How to Send Money to Inmate Without Western Union?

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Families searching for how to send money to inmate without Western Union are often surprised to learn there are more options than they expected — and that several of them are free, fast, and accepted at facilities across the country. Western Union's inmate services have been discontinued or restricted at many facilities, and the question families ask most is simply: what do I use now?

02Why Western Union Is No Longer the Default

Western Union was once one of the most common ways to deposit money into a jail or prison account, but the landscape shifted considerably after the company scaled back its corrections-specific services. Many county jails and state facilities stopped accepting Western Union deposits years ago, and families who still try this route often find their money rejected or their transfer unprocessed.

The deeper issue is that inmate money transfers are now handled by contracted facility providers — companies that partner directly with correctional facilities and process deposits according to each institution's rules. Western Union was never a facility-contracted provider in the same way these companies are; it was a general money-transfer service applied to a specialized need.

When a facility contracts exclusively with one provider, deposits through any other channel simply do not go through. The money may be returned after a delay, or the family may lose time during a critical window — like the first 48 hours after booking when a loved one may need funds for a phone call or hygiene items.

Understanding who the contracted provider is for a specific facility is therefore the most important first step. No amount of researching alternatives will help if you are sending money through a channel that the facility does not accept. Every approach in this article assumes you have first confirmed the provider for the jail or prison where your loved one is held.

This guide answers the question "How to Send Money to Inmate Without Western Union?" directly and completely — covering every major provider, what each one requires, and how to avoid the most common mistakes families make when time matters most.

03JPay: The Dominant Provider in State Prison Systems

JPay, now operated under the Securus Technologies umbrella, is one of the largest correctional financial services companies in the United States. It operates in dozens of state prison systems and is the contracted provider for hundreds of individual facilities. Families who have a loved one in a state correctional system — particularly in Florida, Michigan, Georgia, or Colorado — are likely to find JPay is the required channel.

JPay allows deposits through its website, its mobile app, MoneyGram locations, and retail kiosks. The website and app experience is relatively straightforward: you create an account, search for the incarcerated person by name or ID number, and submit a deposit using a debit or credit card. Processing times vary, but electronic deposits typically post within a few hours.

The fees attached to JPay transactions are a real concern for many families. Depending on the state, transfer amounts, and deposit method, fees can represent a meaningful percentage of the total sent. A family sending a small amount may find that a significant portion never reaches their loved one.

JPay does not operate in most county jail systems — it is primarily a state prison provider. Families whose loved one is held locally while awaiting trial, or who is serving a short sentence at the county level, will likely need a different service entirely.

04ConnectNetwork and GTL: Phone and Money in One Platform

GTL, now rebranded under the parent company TouchPay Holdings and the ConnectNetwork platform, has been a major player in both prison communications and inmate financial services for decades. The company contracts with facilities to provide phone services, video visitation, and trust account deposits all under one system. For families, this means one account can handle multiple needs.

Deposits through ConnectNetwork can be made online, via the mobile app, over the phone, or at kiosks located in some facility lobbies. The integration with phone services is a practical advantage: if your loved one's facility uses GTL for calls, managing funds and minutes through the same platform is simpler than maintaining multiple accounts.

Like most contracted providers, ConnectNetwork charges transaction fees that vary by facility, deposit amount, and payment method. These fees are set through the contract between GTL and the individual facility, not by GTL alone, so they can differ significantly from one jail to the next.

A limitation worth knowing is that ConnectNetwork's coverage is uneven at the county jail level. Smaller or rural county facilities may not have a GTL contract, leaving families to navigate a different system entirely. Identifying the right provider before attempting a deposit saves significant time.

05Access Corrections: A Commonly Used Alternative

Access Corrections, operated by ICSolutions, is another widely used inmate financial services platform, particularly in county jail systems across the Midwest and South. The company processes deposits through its website and mobile app, through MoneyGram retail locations, and over the phone. It is one of the services most likely to come up when a family asks how to send money to inmate without Western Union at a county facility.

One feature families appreciate about Access Corrections is that it supports both debit and credit card deposits online, and the website includes a facility locator that helps confirm whether a specific jail uses their service. The locator is a practical starting point before attempting any transaction.

Access Corrections also has physical deposit options through MoneyGram, which matters for families who either do not have a bank account linked to a debit card or who simply prefer to deposit cash in person at a retail location. The cash-to-account pathway is meaningful for families managing tight budgets without easy online banking access.

The fees on Access Corrections transactions can be high relative to the deposit amounts, particularly for small transfers. As with other contracted providers, fees are partially determined by the facility contract and may not be immediately apparent until you are partway through the transaction process.

