I just saw a commercial for western union on the TV.
I have to wonder, with the advent of paypal and other electronic services, how is Western Union still in business? Have y’all ever tried to send anyone money using WU? It costs you, the sender, about $9 to send the money. Then, the recipient has to go to a WU station to collect the money. Why would anyone do that when you can just paypal the money over?
Seriously, you can send the money to whomever’s paypal account, then they can transfer it to their own bank account, or pay whatever bill they have to pay straight from the paypal account all for FREE! Why pay for that same service?
Anyway, I guess that’s a story for another day.
The reason is that the people that use Western Union do not have bank accounts. They either cannot trust themselves with checking accounts because they think there is still money in the bank when they still have checks, or they do not trust the banks or they cannot afford bank accounts because they can’t get free checking because they are not employed long enough anywhere to have direct deposit.
Ah yes, pray on those least able to do something about it. Capitalism at its best. I guess these people can do things to help themselves, but that’s a story for another day.
I have used WU. Most of my family in LA, and Miss aren’t really sophisticated enough to have paypal. I hate paying the fee, but, at least it is reliable, and I know they will get the cash. It serves a purpose, niche, etc.
Hmmm … I don’t have paypal either. But I do have direct deposit.