# My friend is in a crunch and I need to western union him money. what info do I need?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-is-in-a-crunch-and-i-need-to-western-union-him-money-what-info-do-i-need/370237>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 25, 2006, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-is-in-a-crunch-and-i-need-to-western-union-him-money-what-info-do-i-need/370237 "2006-08-25T19:28:53Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![chefIL11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@chefIL11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chefIL11)\
**Post date:** [August 25, 2006, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-is-in-a-crunch-and-i-need-to-western-union-him-money-what-info-do-i-need/370237/1 "2006-08-25T19:28:53Z")

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He’s somewhere in Sedona, Arizona and needs some money for a bus ticket home. This is the first time I’m using western union.  
First, can I use a credit card to transfer money or does it have to be cash?  
Second, What do I need to provide in terms of the address of pickup, his name, city, what else?  
Third, What will the charge be to WU $100?  
And finally, how long do these transactions usually take to complete?

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**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\
**Post date:** [August 25, 2006, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-is-in-a-crunch-and-i-need-to-western-union-him-money-what-info-do-i-need/370237/2 "2006-08-25T19:39:07Z")

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[http://www.westernunion.com/info/osMoneyTransferOptions.asp](http://www.westernunion.com/info/osMoneyTransferOptions.asp)

> [@](#):
>
> **Money in Minutes**
> 
> Why you should choose Money in Minutes  
> [ul]  
> [li]You can send money worldwide[/li][li]Your money is generally available for pick up in minutes\* at an Agent location[/li][/ul]
> 
> What you’ll need  
> [ul]  
> [li]Your U.S. bank issued Visa® or MasterCard® credit or debit card\*\*[/li][li]Your receiver’s location – city, country[/li][/ul]

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**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\
**Post date:** [August 25, 2006, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-is-in-a-crunch-and-i-need-to-western-union-him-money-what-info-do-i-need/370237/3 "2006-08-25T19:44:25Z")

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As for your third question, there’s also a form on that same page that tells me that the fee to send $100 from Illinois is $20.

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**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\
**Post date:** [August 25, 2006, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-is-in-a-crunch-and-i-need-to-western-union-him-money-what-info-do-i-need/370237/4 "2006-08-25T19:47:23Z")

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Ask him what bus service he intends to use. Look thme up on the web and call their 800 # and see if you can buy the ticket for him over the phone using your credit card.