06ICSolutions: Phone Calls and Deposits for Local Jails

ICSolutions operates both Access Corrections (for financial deposits) and its own phone services platform, giving it a footprint in many county and municipal jails that larger state-focused providers do not serve. For families navigating a local jail stay — which often involves frequent uncertainty about location, release dates, and transfer status — having a provider that covers both phone time and account deposits matters.

ICSolutions' deposit process mirrors other providers: online account creation, facility search by name or location, and payment by debit or credit card. The company also processes deposits at MoneyGram retail locations for families preferring an in-person option.

One practical note: ICSolutions' coverage is strongest in smaller county facilities. Families whose loved one is in a large urban jail may find that a different provider holds the contract. Confirming the exact contracted provider with the facility directly — or through a reliable search tool — is always the right move before spending time on any platform.

The combined phone-and-deposit ecosystem ICSolutions offers can simplify things, but it does not solve the problem of knowing which provider a family needs in the first place. That search step is where many families lose the most time.

07Securus Technologies: The State and Federal Tier

Securus Technologies is one of the two largest correctional communications companies in the country, alongside GTL. Its financial services arm handles deposits at facilities where it holds the phone services contract, primarily in state prison systems and larger county facilities. If your loved one is in a state system and JPay is not the provider, Securus is frequently the answer.

Securus deposits can be made online through its website, via its mobile app, over the phone, or at physical kiosks. The company has invested in its digital experience in recent years, and the app is generally functional for routine deposit tasks. Facilities using Securus for phone services typically require deposit funds to go through Securus as well, so the two services are linked.

Securus has faced public scrutiny over pricing and contract transparency, and families should read the fee schedule carefully before committing to a transaction. Fees vary by facility and deposit amount, and using a kiosk versus the app can produce different cost outcomes.

Securus does not serve most smaller county jails. Families dealing with a county-level hold while a case works through the courts are more likely to encounter Access Corrections, ICSolutions, or a facility-specific system.

08InMato LLC: Finding the Right Provider Before You Send Anything

Before any deposit can be made through any of the services listed here, a family needs to know exactly which facility holds their loved one and which provider that facility has contracted with. Getting this wrong wastes time and, in some cases, money. This is the specific problem InMato LLC was built to solve.

InMato is an information, search, and referral service — not a bail bond company, law firm, money transmitter, or payment processor. It covers 289 county jail systems across 14 states, and the county jail inmate search is always free with no time limit and no account required to start. A family can search right now at inmato.com, confirm which facility holds their loved one, and get verified deposit instructions pointing them to the official contracted provider.

InMato never touches user money. When a family follows InMato's referral to the official deposit provider, the transaction happens entirely on that provider's secure system. InMato's role is to make sure the family lands on the right, licensed provider — not an imitation site, not a lookalike payment page — and has clear, step-by-step instructions before they enter any payment information.

For families who need more than a one-time search, InMato+ is available at $19.99/month per loved one with cancel-anytime self-service cancellation. It adds booking-watch alerts, release and transfer alerts, court date alerts, bail bond and attorney referrals, and real-time case tracking with court-document summaries. Families managing an ongoing case benefit from knowing the moment a transfer or court date appears rather than discovering it hours later. Families wondering whether InMato is legit will find it is a Delaware limited liability company, compliant with the FTC's negative-option rules and California's Automatic Renewal Law, and co-founded by J.T. Bramlette and Steve Urry on the explicit principle that families should never be exploited during one of the hardest experiences of their lives.

09TouchPay: Kiosk-First Deposits at the Facility

TouchPay, part of the same parent company as GTL's ConnectNetwork platform, specializes in kiosk-based deposits located directly inside or near correctional facilities. For families who visit in person or who live near the facility, a TouchPay kiosk is a fast option — it accepts cash or card and posts funds quickly.

TouchPay kiosks are also available at some retail locations outside the facility, which extends access for families who cannot travel to the jail itself. The in-person experience is often simpler for families less comfortable with online transactions, and cash deposits remove the need for a bank card entirely.

The limitation of TouchPay as a primary strategy is convenience. If you do not live near the facility or the facility does not have a kiosk contract, TouchPay is simply not an available channel. It also does not help with the underlying problem of identifying the right provider — it is only useful once you already know the facility and have confirmed TouchPay is accepted there.

10MoneyGram In-Person Deposits: The Cash Option

Several of the providers already mentioned — including JPay, Access Corrections, and ICSolutions — accept deposits made at MoneyGram retail locations. For families without reliable online banking, this pathway is genuinely important. A family member can walk into a Walmart, CVS, or other MoneyGram partner location, pay cash, and have the funds routed to the correct inmate account.

