ENGLEWOOD, Colo., Dec 29, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU), a leader in global payments, announced today that Mercy Corps is the charity that received the most votes during Western Union's 50 Days of Giving holiday campaign. Right in time for the New Year, Mercy Corps will receive a total of $170,000 in grant funds from Western Union's 50 Days of Giving campaign, which six-time Grammy-Award winning recording artist John Legend helped launch with a private performance in New York City on November 9.

Western Union kicked-off the 50 Days of Giving campaign in November to help raise charitable-giving awareness during the holiday season. Western Union announced an initial total of $100,000 in grants to benefit five non-government organizations: 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 http://www.50daysofgiving.com- an online voting site that encouraged consumers to take an active role in supporting one of the five charities this holiday season. Mercy Corps received the most online votes during the voting period, which ended on December 25, and as a result, they will receive an additional $150,000 grant from Western Union.

"We are thrilled to have won 50 Days of Giving," said Jeremy Barnicle, Chief Development Officer for Mercy Corps. "We are very thankful to Western Union for offering people this opportunity to mobilize in support of our work. This is a great victory for people in need around the world."

"Giving back is part of Western Union's commitment to the communities it serves. 50 Days of Giving offered consumers the opportunity to decide where that support went this holiday season," said Stewart A. Stockdale, President, The Americas and EVP Global Cards and Global Key Accounts, Western Union. "We are proud that we engaged consumers and more than 92,000 votes in an effort to generate awareness for charitable giving this holiday season."

According to a Western Union survey conducted by Wakefield Research, 66 percent of consumers plan to give to charities this holiday, while 36 percent believe it's their duty to donate to philanthropic causes regardless of their personal financial situation. The survey also revealed 50 percent believe that businesses, regardless of their financial health, are obligated to give to charity.

With the New Year just around the corner and the holiday season drawing to a close, consumers should not be dwelling on unpaid bills or stressing about late payments. Unfortunately though, more than 1 in 10 (12%) of consumers were late in paying their bills last holiday season, but Western Union can help consumers send on-time bill payments. All that is needed is to visit any participating Western Union^(R) Agent location, go online to http://www.WesternUnion.com, or call by phone to pay bills quickly and avoid late charges and penalties.

For more information on how to send the gift of cash to friends and family or pay holiday bills, visit http://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.

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 http://www.westernunion.com.

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps helps people in the world's toughest places turn the crises of natural disaster, poverty and conflict into opportunities for progress. Driven by local needs and market conditions, our programs provide communities with the tools and support they need to transform their own lives. Our worldwide team of 3,700 professionals is improving the lives of 16.7 million people in more than 40 countries. For more information, visit http://www.mercycorps.org.

WU-G

SOURCE: The Western Union Company

Western Union
Melissa Sachs, + 1 720-332-4489
Melissa.Sachs@WesternUnion.com