MetaChat - AskMecha: Wiring money?

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16 August 2006

AskMecha: Wiring money? →[More:]I have a friend travelling out of state; some hitch with her bank has left her with no money.

What's the best way to get money to her? Should I FedEx a check? Wire it through Western Union or some other company? I've never used any of those services. How do they work, and how much to they charge?

post by: mudpuppie at: 17:46 | 17 comments

Does she have online access and a paypal account? Perhaps paypalling might be the easiest way to get money to her, assuming she still has access to funds once they're in her account.

posted by ooga_booga 16 August | 17:48

No paypal account. I'm wondering if I can do a funds transfer to her bank account from mine? I'm on hold with the bank now....

posted by mudpuppie 16 August | 17:52

You can just walk into a bank and deposit cash in her account. That seems the easiest to me.

posted by small_ruminant 16 August | 17:55

walk into HER bank, specifically.

posted by small_ruminant 16 August | 17:56

I just called western union. To send someone $200.00 via WU phone service, it'd cost $33.00.

BTW, small_ruminant has the best best best idea!!!

posted by getoffmylawn 16 August | 17:58

Thanks for the quote, GOML. I'm looking into paypal. Maybe I can set one up for her.

posted by mudpuppie 16 August | 18:00

I don't think it has to be the exact location of her bank, I think you can make deposits at any branch???

Good luck.

posted by getoffmylawn 16 August | 18:02

Keep in mind that paypal takes up to three business days to clear a funds tranfer.

posted by cmonkey 16 August | 18:04

She only uses a little local one? If she uses a major one, you can walk into any branch and do it.

If she uses a little one it might be worth a call to it to see if it has anyway of accepting money via some other bank. I've heard they sometimes have transfer relationships set up. I haven't tried that, though.

posted by small_ruminant 16 August | 18:04

Yeah, local credit union branch. I'll give them a call, though. It's worth a try.

posted by mudpuppie 16 August | 18:07

Ah. Sometime credit unions have deals with each other. Definitely worth a call.

posted by small_ruminant 16 August | 18:08

mudpup - what bank does she use, is it a credit union or a bank? Either way, if there's a branch in SF I might be able to make a deposit in your stead.

posted by ooga_booga 16 August | 18:10

Ack - should pay more attention on preview. You can make a deposit to a credit union account from any other networked credit union ATM. However, when I've asked at a credit union if they could take a deposit for my account from a different CU, they said that I would need to use the ATM since they're not set up for it. That being said, YMMV.

posted by ooga_booga 16 August | 18:12

The networked thing worked, s_r and ooga. Thanks so much for the idea. There's a credit union here (though not mine) that accepts deposits for her credit union. Y'all rock. I knew I could count on you. Thanks!

posted by mudpuppie 16 August | 18:15

The guy who hit my car wired me the money by Moneygram and I picked it up at a local grocery store that had a Moneygram counter. I'm pretty sure he had to pay a fee to do so.

posted by matildaben 16 August | 18:17

success!

(glad to hear it, mudpuppie)

posted by small_ruminant 16 August | 18:33

Yay 'pup!

posted by ooga_booga 16 August | 18:45

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