Since Adsense now lets us have the option to withdraw funds through Western Union, I have decided to opt for this instead of having them send me a cheque in US dollar. I’m close to making my first withdrawal using Western Union and I have no idea how it really works.
From what I read in Google Adsense FAQ pages on Western Union, it sounds easy enough. Just go to anywhere that has Western Union facilities and present an ID as well as Google Adsense’s payment code. Whilst it may really be that simple with Western Union facilities elsewhere in the world, I wonder if there are more requirements for our very own Western Union facilities here in Malaysia. You know, sometimes we do have weird and strange requirements on even the most convenient services, just because we’re in Malaysia.
Anyone has any experience to share or advise?
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Penny, from my own experience, CIMB is fastest, followed by RHB, and then Public Bank. Although Public Bank only starts offering Western Union recently, I foresee Public Bank will catch up very soon in terms of efficiency.
I have not tried POS or Bank Rakyat.
You only need 2 things to withdraw:
1) Money Transfer Control Number (MTCN)
2) Your Original NRIC.
I have not tried asking a friend to withdraw the money for me.
There are times when the Western Union connection is ‘down’. It’s best you ask the staff over the counter about the Western Union’s connection status before queuing up, especially when the line is long.
Hope that helps!
Yes, it’s really that simple 0 MTCN and your IC will do. I always withdraw at CIMB; don’t have experience with any other Western Union agent yet.
Usually, I withdraw on Saturday. So, I will look for CIMB counter that offers foreign currency exchange – most banks are closed during weekend, but currency exchange counter doesn’t. And yes, for CIMB, Western Union services are served at the currency exchange counter.
I’ve posted my first experience with Western Union withdrawal in my blog. Feel free to check it out.
Yow Chuan, thanks for sharing the great tips, it’s definitely very useful to save me some time. If I didn’t know better, I would’ve headed to Public Bank to do the withdrawal. And I hope the lines won’t be perpetually down.
Tien Soon, thanks too. I think I’ll do the same, go on a weekend. But a bit hard to find a branch that opens during the weekend. It’ll probably have to be some branch at a mall.