International remittance company Western Union plans to make its digital cash transfer service available to customers in 200 countries, with a specific focus on enabling mobile transactions.
The company’s digital arm currently processes transactions to bank accounts and mobile wallets in more than 200 destinations from a limited number of territories deemed “economic hubs”. Transfers from other countries use its agent network.
Its fully digital transfer service is currently available in: the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Brazil, Jamaica, Panama and a large part of Europe.
In a statement, it revealed the next countries to launch will be: Mexico, Malaysia, Singapore and United Arab Emirates, with the company eventually aiming to rollout the service across 200 locations.
Western Union added the focus of its expansion would be on the mobile channel, which is the source of 70 per cent of the digital money transfers it currently processes.
Its comments today follow its strategy of switching its footprint to a digital-first service and comes a year after the company announced its whole operation in Africa would be digital in 2020.
Source: https://www.mobileworldlive.com/money/news-money/western-union-targets-global-mobile-expansion/