Pesito vs Western Union.
Different decade, different pricing model.

Western Union has been moving money internationally since 1851, operates 600,000+ retail agent locations in 200+ countries, and is the brand most U.S. senders learned to use first. Pesito is a 2026-era, pre-launch, digital-only wallet being built specifically for the U.S. ↔ Mexico corridor, with no agent network. This is the line-by-line comparison: where Western Union is still unmatched, where Pesito's planned model differs on price and recipient experience, and the wedge the new 1% U.S. remittance tax creates between them. Every Pesito figure below is planned launch pricing or a planned feature — not a live service.

The 1% remittance tax — the new wedge.

Effective January 1, 2026, the OBBBA remittance excise tax adds a 1% federal surcharge to remittances funded by cash, money order, or cashier's check. Western Union's storefront cash sends are subject to the tax; their online debit/ACH sends are not. Pesito is being designed so transfers would fall outside the excise, because its planned funding methods are debit card and bank transfer (ACH) only — no cash funding. This is general information, not tax advice. Full breakdown of what's taxed and what's not →

Where Western Union still wins.

• It exists today. Western Union is live everywhere it operates; Pesito is pre-launch and not yet available. If you need to send money this week, WU can do it and Pesito can't.
• Agent network breadth. 600,000 retail locations across 200+ countries. If your recipient lives somewhere OXXO doesn't reach, or insists on a specific bank/agent partner, WU's footprint is genuinely unmatched.
• Brand familiarity. Older recipients have used WU for 30+ years. The trust isn't earned — it's accumulated. For one-off sends, that can outweigh the price difference.
• Cash funding option. If you don't have a debit card or bank account on the U.S. side, you can walk into a WU agent and pay cash. Pesito's planned funding is digital only (debit, ACH). (Note: cash funding triggers the 1% tax starting Jan 2026.)
• Multi-corridor coverage. Sending to a country that isn't Mexico? WU has it. Pesito is being built for U.S. ↔ Mexico only.
• Fraud-awareness program. Western Union's #BeFraudSmart hub is one of the better customer-education programs in the industry; corridor scams are real and WU treats them seriously.

Where Pesito's planned model differs.

• Price honesty by design. Pesito's planned model uses a mid-market reference rate average and shows a flat $1 fee — international transfers only — in plain USD; any rate margin would appear as a separate, disclosed line item — never hidden inside the rate. WU's pricing model bakes 2–3% FX markup into the displayed rate on top of the explicit fee.
• Free domestic P2P inside the network (planned). Once your family is on Pesito, domestic $PesitoID-to-$PesitoID sends within the same country (US→US or MX→MX) are planned to be $0; international US→Mexico sends carry the flat $1 fee (planned). WU is per-transaction priced regardless of sender frequency.
• Identity, not transaction (planned). WU produces a pickup code; Pesito would give the recipient a wallet they keep — hold pesos, send to others, build a history. Planned features, subject to change and regulatory approval.
• Designed around the 1% excise. Pesito's planned funding is digital only, so transfers would fall outside the cash-funding excise. WU's storefront cash sends are not exempt. Not tax advice.
• Settlement disclosure. Pesito plans to settle through Puente Railway, our settlement infrastructure partner, instead of correspondent bank wires — a structure designed to avoid correspondent-bank fees — and we explain plainly how that works. What is Puente Railway →
• App for the recipient (planned). WU's recipient experience is "show ID, walk out with cash." Pesito's planned recipient experience is "open app, see balance, choose to spend, hold, or cash out." Especially valuable for younger recipients in Mexico.

The side-by-side.

Pesito is pre-launch. Every Pesito value below is planned launch pricing or a planned feature — not a live service. Final pricing is always shown in the app before you pay and may change before launch. Join the waitlist →

Western Union figures cited from WU's own public pricing pages. Last checked April 2026 (dataset date); verify current pricing with Western Union before you send. Pesito column shows planned launch pricing — not yet available; final pricing is always shown in the app before you pay and may change before launch. Your recipient's bank or cash-out location may charge its own fees, and foreign taxes may apply; pass-through operator fees, if any, are shown before you confirm.

Which one is right for you.

Pick Western Union if: you need to send today — Pesito is pre-launch; you fund with cash and the new 1% tax isn't dealbreaking; your recipient lives somewhere OXXO doesn't cover or insists on a specific WU agent location; your relationship with WU goes back decades and the trust accrual is worth more to you than the price difference; or your send target isn't Mexico.

Join the Pesito waitlist if: you can fund digitally (debit or ACH); your recipient is in Mexico and willing to install an app; the per-send fee + FX markup compound and matter to you; or you want both sides of the relationship to have a wallet, a balance, and a $PesitoID instead of one side getting a code and the other juggling a receipt. Planned features — subject to change and regulatory approval.

Frequently asked.