What i found with the rates was i could send up to $150 through WU cheeper than wire transfers anything over that the wire was cheeper...You are right Jeff most do not have an account but it is easy for them to open one..I had my girl open an account at Equitable Bank they required a deposit of i think P2000..they will get penalized if the balance ever drops below P2000...for wire transfers the intermediary bank is Chase Manhatten...it took about 2 weeks for her to recieve her ATM card..Also the first time i sent money via wire transfer i sent a very small amount to make sure the system worked...

--Richard