New Western Union Fees in 2026: What Has Changed

Western Union, one of the oldest money transfer companies, has announced changes to its pricing for 2026. Here is what it means for your transfers to Africa.

Key Changes

**Higher fixed fees:** Fees for transfers under 200€ went up by 1€ on average. Sending 100€ to Senegal now costs 5.99€ instead of 4.99€.

**Lower exchange margin:** To compensate, Western Union reduced its currency markup for West African corridors from 3% to 2.5% on average.

**New mobile money partnerships:** WU now supports direct transfers to Orange Money in Senegal and Ivory Coast, and M-Pesa in Kenya.

Impact for Users

For a 100€ transfer to Morocco: Old total 7.99€ → New total 8.49€ (+0.50€)

For a 500€ transfer to Senegal: Old total 22.99€ → New total 21.99€ (-1.00€)

Should You Still Use Western Union?

Western Union remains essential for instant cash pickups in areas without banking access. But for bank transfers and mobile money, Wise, Remitly and WorldRemit are significantly cheaper.

Our advice: use Western Union only for emergencies requiring instant cash. For everything else, compare on TransfertCompare.