You no longer have to visit a western union agent in order to send money abroad, you can do it easily using your MPESA account to western union.

The service is only available in countries that currently do not have sanctions, this effectively eliminates territories like North Korea and Iran

All you need need to have is the destination countries ISO prefix; examples include “KE” for Kenya, “UG” for Uganda, “TZ” for Tanzania and “ZA” for South Africa, which you can find online.

The procedure is fairly simple when you want to send from MPesa to a Western union using *844# USSD code.

How to send via *844# USSD Code

1. On your phone, dial *840#
2. Select Western Union Location
3. Choose New Recipient
4. Enter their First, Last and Middle Names
5. Input the Amount you want to send
6. Next, choose a destination
7. Type in the two-letter Country ISO – Select Other for User
8. Then state purpose of funds
9. Enter source of funds
10. Confirm transaction details and charges and enter M-PESA PIN

Customer will receive M-PESA SMS and another SMS with the MTCN from M-PESA Global which should be shared with the Recipient