ESL Podcast 626 – Wiring Money to Another Country

Mahmoud: My brother emailed about an emergency situation. He needs $300 by tomorrow, but how can I get cash to him within 24 hours if I’m here in Mexico City and he’s in New York?

Sharon: That’s easy. You can wire him the money from here and he can pick it up immediately there.

Mahmoud: You mean wire him money through the bank? I already checked with my bank and it’ll take at least five days for them to process the wire.

Sharon: You can just use a private wire service like Western Union and the money will be available to him immediately. I wire money all the time using Western Union. Here is a blank form. I can help you fill it out if you want me to.

Mahmoud: That would be great. Hey, this form is for a money transfer¹. Is that the same thing as a wire?

Sharon: Yes, it’s the same thing. Fill out the receiver or recipient² information here and the sender information there.

Mahmoud: Can I pay in local currency? I don’t have that much cash in U.S. dollars.

Sharon: Sure. When you go to the Western Union office, they’ll calculate³ how much you’ll have to pay according to the current exchange rate.

Mahmoud: Is there a fee?

Sharon: Yeah, there is, and it’s a little higher if you want the money to be available immediately. If you had more time, you could save a little by using the slower service that makes the money available in three business days. All done?

Mahmoud: Yeah, I think so. Now what?

Sharon: Now you take this to the nearest Western Union office. They’ll give you a copy of this form with a control number. Your brother can use that control number to pick up the money from any Western Union office in New York.

Mahmoud: Sharon, you’re a lifesaver.

Sharon: So, what’s the emergency?

Mahmoud: Tickets go on sale tomorrow for my favorite baseball team. My brother and I have to get tickets.

Sharon: That’s the emergency?!

Mahmoud: For us, it’s a matter of life and death.


Script⁴ by Dr. Lucy Tse

1 transfer   

n. 迁移, 移动, 换车; v. 转移, 调转, 调任

参考例句：

• He has been kicking against this transfer for weeks. 几周以来他一直反对这次调动。
• I intend to transfer the property to my son. 我想把这笔财产转给我儿子。

2 recipient   

a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器

参考例句：

• Please check that you have a valid email certificate for each recipient. 请检查是否对每个接收者都有有效的电子邮件证书。
• Colombia is the biggest U . S aid recipient in Latin America. 哥伦比亚是美国在拉丁美洲最大的援助对象。

3 calculate   

vt.计算，核算；估计，推测；计划，打算

参考例句：

• He must calculate the probability of failure.他必须计算一下失败的概率。
• I'll calculate what it will cost.我要估计一下那要花多少钱。

4 script   

n.剧本，广播稿；文字体系；笔迹，手迹

参考例句：

• It's easy to identify his script.他的笔迹容易辨认。
• The script is massaged into final form.这篇稿子经过修改已定稿。