Best Western Union Forex Brokers
Western Union is a popular payment method that allows people to seamlessly send money around the world – or to a bank account, or to another user, or as cash to a specific Western Union office.
Being such a flexible payment method, some forex brokers decided to integrate it with their deposit and withdrawals method.
If you’re interested in a forex broker accepting Western Union, in this article we will analyze the top brokers currently available.
Our top pick is eToro, which is a regulated broker available in several countries around the world, keeps costs low, offers a wide variety of payment methods and financial instruments to trade – including forex pairs.
No Time to Spare? Here Are the Best Western Union Forex Brokers in 2023
- eToro is a popular social trading platform that offers a wide range of forex pairs to trade, as well as other markets and asset classes. It also has a user-friendly interface and low fees and commissions.
- AvaTrade includes forex into its offer as a broker. It provides a variety of trading platforms and a wide range of free educational resources.
- XM is popular for offering a wide range of trading instruments and tight spreads.
- Pepperstone strengths are its low costs, variety of financial instruments, trading platforms and tight spreads.
- IC Markets is another popular, regulated broker with a wide offer and that guarantees fast execution.
- ActivTrades is a forex broker with different trading platforms and a wide range of educational resources.
Best Western Union Forex Brokers — Full Analysis (Updated in 2023)
eToro
Minimum Deposit: $10 (debit card or bank account connection); $200 (wire transfer)
Our Score: –
Tradeable Symbols: over 5000
Maximum Leverage: 1:30
Users can easily fund their accounts on eToro with Western Union thanks to wire tranfers. This payment method is provided by the broker, and people can just deposit money via the website or official mobile application of Western Union, then use eToro bank account details to finzlize the transaction.
eToro is a popular social trading platform that allows users to exchange stocks, commodities, currencies, cryptocurrencies and ETFs. It is one of the most popular brokers currently available, especially for being suitable for beginners – and also more experienced traders.
It has a user-friendly interface, for what concerns both the online platform and the mobile application. Its copy trading feature is available for no additional costs.
The broker tends to keep costs low and to be compensated for its services through market spreads.
It also has a demo account, which can be used to test trading strategies and get more familiar with the platform and the instruments it offers.
Pros
- User-friendly interface
- Low fees
- Social trading feature
Cons
- Variable spreads
- Fees like inactivity and withdrawal fees
AvaTrade
Minimum deposit: $100
Our score:
Tradeable symbols: Over 1200
Maximum leverage: 1:300
Similarly to eToro, AvaTrade offers bank wire transfers both as deposit and withdrawal methods.
Also in this case, Western Union can be used to deposit money and complete the transactions by using the bank account details provided by AvaTrade. Since the broker requires a minimum deposit of $100, users need to take this amount into account when making the transaction through Western Union.
AvaTrade is also among the most popular brokers in the world. Forex markets are not the only ones offered by the brokers, which includes CFDs, stocks, commodities and indices.
It mixes a good variety of financial instruments to intuitive trading platforms – it doesn’t only offer popular platforms like MT4 and MT5, but also proprietary platforms.
Also in this case, users can find a demo account and extensive educational resources.
Spreads are tight, and the broker focuses on keeping trading costs low.
Pros
- User-friendly interface
- Wide range of trading instruments
- Educational resources
Cons
- The broker charges inactivity fees
- It doesn’t have the widest variety of tradable assets among the available brokers
XM
Minimum deposit: $5
Our score:
Tradeable symbols: Over 1000
Maximum leverage: 1:1000
Similarly to the other brokers we’ve covered so far, XM uses bank transfer as a payment option.
Its customers can use Western Union to complete transfers, and even if the broker requires a low initial deposit – $5 – traders should always take into account the fees charged by Western Union – we will cover them later.
One of the strengths of XM is for sure its low minimum deposit, which makes this broker accessible by a larger audience if compared to brokers that require hundreds of dollars. But the broker also offers additional advantages.
The broker gives the opportunities to trade over 1000 assets and over 50 currency pairs in the forex market.
Leverage is also an element that makes this broker stand out: the maximum leverage that can be used by traders and investors is 1:1000.
This makes this broker a possible fit for most experienced traders – beginners should refrain from using such high levels of leverage, since it involves more risks.
