Sometimes a friend or relative will get into trouble overseas or experience an emergency in a foreign country. If you need to get money to them quickly, the US State Department can help. However, travel insurance is essential. Encourage your family members to take out international travel insurance to help cover the costs of unforeseen problems. While the US Embassy can help transfer money, they cannot reimburse people for any money spent in an emergency situation.
The US State Department, on request, sets up a secure account where you can deposit money. The person in trouble abroad can then contact the Embassy where they are to pick up the funds.
Relatives can transfer money by mail or Western Union. Western Union is faster, but there are limits on the amount of money transferred and other limitations.
By using the secure system you can make sure that the money gets to the person in need of it. The system also ensures that the person abroad has a safe place from which to collect the money.
