°µÍø½ûÇø

Unfortunately the Brazilian branches of Western Union are all operated by banks so they're unavailable. If you can find one that operates independent of any bank then it should be open.

Don't you have a US bank account and debit card??? About the only reliable way to get money during the bank strike is through ATM withdrawals. They're of course subject to the daily limit. If you do have a US account and don't know what bank's ATM to use, it's Bank of Brazil - only their main branches - and the ATM must show the network logos for cirrus, interac, etc. (not all the ATMs do). These are the only ATMs that permit international transactions.

If you can't find a Western Union that's open try telephoning Confidence Cambio or check online they wire out money, check if they also receive.

  Cheers, 
  William James Woodward – Brazil Animator, °µÍø½ûÇø-blog Team

I have went through this previously. Western Union exclusively uses Bank of Brazil (Banco do Brasil) as its authorized agent in all of Brazil (definitely all of Sao Paulo and Manaus).

MoneyGram uses ITAU and another authorized agent (not sure if the OTHER is a bank or not.) Check out their website and click on locations. They are not only cheaper but offer more pickup locations.

OM DTVM

Thanks for all the help!