The broker also offers a demo account – so users can practice trading with virtual currencies – and over 10 trading platforms – including downloadable MT4 and MT5.
Pros
- High number of trading platforms
- Tight spreads
- Demo account
Cons
- The levels of leverage offered might become too risky for beginners
- Customer support is not available 24/7
Pepperstone
Minimum deposit: $0
Our score:
Tradeable symbols: Over1200
Maximum leverage: 1:30
Also in this case, people can use Western Union to complete wire transfers – which are one of the payment methods provided by the broker.
Pepperstone, differently from other brokers we’re covering, doesn’t require any minimum deposit. The broker doesn’t charge any additional fee for this deposit method, but it may take up to 3 business days for the transaction to be processed.
To analyze other details related to the broker, let’s see what its features are and what it has to offer.
Pepperstone is a regulated broker – regulated by the FCA and the ASIC – which focuses on forex markets and CFDs.
It offers extensive education resources, a news section and a set of analytical tools that can help traders and investors make informed decisions and constantly monitor markets. Its TradingView integration allows users to trade directly from price charts, in order to favor a smoother trading experience.
It also uses MT4 and MT5 as trading platforms, along with the mobile application it provides to its customers, cTrader.
The broker doesn’t charge trading fees but it’s compensated through market spreads – which are still tight.
Pros:
- Intuitive interface
- Demo account
- Regulated by ASIC and FCA
Cons:
- No price alerts
- Support is not available 24/7
IC Markets
Minimum deposit: $200
Our score:
Tradeable symbols: Over 2500
Maximum leverage: 1:500
Also IC Markets offers bank and wire transfers, and its customers can use Western Union to complete this type of transaction.
In this case, the minimum amount required by the broker amounts to $200, and users also need to consider the fees charged by Western Union to complete the transaction properly.
Even if the minimum deposit is relatively higher than market average – especially if compared to the brokers we’ve covered so far – the broker is appreciated for its other characteristics.
IC Markets is a regulated broker whose strength mainly relies on the amount of trading and investing products it offers.
It doesn’t focus only on forex, but also allows CFDs, stocks, indices, commodities, futures, bonds and crypto trading.
IC Markets has a global presence and allows traders and investors to trade global markets.
Spreads are as low as 0 pips, the broker offers different types of accounts and also a demo account.
The broker uses MT4, MT5 and cTrader as trading platforms, and offers a vast range of educational resources and analytical tools.
Pros:
- User-friendly interface
- Low spreads
- Educational resources
Cons:
- The minimum deposit might result high
- The high levels of leverage might be risky for beginners
Activ Trades
Minimum deposit: $0
Our score:
Tradeable symbols: Over 1000
Maximum leverage: 1:30
Also the last broker of our list allows users to complete transactions via bank and wire transfers – and here Western Union comes into play.
If you need the flexibility of this payment services provider, you need to consider that ActivTrades doesn’t require any minimum deposit to start trading: it’s up to users to choose the amount, but in any case the fees charged by Western Union – and conversion rates – need to be considered.
Let’s see what the characteristics of this broker are and what it managed to achieve over time.
ActivTrades is an award-winning CFDs broker that offers 7 asset classes – including forex.
The broker has a website in over 10 different languages, with versions that change according to a specific region. So, it has a strong interest in keeping a global presence and allowing the inclusion of a larger audience of traders and investors.
ActivTrades provides price alerts, weekly webinars, daily analysis and weekly outlook. Its customer service won different prizes for its quality, it includes a demo account and guarantees fast execution.
It uses MT4 and MT5 as trading platforms and has a TradingView integration.
Pros:
- TradingView integration
- Available in many languages
- Extensive educational resources
Cons:
- Award-winning support, but available only 24/5
- Fewer financial instruments available for trading when compared to other brokers
Why use Western Union as a trading payment option?
Western Union is a well-established money transfer service that has gained the trust of customers over time.
It is available in around 40 countries, making it a suitable payment method for all those people and businesses that want to have a global presence.
Moreover, according to the transfer chosen, it might be an almost instant transaction method, and it also proved to be secure over time.
Pros & Cons of funding your forex account with Western Union
When it comes to funding a broker account, there might be different pros and cons in using Western Union.
