Does Western Union Money Pay for InmateAid Letters?

The Western Union money goes directly onto your inmate's books at the facility. It is his money to spend on commissary items, and at some institutions, it can also be used toward phone service through the jail's phone provider. It has no connection to InmateAid's services on your end.

Letters, postcards, and the Inmate Response service are paid for separately through InmateAid directly. Right now that means a credit card transaction each time, which is admittedly not the most convenient setup. InmateAid is working on a wallet system that would let you load a balance once and have individual transactions deducted from it automatically, which will make things much smoother for regular users.

The Inmate Response service is worth understanding clearly. When you use it, your inmate gets a way to write back without needing your home address. InmateAid acts as the intermediary, which is useful if you want to keep your address private or if your inmate does not have easy access to envelopes and stamps on his end. You pay for that service on your side, not him.

For now, the credit card step is the process. Once the wallet feature rolls out, it will be a much more seamless experience.