Western Union Money Transfer Services to Be Offered at McColl Convenience Stores Throughout the U.K.; Western Union Network to Expand by 700 New Locations
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. & LONDON, Apr 20, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) announced today that it has signed an agreement with a major distribution network in the U.K., the convenience retail chain Martin McColl. By September 2010, Western Union national and international money transfer services will be offered at 700 Martin McColl stores throughout the country.
The agreement with Martin McColl represents an excellent opportunity for Western Union to expand its distribution network in the U.K., adding 700 new locations to the existing network of more than 11,000 Agent locations, consisting mainly of high-street retailers and banks.
The agreement with Martin McColl also represents a significant step in Western Union's strategy to expand its network, diversify its customer base, attract mainstream customers to its money transfer service and promote such relatively new services as European and domestic money transfers.
Jan Hillered, Senior Vice President, Europe & CIS at Western Union, said: "Martin McColl has an excellent network of well-known stores in the U.K., and has a particularly strong presence in neighbourhoods outside large cities, where Western Union is currently not prominent. We view the agreement with Martin McColl as an excellent opportunity to expand our U.K. network to these areas and offer more customers the opportunity to experience the speed, convenience and reliability of the Western Union(R) Money TransferSM service."
Tony Start, Trading Director at Martin McColl said: "We see the introduction of the Western Union Money Transfer service as a key driver in increasing customer footfall and driving incremental income. The introduction of the Western Union(R) service will complement our initiative of providing a range of financial services to our customer base. We look forward to launching with Western Union in the second quarter."
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 Custom House branded payment services, Western Union provides consumers and businesses with fast, reliable and convenient ways to send and receive money around the world, as well as send payments and purchase money orders. The Western Union, Vigo and Orlandi Valuta branded services are offered through a combined network of more than 410,000 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.
About Martin McColl:
Martin McColl Retail Group Ltd is the UK's largest independent retailer of newsagent and convenience stores, Martin McColl serves local communities in residential and neighbourhood areas with a strong presence on many high streets throughout the UK. Martin McColl has 1,252 stores overall and acquired 27 new sites last Year. Sales in 2009 amounted to £764.9 million.
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SOURCE: Western Union
Western Union
Elena Shalneva, + 44 (0) 208 563 6616
Director, Corporate Communications, Europe & CIS
Elena.shalneva@westernunion.com
or
Martin McColl
Paul Taylor, (ddi) 01277 376341
(swb) 01277 372916
General Manager Marketing
ptaylor@martinmccoll.co.uk
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