My daughter in portugal needs money asap , I work in UK , but do not
have all my papers ready yet , only the UK VISA debit card i have from
my job with 5000 GBP on it . My ID , and passport are held this week
so that my working documents for UK can be ready so i cannot send
money from a western union agent , my daughter needs money in 3 days .
I Used Western Union before and she also  knows how to use it . My
question is simple :

* How can i send money from my credit card via Western Union to Her .
* Is there any other service that will send the money as fast as
western Union and DIRECTLY to her .

My daughter does not have a credit card , email account etc .

I under time pressure so i apreciate any help . 

Thank you

Hello georgeandrew,

Do you own the work debit visa or have permission to use it to transfer money? 

A debit visa usually works just like a regular visa, so all you need
is a money transfer service that will take credit cards.

First you should make sure that your credit card company does not have
outrageous fees for cash advances. Some credit cards charge a
percentage of the cash advance, while others charge a fee around $1.95
for each advance. You can use the number on the back of your card to
phone your credit card company and ask them.

Some credit card companies will also assist you in getting money to
your daughter in another country by either giving a temporary number
that she could use, or by making arrangements with a bank in Portugal
for you to have her pick up the money. (Again, if they do this, make
sure that you know what the fees will be). This service is often used
as for emergency situations (ie: lost card), but different companies
have different guidelines and they might  help you with this if it is
an emergency.

If this fails:

Western Union does not appear to let you send money using a credit
card online (from the UK), but you may be able to send money using a
credit card at a Western Union location. Chances are you would need
your passport and ID for doing this though, but you can always phone a
local agent and ask. (Find a local agent here:
http://www.westernunion.co.uk/)

After looking for reputable services and fast money transfer services
that are established in Portugal, the best I could come up with was
http://www.moneygram.com/default.htm With this service, you will not
need your passport or identification because you can send the money
online (using their online service found here:
http://www.emoneygram.com/) . Your limit however is $500 per credit
card ($20,000 if you go to a Moneygram location, but then you may
require your ID).

What you need to do is ensure that there is a Moneygram agent where
your daughter lives in Portugal. You can do this by selecting the city
your daughter is in here:
http://www.moneygram.com/servlet/DefaultApplyXSL?xslURL=/Display/temgweb.xsl&URL=/apps/AgentLocator/Locator.jsp%3FType%3DINTL%26ICountry%3D620%7EPORTUGAL%26ICity%3D

If you want to contact a Moneygram agent near you to ask them any
questions, you can find the closest one here:
http://www.moneygram.com/servlet/DefaultApplyXSL?xslURL=/Display/temgweb.xsl&URL=/Apps/AgentLocator/AgentSearch.jsp

Another idea would be to walk into a bank and ask if they can help you
do the transfer fast if you had cash. If they agree, you could
withdraw the cash from an ATM (using your debit card) and then have
them send it. I cannot see a bank agreeing to do this however, without
some sort of ID.

Please let me know if you need any clarification regarding this answer
and I will do my best to further assist you.

All the best,

tisme-ga

Easy!

Visit your local 'Cash Converters' - they've got franchises in many
places here in the UK ... They'll do a Western Union for you.

I don't think that they're open Sundays.

Bryan

Here you go ...

http://www.cashconverters.co.uk/

There are probably other places if you haven't got a local Cash Converters.

Where do you live?

Have a look at http://www.technocash.com 
Basically this is how it works, it is not a credit card.
(1) Goto Website
(2) Apply for a temporary card.
(3) Transfer Cash into Account from your Bank etc.(must be fulled cleared funds)
(4) Purchase one of the  Multi-Currency Card the cheapest one is
AU$38.50, not sure what U.K. cost would be. It will take several days
for your official card to arrive from Australia, however your
"temporary card" number will be the same as the one on the official
card. if Funds are transfered from your bank in the morning they are
usually put into your technocash card in the afternoon.
(5) You can now goto the technocash site again and transfer cash into
your daughter's bank account.

With my Technocash Card I can fund it through Australia Post but I can
not withdraw  funds from Australia Post unless I have a Merchant's
Card, I must transfer funds into my bank account before I can withdraw
them.

Here is how it works I have a Technocash Card # 1234567 & The person I
wish to transfer funds to has a Technocash Card # 7654321. I goto the
technocash web site open up the transfer funds area, type in their
Card #, the amount of cash I wish to transfer (in any Currency) and
send if off. As far as I know this transfer is immediate. They then
tranfer the funds into their bank account for withdrawl.

I am NOT in anyway connect to Technocash other than I have one of their cards

KInd regards

Ross

tisme's link:

http://www.westernunion.co.uk/

Shows that there are MILLIONS of Western Union 'places' throughout the
UK (and worldwide), including Travel Agents.

They are not cheap but then whoever you use will make a minor killing
with their charges. Money Changers just love converting your
hard-earned £s into Euros but - What the Hell? - if the kid needs the
money, Do It!

That's what Dads are for.

(I've got two daughters.)

Bryan

Two rather old fashioned solutions that might be applicable:

Using cash from your debit card, open an account at a bank with
locations in both U.K. and Portugal (Barclay's for example). You do
have local I.D., right? Name your daughter as a co-owner of the
account. With her own ID as verification, your daughter should be able
to withdraw the funds as needed.

-- or --

Arrange for and send a Letter of Credit to a local Portuguese bank via
any bank close to you that handles trade documents. This is mostly
used by foreign businesses, however, recent research on another
question turned up the news that many banks are still able to
accomodate the old fashioned way of taking/sending money abroad.

Best of luck, ---larre

Sorry, Larre ...

But it's not that easy to open bank accounts in the UK.

Money Laundering regs.

The bank is required to check the ID of any new signatory who is not
'already known to the bank'.

Then they do credit checks and stuff.

I had trouble with Barclays some years ago when I was at the Cannes
Film Festival. I thought that it would be easy to transfer money from
my Barclays bank in the UK to the Barclays in Cannes (where I didn't
have an account).

It wasn't but I did get the money in the end (after bringing in my
heavy gang suitably be-masked and armed). Why do you suppose I was
sent to Devil's Island with Dustin Hoffman?

Maybe things are easier now. 

But then again there may be money laundering regs in Portugal ...

Better to do a Western Union if it's a matter of urgency.

That's what I would do.

In any event, the young lady already KNOWS the Western Union stuff and
she may not find an alternative as convenient.

Bryan

Barclays was very accomodating when I sent money to my daughter in the
UK this Spring. Took only a phone call. Might be because US Banks are
managed differently, the personal banker concept, maybe. I'm sure it
depends on individual circumstances.

There's always overnighting via DHL or FedEx, too.  

---l

Overnighting... that is a brilliant idea!

tisme-ga

Hey, Larre, ANY bank with one of YOUR accounts would fall over
backwards to help but please think of us other pour souls.

In the interests of science, please transmit $10,000 or some other
trivial (but larger) amount to my Barclays account here in the UK ...

Do it NOW and I will let you know the minute it arrives.

Many thanks!

Bryan