Frequently asked questions

Getting started is easy, all you need is to download the Western Union Digital Banking app, follow the instructions on the screen and have your photo ID Card/Passport and your tax information at hand. To open a Western Union Digital Banking account, you need to be above 18 years old and currently reside in the country where Western Union Digital Banking is available. We do not currently support US citizens or business accounts.

You are one step ahead already! Simply download the Western Union Digital Banking app and use your existing westernunion.com username (email) & password and follow the instructions on the screen. Your westernunion.com account will become inactive once you become a Western Union Digital Banking customer, and will remain so as long as you are a Western Union Digital Banking customer.

You can add money to your Western Union Digital Banking account in a few different ways depending on your Western Union Digital Banking account level, the country you reside in and how quickly you want the money to arrive.

Money in minutes*

– Card: Use a 3rd party credit or debit card to add money to your account

– Cash : To send cash to your account via a Western Union Money Transfer, please visit a Western Union agent location in the country you have registered your account in

– Bank Transfer via SEPA Instant: Your Western Union Digital Banking accounts are SEPA Instant enabled. If a SEPA Instant transfer is sent to you, the money will be available in your account in seconds. 24/7, even after business hours or on weekends.

– Redirect an incoming Western Union Money Transfer: You can redirect a money transfer to be credited to your Western Union Digital Banking account

Money typically available in 1 or 2 days*

– Bank Transfer: Transfer money from another bank account to your Western Union Digital Banking account. You can also make this payment recurring, so you have one less thing to manage.

You can send money to another Western Union Digital Banking account, to a Western Union agent location for cash pick up, to a bank account, or to a mobile wallet account. Details on each are included below so you can pick the method that works best for you and your receiver.

Western Union Digital Banking Account: Sending money to another Western Union Digital Banking account is instant and fee-free** so tell your friends and family to open an account today. Once they have an account, you can add them as a contact and send money in a few taps.

Cash: Send money directly from your Western Union Digital Banking account for cash pick-up in minutes*** at hundreds of thousands of Western Union agent locations.

Bank Account: Money can be sent directly to a bank accounts in 138 countries. Delivery timelines are dependent on the receiver’s country but money is generally available within a few days.

Mobile Wallet: If your receiver lives in a country where Western Union offers mobile money transfers, you can send money to their mobile phone in a matter of minutes. Make sure your receiver has activated a mobile wallet with one of the Western Union partner mobile operators in their country. Additional third party fees and interest charges may apply.

All Western Union Digital Banking customers receive a free virtual Visa Platinum debit card, available instantly once the account is opened. Customers may also request a physical Visa Platinum debit card. Premium users can receive one for free at any time with standard delivery, while Standard users can receive it for free during the promotional period¹.
Both virtual and physical cards can be used for ATM withdrawals, in‑store purchases, and can be added to your preferred digital wallets – including Apple Pay and Google Wallet.
¹ Free physical Visa Platinum debit card available after opening an account. Standard shipping only. Limited‑time offer valid until December 31, 2026.

Western Union Digital Banking helps you make the most of your money with easy‑to‑use savings tools and interest‑bearing accounts. When you open an account with us, you automatically receive a free savings account that earns interest from day one. You can always find the latest interest rates and active promotions on our homepage.
Western Union Digital Banking Premium account members can create up to four goal‑based savings accounts, each with its own target amount to help you track your progress more easily.

If there is a problem with an active promotion such as technical issues, fraud, or other factors outside our control, we may need to:

• Disqualify participants with approval from the relevant authority

• Change, pause, or end the promotion if required by a regulatory authority

If this happens, any changes made will aim to maintain the original intent of the offer and comply with regulatory requirements.

Deposit methods included in the promotion are bank transfers, funding with a credit or debit card, redirecting an MTCN to the account and Cash at an agent location. Excludes money movements between Western Union Digital Banking customers or within a Western Union Digital Banking account.

Purchases must be made in retail or e-commerce stores, and do not include account funding transactions, cash withdrawals or transactions for payments, currency exchange and money transfers.

When your account is transferred to the German branch, any interest earned will be subject to a 25% German withholding tax, plus a 5.5% solidarity additional charge.

If applicable, church tax of 8% or 9% will also apply. These taxes are deducted directly by us and paid to the tax office.

Remember, you have an annual tax allowance of 1000 EUR for investment income, which doubles for married joint filers. To benefit from this allowance, please call Customer Care to set up a tax exemption order.

Automatic exchange of information on church tax

We are legally obliged to inform you about the upcoming exchange of information on church tax. For members of a tax-raising religious community, we automatically pay church tax on settlement tax to the tax office. However, this only applies if your investment income exceeds the savings lump sum (single: 801 €, jointly assessed: 1,602 €) or if you have not placed an exemption order with us. The church tax rate in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria is 8 percent, and in the other federal states 9 percent as a surcharge to the capital gains tax of 25 percent. Capital income as part of income has been subject to church tax, so it is not a new tax.

In order to be able to deduct church tax, we are legally obliged to check your religious affiliation in the form of an encrypted license plate at the Federal Central Office for Taxes. The so-called church tax deduction feature (KiStAM) provides information about your membership in a tax-raising religious community and the applicable church tax rate. The survey will be conducted once a year between 1 September and 31 October.

Your advantage: Your church tax obligation for capital income is thus fully compensated. Further information on the tax return is omitted.

Option to reject automatic exchange of information

If you do not want the Federal Central Office for Taxes to transmit your church tax data in an encrypted manner, you can transfer your data until 30.06. of a given year. Please direct your objection to the Federal Central Office for Taxes. The officially prescribed form for this can be found on www.formulare-bfinv.de as a “declaration of blocking” under the keyword “church tax”. The Federal Central Office for Taxes will then block the transmission of your church tax deduction feature. If you have already objected to the transfer of data, you do not need to file the objection again. An objection shall apply until its revocation. We will not pay any church tax for you.

The Federal Central Office for Taxes will then report the objection to your tax office. Church members are requested from there to submit a tax return for the collection of church tax on settlement tax.

Legal basis for this procedure: § 51a para. 2c, 2e Income Tax Act; church tax laws of the federal states.