ENGLEWOOD, Colo., Dec 07, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU), a leader in global payments, found that for the third straight year cash is still the preferred holiday gift among consumers. In a recent survey conducted by Western Union and Wakefield Research, more than half (51 percent) of respondents agreed that they would prefer to receive cash more than anything else this holiday season.

Luckily for consumers hoping to receive the gift of cash this season, 52 percent of gift-givers plan to give cash for the holidays given the current state of the economy. This is an increase of eight percentage points from last year's survey results.

For many, cash is the perfect gift - it always fits, no one wants to return it. In fact, three-quarters (75 percent) of consumers have pretended to like a holiday gift they received, so it comes as no surprise that 64 percent of people agreed giving cash as a gift helps keep gifting stress-free, making both the giver and receiver happy.

"Cash is the perfect gift because people can use it to get what they really want," said Victoria López-Negrete, Senior Vice President and GM, U.S. Money Transfer Product Management, Western Union. "Whether you are looking to brighten someone's holiday with the perfect gift, or need a last-minute gifting solution, cash will never disappoint. To help, Western Union makes sending or receiving the gift of cash this holiday, and year-round, an easy and convenient experience at participating Agent locations worldwide."

"Although recent news headlines indicate the United States is officially out of a recession, more than half of consumers plan to give cash because they think people could use it," López-Negrete added. "Of course everyone likes to receive a gift they wouldn't ordinarily buy for themselves, but people are still trying to keep up with their daily living expenses, and cash gifts can help them do so."

To facilitate gift-giving solutions this holiday season, and help consumers be mindful of their budgets, Western Union is offering "$50 for $5." Consumers can send up to $50 to loved ones in the U.S. for five dollars, or send a Western Union^(R)gift card with a personalized greeting card and voice message, available exclusively at www.westernunion.com.

This holiday season, in the spirit of giving, Western Union and Grammy-Award winning recording artist John Legend have joined forces for 50 Days of Giving, a national campaign designed to help raise charitable-giving awareness. Western Union announced an initial total of $100,000 in grants to benefit Boys & Girls Clubs of America, CARE USA, Mercy Corps, Save the Children and The U.S. Fund for UNICEF. Western Union and John Legend also unveiled www.50daysofgiving.com, an online voting site to encourage consumers to take an active role in supporting one of the five charities this holiday season. The organization receiving the most online votes by December 25 will receive an additional $150,000 grant from Western Union.

For more information on how to send the gift of cash to friends and family, visit www.WesternUnion.com.

Survey Methodology
The survey, commissioned by Western Union and conducted by Wakefield Research,polled 1,000 nationally representative American adults aged 18 years old and older between October 1 and October 6, 2010.

* The Western Union(R) Gift Card is issued by MetaBank(TM) pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. INC. MetaBank; Member FDIC. A $2.50 per month servicing fee applies after 12 consecutive months of non-use.

About Western Union

The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a leader in global payment services. Together with its Vigo, Orlandi Valuta, Pago Facil and Western Union Business Solutions branded payment services, Western Union provides consumers and businesses with fast, reliable and convenient ways to send and receive money around the world, to send payments and to purchase money orders. The Western Union, Vigo and Orlandi Valuta branded services are offered through a combined network of approximately 435,000 agent locations in 200 countries and territories. In 2009, The Western Union Company completed 196 million consumer-to-consumer transactions worldwide, moving $71 billion of principal between consumers, and 415 million business payments. For more information, visit www.westernunion.com.

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SOURCE: The Western Union Company

Western Union
Melissa Sachs, 720-332-4489
Melissa.Sachs@WesternUnion.com