If you need to move large amounts of money, a wire transfer–either bank to bank or via an agent such as Western Union–is the safest way to go. Expect to pay a fee and review the fine print before you agree to the transfer. It may take a few hours or days, depending on the details. Note that a wire transfer is different from an Automated Clearing House (ACH) transfer. Those are used to pay bills or move money between linked accounts.