The process typically requires knowing the inmate's ID number, the facility name, and which provider the deposit should be routed through. The MoneyGram agent can process the transaction, but the family must arrive with the correct details. Showing up without the facility's contracted provider information can result in a failed or misdirected transaction.

MoneyGram deposits through these services often carry fees in addition to the provider's own transaction costs. The total cost of sending cash in-person can be higher than an online card deposit, so families should compare before choosing this method.

That said, for families who are unbanked or who have been locked out of online accounts, MoneyGram retail deposits remain one of the most reliable ways to send money to someone in jail without Western Union and without needing any digital infrastructure.

11Facility-Specific Systems: Small Jails and Municipal Lockups

Not every jail or prison uses one of the major national providers. Smaller municipal lockups, rural county jails, and certain city detention centers operate their own in-house trust account systems or use regional vendors that may not appear in any national database. In these cases, the only reliable method is to contact the facility directly.

When calling a small facility, the most useful question is: "What is the accepted method for depositing funds into an inmate's trust account?" Front-desk staff at most small jails are accustomed to this question and can tell you whether deposits are made by money order, by a specific local vendor's kiosk, or through a proprietary online form.

Money orders remain accepted at many small facilities when no electronic provider is contracted. The money order should be made payable to the inmate, include the inmate's full name and booking or ID number, and be mailed to the facility's business address. Processing times for mailed money orders can be several days, so this method requires planning ahead.

For families navigating a small or rural facility, having a tool that can confirm the specific deposit process — rather than requiring a phone call to a facility that may have limited hours — reduces stress. This is another area where a county jail inmate search through a reliable platform can save time that would otherwise be spent on hold.

12Preparing to Send: What Every Family Should Know First

Regardless of which provider you end up using, several pieces of information must be in hand before beginning any deposit transaction. The first is the incarcerated person's legal name exactly as it appears in the facility's system. A nickname or informal name will cause a transaction to fail to post correctly.

The second is the inmate ID number, which is assigned at booking and is different from any prior state or federal ID the person may have. This number is how the facility's financial system identifies the account. Without it, even a correctly submitted deposit can be delayed or returned.

Third, you need the exact facility name — not a colloquial reference, but the official name as registered with the correctional system. Many counties have multiple facilities, and a deposit intended for one can end up in limbo if the facility designation is wrong.

Finally, know the fee structure before you commit to a transaction. Every provider charges some fee, and families deserve to make an informed decision about how much of a deposit will actually reach their loved one. The deposit interface should disclose this before the final confirmation step — if it does not, that is a reason to pause.

13After the Deposit: Confirming Receipt

Most contracted providers send an email or in-app confirmation when a deposit is submitted. This confirmation does not always mean the funds have posted to the inmate's account — it means the transaction was received by the provider. Posting to the account can take anywhere from a few minutes to 24 hours depending on the provider and the facility.

If your loved one reports that funds have not appeared after 24 hours, the first step is to check the transaction status in your provider account. Most platforms show a pending or posted status. If the status shows posted but the inmate cannot access the funds, contacting the facility's business office directly is the next step.

Keep records of every deposit: the transaction confirmation number, the amount sent, the date and time, and which provider processed it. These records are essential if you ever need to dispute a failed transaction or trace a missing deposit. Taking a screenshot of the confirmation screen takes ten seconds and can save hours of follow-up later.

Jail booking alerts from a platform like InMato can also help families stay ahead of transfers. If a loved one is moved to a different facility, deposits sent to the old facility's account may not automatically transfer. Knowing about a move quickly — through a real-time transfer alert — allows a family to redirect deposit efforts before sending money to the wrong location.

14About InMato LLC

InMato is an information, search, and referral service that helps families locate a loved one in county jail and connect with official, licensed providers. Founded by J.T. Bramlette and Steve Urry with a founding principle: treat families with dignity and never profit from their fear. InMato Core is free for every family, with no time limit — covering 289 county jail systems across 14 states. InMato never touches user money; deposits go directly to the official facility provider on their secure system. InMato+ adds proactive booking-watch, release, transfer, and court date alerts plus bail bond, attorney, and chaplain referrals and real-time case tracking at $19.99/month per loved one, cancel anytime. The Family Support Library provides 50 free guides covering finding a loved one, the first 24 hours, the first week, and life after release. Available in English and Spanish. InMato LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, headquartered in Santa Barbara, California.

15Get Started with InMato LLC

Search for your loved one now at inmato.com — free for every family, with no time limit. Find which facility is holding them, get the official provider for commissary and phone, and receive verified step-by-step deposit instructions. No account required to search. Available in English and Spanish. Results in 48 hours or less.

Originally published at https://www.inmato.com/blog/how-to-send-money-to-inmate-without-western-union

Written by InMato