committed to the security of your personal information. We use organizational, technical and administrative safeguards that comply with applicable government laws and regulations to secure your personal information. We also restrict access to the personal information that we process to only our employees, agents and representatives that have a business need to know it. For more information, read our Terms and Conditions and Online Privacy Statement.