Western Union Expands Prepaid Card Platform With New Overnight Home Delivery Service

April 15, 2009

St. Louis and Kansas City Consumers First to Send Funds via Western Union MoneyWise Visa Prepaid Card

ENGLEWOOD, Colo., Apr 15, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Western Union (NYSE:WU), a global leader in money transfers, is introducing a new convenient way for sending money within the U.S.1 The company is expanding its prepaid card platform with an innovative Overnight Home Delivery service pilot featuring Western Union's new MoneyWise(TM) Visa(R) prepaid card2.

St. Louis and Kansas City consumers will be the first to use the new Overnight Home Delivery money transfer service to send money via Western Union's MoneyWise prepaid card to receivers throughout most of the U.S. The service is expected to be rolled out mid April in St. Louis followed by Kansas City.

Overnight delivery of Western Union's MoneyWise prepaid card provides increased convenience and ease of use to consumers, allowing them to receive funds delivered overnight to a recipient's home or work place rather than going to a Western Union Agent location.

"Our new Overnight Home Delivery service provides consumers with an easy and convenient way to send money on a card," said Jorge Consuegra, senior vice president U.S. Product Management, Western Union. "The new Western Union MoneyWise Visa prepaid card provides consumers with a great financial tool to manage money and track spending in these difficult economic times."

Western Union MoneyWise - how it works: The MoneyWise(TM) card will be sent overnight via FedEx(R) so that it arrives at the recipient's door the next day and can be activated by the receiver with the Western Union Money Transfer Control Number. The card is protected by the Visa(R) zero liability policy.

Western Union's MoneyWise Visa prepaid card provides the money transfer recipient with a great tool for spending and managing their money. It can be used anywhere Visa debit cards are accepted including online as well as withdrawing cash at ATMs3. Additionally, more money can be added to the card by both the sender and the receiver with valid information.

The Overnight Home Delivery money transfer transaction fees start at just $9.99 plus a low one-time express delivery fee of $9.95. Overnight Home Delivery is a competitively priced money transfer service, and it provides delivery of the money directly to the recipient on a prepaid card. "This new service demonstrates that Western Union is continually looking for new ways to meet consumer needs in the marketplace," added Consuegra.

Benefits of this new service include:

  • A Western Union MoneyWise prepaid Visa debit card is delivered to the recipient's address via FedEx(R) Priority Overnight service in the United States where available
  • The card can only be activated with a Western Union money transfer control number provided to the recipient by the sender
  • MoneyWise cardholders can use the card anywhere Visa debit cards are accepted including online and at ATMs3
  • If lost or stolen the consumer has the option to have the card replaced
  • A personalized card option is available at no additional charge (cardholder's name on card)
  • Access to account activity online
  • SMS (texts) and email balance alert capabilities
  • The card can be reloaded over a period of time
  • The MoneyWise prepaid card is protected by Visa's zero liability policy (details at usa.visa.com)
  • The Sender can send more money to the same MoneyWise card without paying an additional overnight delivery fee

1Overnight Home Delivery Service and MoneyWise(TM) Prepaid Visa(R) Cards not available to send to Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, U.S. military bases, and the Virgin Islands. The MoneyWise Visa prepaid card is subject to terms, conditions, restrictions and fees for use. Use of the card may be subject to user identification requirements and transaction and load limits.

2The Western Union(R) MoneyWise(TM) Visa Prepaid Card is issued by MetaBank pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. MetaBank, Member FDIC

3ATM withdrawals are subject to a fee of $1 per use plus applicable ATM operator fees apply. ATM withdrawals limited to $500/day.

About Western Union

The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) is a leader in global money transfer services. Together with its Vigo and Orlandi Valuta branded money transfer services, Western Union provides consumers with fast, reliable and convenient ways to send and receive money around the world, as well as send payments and purchase money orders. It operates through a combined network of more than 375,000 Agent locations in 200 countries and territories. Famous for its pioneering telegraph services, the original Western Union dates back to 1851. For more information, visit www.westernunion.com.

WU-G

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SOURCE: The Western Union Company

Western Union
Daniel Díaz, + 1 720-332-5564
daniel.diaz@WesternUnion.com
Dave Liggett, + 1 720-332-4119
david.liggett@WesternUnion.com