Pros:
- Flexible – this payment provider is available in many countries and offers different types of transactions
- Quick – as mentioned, with Western Union transactions are almost instant
- Secure – Western Union proved to be a secure money transfer service over time
Cons:
- Fees – the provider charges fees for its services, and they may vary according to the country or type of transaction
- Exchange rates – the cost of exchange rates has to be taken into account
- Delays – even if Western Union is extremely fast, there might be delays, especially when it comes to remote locations
How to choose the best Western Union Forex broker
The factors to take into account when choosing the best Western Union account have to with the factors that should be evaluated for any broker, and the factors strictly related to the payment method:
- The reputation of the broker: reading reliable reviews and knowing more about the experience of those who are already customers can give an idea of the features and reliability of the service.
- Fees and commissions: this is for sure an important element to evaluate, since higher fees and commissions can be detrimental to the trading or investing activity of users. On the other hand, users should evaluate if low fees means a lower quality of the service provided.
- Security: a broker should be transparent and give users all the information they need to know to understand what are the measures taken by the broker to protect its customers’ accounts, data and funds.
- Customer support: responsive support, better if constantly available, helps users to solve any possible issue that may arise over time while using the platform of the broker.
- Regulatory compliance: this element, if present, adds a significant layer of security to the experience of users and guarantees that users won’t have problems with their accounts, data, deposits and withdrawals.
- Availability of intuitive trading platforms: this is a pivotal element, since trading platforms are what makes it possible for users to perform trades. The more intuitive the platform, the faster will be the decision-making process of the trader and investor.
Alternatives to Western Union Forex Broker
Western Union is not the only fast payment method used by forex brokers. Users might want to consider different alternatives – for instance PayPal and Bitcoin accepting forex brokers.
PayPal forex brokers
PayPal is for sure one of the most widely known payment methods currently available.
It allows for fast transactions and adds an additional layer of security, since it creates a buffer between your cards and personal details and the receiver of your transaction.
It also uses advanced verification methods and fraud detection, in order to make sure that your funds are safe. For any possible issue, the customer service is reliable and quite responsive.
Not all forex brokers include PayPal among their deposit or withdrawal methods, so it’s always up to the user to check if it is available.
Bitcoin forex brokers
Bitcoin is among the most innovative payment methods. It represents the first cryptocurrency by market capitalization.
Also here, speed and security are the main strengths of this asset. Transparency is another pivotal point – Bitcoin is a decentralized and pseudonymous payment method, and on chain transactions can be checked via blockchain explorers.
Also in this case, not all forex brokers offer Bitcoin among their payment methods.
Western Union Forex Fees
When considering the fees that you should pay to fund your forex account, Western Union tends to charge two types of fees.
Of course, the amount will depend a lot on the amount involved in the transaction.
As we previously mentioned, you should take into account the fees charged by the company for its service – which stand at around 3% of the transaction.
Moreover, exchange rates should be considered – and they might not be among the most competitive.
FAQ
1. What are the minimum and maximum limits for Western Union forex transfers?
The limits set by Western Union for forex transactions have a lot to do with the level of verification reached by the user. They also depend on the country.
The minimum limit might be as low as $5, while the maximum limit can also reach.
2. How long does it take for Western Union forex transfers to be processed?
It depends on the country, the amount of the transaction and the currency and type of transfer involved.
It may take from a few minutes to 5 business days.
3. What are the security measures used by Western Union to protect my funds?
While Western Union does not offer any specific escrow service or any particular protection policy, it focuses on making sure that the sender and the receiver are the entities that should be involved in the transactions.
Instruments like the PIN that needs to be used, or multi-factor authentications and biometric verification are part of this type of security used by the provider to protect people’s funds.
4. What are the benefits of using Western Union to fund my forex account?
Western Union’s main advantage is with no doubt the fact that its services are available in several countries. Most people around the world can use it to make transactions, deposit and withdraw funds.
Moreover, the speed of transactions is another significant pro for Western Union users.
5. What are the drawbacks of using Western Union to fund my forex account?
Then drawbacks of using Western Union to fund an account are mainly related to the fees involved. The company charges mainly two different types of fees – of course, the final amount will depend on the amount involved in the transaction and the currency used: these fees are service fees – at around 3%, and exchange fees.
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