Web publishers and bloggers in some selected African countries who display Google Adsense ads on their websites as a way of monetizing their web traffic now have some relief. The web publishers who have hitherto been limited to receiving payment via cheques now have the option of receiving their earnings from Google Adsense via Western Union. The ad network announced in a blog post on Friday:
We’re excited to announce the launch of Western Union Quick Cash® payments in four countries in Africa! You can now select Western Union Quick Cash payments in:
- Algeria
- Ghana
- Kenya
- Uganda
Western Union Quick Cash payments will reach you faster than checks, and they’re free of charge. Payments will continue to follow our normal payment schedule and will be available for pickup in your local currency at your local Western Union agent the day after they’re issued.
There are a few things to note though:
…We can send Western Union payments only to publishers that have an individual account at this time. Also, the payee name on your account must exactly match the government-issued ID card that you’ll use when picking up your payments…
Western Union Quick Cash payment will be made in US dollars but most web publishers would be able to pick-up the payouts in their local currency at an exchange rate used by the Western Union agent on the day the payment is picked up.
Hitherto, a typical cheque payment to a resident of Ghana took a minimum of 6 weeks to clear. The cheque travels from Ireland to Ghana for 3 weeks while the bank takes another 3 weeks to clear the cheque since they typically mail the cheque to their correspondent bank in Europe or the USA. Aside the length of time, the local banks charge heavily for the luxury of clearing a foreign cheque. The fees typically range between $25 and $50 irrespective of the face value of such a cheque. Google Adsense also offered the option of “Secured Express Delivery” via courier service for a fee, that allowed the cheque to be delivered in a few days.
It is important to note that web publishers in Kenya, Morocco, South Africa and some 45 countries/territories outside Africa were able to get their cheque payments denominated in their respective local currencies. Such cheques thus took only a few days to clear since the payment was essentially local.
Before now, payment by Western Union Quick Cash was available in the following countries and territories: Argentina, Barbados, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Chile, China (Mainland), Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Guatemala, Iceland, Indonesia, Jamaica, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Malta, Malaysia, Moldova, Morocco, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia, South Korea, Taiwan, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Vietnam, and Virgin Islands (British).
The latest payment method extension by Google Adsense is very significant for web publishers in Algeria, Ghana, Kenya and Uganda.
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