Give them the money faster!

January 10, 2008 7:32 PM

What's the safest way to send money from US to a city in Romania by tomorrow?

Due to a family emergency, we need to send a few thousand dollars to Sinaia, Romania from US by tomorrow night.

We did a quick research and found Western Union & MoneyGram but wanted to see if there's a safer, faster alternative. If not, should we use Western Union or MoneyGram?

The fees are not a concern for us as much as making sure the money gets there in time.

Advance thanks!

posted by vocpanda to work & money (11 comments total)

Is sending a check by courier an option?
posted by Slap Factory at 7:53 PM on January 10, 2008

I can't see how a foreign check could possibly clear more quickly than a wire transfer.
posted by b1tr0t at 8:39 PM on January 10, 2008

(a wire would still take around a week)
posted by b1tr0t at 8:39 PM on January 10, 2008

If the recipient is a US Citizen:

"In-bound cash remittances for individuals visiting or residing in Romania may be effected via Western Union or Money Gram with proceeds available the same day.

In cases of EMERGENCY, money can be transferred via the State Department, to be disbursed by the American Embassy in Bucharest."

Contacts:

http://bucharest.usembassy.gov/Embassy/addresses.html
posted by deeaytch at 8:47 PM on January 10, 2008

paypal. as long as both of you have internet access and a debit/credit card, you shouldnt have any problems.

hope this helps. (first reply to a question)
posted by dent8101 at 10:14 PM on January 10, 2008

Do they have a US credit/debit account in which the $$ could be deposited and accessed from? I keep a sum of money in such an account for emergencies, and it can be accessed from cashpoints in Romania.

Wish you'd posted this yesterday; a colleague of mine was home for the holidays, and is returning today ...
posted by the luke parker fiasco at 10:50 PM on January 10, 2008

Well if nothing else works and if you are in a pinch, Western Union. horribly expensive to use, but it's helped me in out in a few desperate situations in other countries from Ukraine to China. I have never had a problem with their service, and it seems quite secure. No personal experience w/ Moneygram...
posted by dawson at 11:57 PM on January 10, 2008

oh, and it was usually available within an hour after it was sent...
posted by dawson at 12:06 AM on January 11, 2008

Western Union is very safe. Use them.
posted by shothotbot at 4:47 AM on January 11, 2008

I have sent money from the UK to Romania several times via Western Union and I don't see why the process would be any different from the US. It goes as follows:
1) Go to the Western Union shop, fill in the form (choosing Instant Transfer) and hand to the assistant. They type it all in - watch them type to check for any transcription errors.
2) You pay and they complete the transaction and give you the code and the amount that will be received (I always opted to have it arrive in euros) Its important to get the amount that will be recived as well as the code and sometimes I had to ask the assistant for this.
3) The money is available in Romania in 20 minutes. So I send a text message from my mobile to the recipient, giving them the code number and the amount and they go to their nearest Western Union place and pick it up.

Both you and they will need to have 2 forms of ID with you.

I have never had any problems with this, and have found if to be fast and effective, if a bit expensive way of sending money. Hope this helps.
posted by alicegoldie at 5:32 AM on January 11, 2008

Thanks everyone!
posted by vocpanda at 12:56 PM on January 11, 2008