You may now also send funds to ADOC inmates via Western Union online, and funds are generally on their books within a matter of hours. How to do this:

1. Go to http://www.westernunion.com/ and set up an account.

2. Look for the "How To" section, then "Send an Inmate Payment Online".

3. When it asks you for the account number, enter the AIS number and inmate's last name like this with no spaces: 123456SMITH

4. (I would suggest putting your inmate's first & last name on the next ("optional") line to just to be safe!)

I use this method for sending funds & I love it! No more "snail mail"...then having to wait for them to get it posted to their account after it arrives (which seems to take days) before they are able to have their funds available. Not to mention you don't have to worry about it getting lost in the mail...only to have to fill out paperwork...then have to wait 30 days before they can do anything.
This method is so much better! Fast, secure & convenient.

Are the inmates notified they have funds when money is sent western union? How often do they get to spend money? Can I call & check his balance to know when to send money?

Thank you for the information. My son has only been in for two weeks now. He is in Alabama and I am in Mississippi. I have a lot to learn and your help is appreciated. I already love this forum.
He has been able to write me, I received a letter from him Monday and he was able to call me the day he arrived and again last Tuesday.
He had told me some about sending money. Your post confirmed my choice of the method to send money.

Thanks again,
jdw's mom

Are the inmates notified they have funds when money is sent western union? How often do they get to spend money? Can I call & check his balance to know when to send money?

Sorry for the delayed reply. I haven't been here very much lately.

They usually receive notification the next day that the money has been put on their account. (At my guy's prison anyway, probably same everywhere).

Every facility is different, but most either run store where they can spend money either once or twice a week. Some facilities also have snack lines where they can purchase something most weekdays.

I've never heard that they will give an account balance over the phone to an inmate loved one - it's possible I guess if you're the spouse or parent, but I kind of doubt that most business offices will give out that information. Your inmate loved one will get a receipt each time they purchase store items that will show the balance left on their account, and I would imagine the facility personnel expects them to keep up with what their balance is.

Thank you for the information. My son has only been in for two weeks now. He is in Alabama and I am in Mississippi. I have a lot to learn and your help is appreciated. I already love this forum.
He has been able to write me, I received a letter from him Monday and he was able to call me the day he arrived and again last Tuesday.
He had told me some about sending money. Your post confirmed my choice of the method to send money.

Thanks again,
jdw's mom

You're very welcome. I'm in Tennessee myself (Memphis).

Yep, the Western Union is generally pretty quick, I've never known it not to be on his books the next business day. There's a fee attached but it's usually been worth it to me to get it there quickly (and if you look around on the Internet for promo codes, you can usually find a promo code for Western Union to get a discount on the fee).

Money orders are also always an option and usually pretty cheap (was 99 cents for a postal money order, not sure if that's still the fee for that or not), but would take a couple of days in the mail plus probably another day or two before it got on his books. US Postal Service money orders or Travelers Express are usually the best to use, and be sure and put the inmate AIS number on it along with the name, if you ever send one in the mail.

I just wanted to add an FYI note here about Western Union, since this happened to us this week.

IF your inmate loved one gets transferred to another facility for whatever reason - you can probably expect a one to two day hold on being able to send them any funds by Western Union.

When I first started trying, I just kept getting a message that they couldn't complete the transaction. I guess if they're moved they get put on "hold" due to transit, even though they're really already wherever.

Put it this way, he arrived at Kilby early Wednesday evening, and it was Friday morning before I could get Western Union to finally process the transaction (and did get the confirmation that it went to him at Kilby).

So just expect a day or two's hold on being able to send money via Western Union if they get moved somewhere else.