2024-12-19

Bug on Western Union: "The money transfer is on hold"

TL;DR: If your Western Union transfer status says "sender needs to complete the verification," it is likely in error; and you may be merely awaiting bank processing and not need to do anything.

In the regular course of my business, I need to pay overseas partners for manufacturing, etc. Western Union is the best way to send money that I'm aware of, because they happen to have near-zero fees (at least for the countries I'm working with).

But recently, I've been having my business partners contact me, saying that they haven't yet received some payment that I told them I submitted days ago. The payment shows as successfully leaving my bank, so it sounds like a hiccup in Western Union, right? 

The Problem (Encountering the Bug)

Sure enough, when I check my Western Union "MTCN" tracking number

I get this message saying, 

The money transfer is on hold. To resume the money transfer, the sender needs to complete the verification.

If I didn't know any better, I'd think that's definitely the problem! 

If I click on the above link that says "complete the verification," I'm taken to this page:

Dear customer, please read the instruction carefully to learn how you can verify your identity. We've listed some methods by which you can verify yourself, please visit your profile to find the verification options available to you.

So this page seems to be clearly directing me to click "Visit profile" where, presumably, I'll see some option to provide some sort of verification, right? But clicking that button leads me here:

Aaaaaand now we're full circle back to my default landing page in my Western Union account, with no option/notification/alert/request to verify/provide information/do anything. (And anyway, why didn't Western Union notify me they were needing some extra verification from me?)

Summary of problem: Western Union is telling me that my money is stuck until I [do something], but not giving me any option to [do the thing]!

The Answer

I've spoken to Western Union support directly over the phone, who has confirmed (on more than one occaision), that: 

• There is no extra hold on my money transfer

• No special verification is needed from me

• The money will reach my recipient on a specified day (all within a reasonable and pre-estimated timeline)

• The money is merely being processed by the bank(s) involved, in the standardly-expected way

• I would have received a notification by phone or email had there actually been a need for more information

• The message that the sender needs to verify his identity is therefore in error.

What to Do?

I've already shared the above screenshots with Western Union in an online chat. Unfortunately, they won't give out an email address to receive a cleanly-written and fully-explained bug description like I've typed up here. Just about the best you'll get is this message from their Ai chat bot:

But unfortunately, this bug isn't properly recognized as an "error," since it doesn't have it's own error code displayed on screen.

I've found the following appropriate/inappropriate email addresses for Western Union, so you might consider visiting these links or emailing these accounts if you're desperate to get someone:

• https://wucare.westernunion.com/s/customer-care-home?language=en_US

• https://www.westernunion.com/us/en/contact-us.html

• wuprivacy@westernunion.com

• westernunionresponse@westernunion.com (Could be a "no-reply" email address. Not sure.)

• DFErrorResolution@westernunion.com (technically this is the Error Resolution and Cancellation department; but again, if you're desperate to get someone...)

Western Union, fix your bug!

Extra tags: bug, glitch, error message, error code, problem, issue, misprint, false, wrong, incorrect

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