Latest update April 23rd, 2024 12:59 AM
Feb 15, 2019 Letters
Western Union and MoneyGram [WU & MG] are the two main entities sending and receiving cash money around the world. “The MoneyGram fee is $4.50 to transfer up to $50 and $9.50 to send up to $900.
Western Union, in comparison, charges $5 for a money transfer of up to $50, but a transfer of $900 could only cost US $76, but there are a number of price points in between, dependent on the amount of money to transfer” i.e. for US$300 they would charge you a US$27 fee.
If that was the end of the story then one would very easily see that it makes no sense sending money through Western Union, if MoneyGram was available; but it is not so easy. I sent US$300 to myself by Western Union and the amount received here was $60,651. I sent the same US$300 to myself with MoneyGram and amount received was $60,601, the transfer charge at Western Union to send US$300 from NY to Guyana was US$27, whilst at MoneyGram the charges are supposed to be US$4.50. So how can the two end payments be nearly the same?
Well it turns out that Western union exchanges US dollars for Guyana dollars at the rate of G$202.1675 to 1 US dollar, and since the receipt here in Guyana from MoneyGram and Western Union is nearly the same for US$300 ($60,051 MG and $60,651 WU) it means that the advertising by MoneyGram to have a lower fee to make transfers is tosh, because they will convert at a lower rate and pay less than Western Union in actuality.
The last time I exchanged money at my Bank [Demerara Bank] the exchange rate they gave me was $210 to 1 US$. It may not sound like much but if you are sending $1000 US to a family in Guyana and they changed it at my Bank, you would get G$210,000.
But if someone sent you US$1000 by Western Union you would get $202,167.50 or $7,832.50 less than if you took the time to change it at my Bank, or I daresay any other commercial Bank or Cambio in Guyana.
Needless to say, I am not going to use Western Union again especially since if you take out US$500 in one week, and need an additional US$300, the entity is reluctant to effect the exchange since you are probably a money launderer or drug dealer!!
This morning I went to my insurance company to renew the insurance on my car for G$6000 and I had to waste several minutes filling out a form to show where I got the G$6000 to pay for the insurance premium. The young lady was most apologetic and told me that this was for the Central Bank and not the insurance company.
Now I am the first to agree that we must curb drug and other forms of trafficking and the accompanying laundering which goes with it, but which drug lord can get by laundering US$700 a week? When controls begin to hamper business and interfere with the legitimate transactions of ordinary citizens, it is time to ask what the hell is going on.
Because I am making something for my house here, I took US$300 on Wednesday and US$200 on Thursday but needed a further US$300 on Friday to pay the workmen and it was declined? When I made the order on Friday they told me that it is going to be reviewed and that I would hear from them in 2 hours.
Editor this is my own money which I earned in the US and which I am sending to myself to repair something here in Guyana; two hours turned into 24 hours and it was then Saturday, my workmen are not speaking to me, and my options are now very limited because the Bank is closed.
So in desperation I called WU and they put me through a long overseas call which lasted over an hour, and ended up with me speaking to their investigator who sounds like some Pilipino man whose English I barely understood, and he wants to go through all my transactions for 2018.
Well editor you know what my answer to that was.
Western Union and Money Gram are charging fees to do these transactions as they are entitled to do. Let them raise their fees if necessary, having regard to the competition between them to give the best deal, but are they entitled to offer a lesser exchange rate than that authorized by our Cambio system and Commercial Banks?
Don’t we [BOG] regulate them at all?
I believe that we established some time ago that as much as US$300 million is being sent to Guyanese from the US, Canada and the UK annually to relatives here, in which case if the exchange rate of G$210 is used that amounts to $63 billion.
But WU is paying $202.1675 to 1 US$, which means that they are fleecing the poor Guyanese people who are being supported by their relatives abroad to the tune of $2.35 billion. Furthermore, the exchange rates of WU and MG are as follows; if you are in Guyana and are sending money to the US the exchange rates are WU $201.89 inbound and $214.21 outbound, and MG $202 inbound and $213 outbound, a spread of almost $12 and $11 respectively.
My Bank’s spread is $6. i.e. G$ 210 buying and G$216 selling. At this time, also, I discovered there seems to be a very big shortage of US dollars in Guyana. What exactly is our Bank of Guyana doing about this? These operations WU and MG have to be licensed to operate here, so they have to account to our government and our people at some point.
Who exactly at the Bank of Guyana is paying attention to this usury? Or are they also asleep at the wheel?
WU and MG should be allowed their service fees since they are entitled to it, but they should not be allowed to manipulate the exchange rate in this manner, when such massive amounts are being taken from our poor citizens.
And someone must regulate them on behalf of the poor people in this country.
Yours Faithfully
Tony Vieira.
LISTEN HOW JAGDEO WILL MAKE ALL GUYANESE RICH!!!
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