DUBAI, UAE, Jul 01, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Western Union (NYSE: WU), a leader in global payments, has extended its relationship with Emirates International Exchange, one of the leading exchange houses in the Middle East, to launch its international business payments service, Western Union Business Solutions, in the UAE.

Providing cross-border business payments and foreign-exchange solutions to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), Western Union Business Solutions is a reliable, flexible and easy-to-use service. The global cross-border SME payments market is estimated to be similar in size to the consumer cross-border remittance market, with estimated global revenues of approximately $24 billion.

The five-year service agreement between the two organizations marks Western Union's entry into a new customer segment for the first time in the Middle East, and opens the doors for a number of growth opportunities.

Commenting on the agreement, Jean Claude Farah, Western Union's Senior Vice President for the Middle East and Africa, said, "As the number of small- and medium-sized companies doing business internationally in the UAE continues to grow, so does the need for fast and reliable global payment solutions. Emirates International Exchange is a leading FX trader and remittance player, with a great record of growth with our core business of money transfer in the UAE."

"We continue to make good progress in expanding the Western Union Business Solutions platform to new countries and customers," said Raj Agrawal, General Manager of Business Solutions. "Small and medium-sized businesses are generally underserved by other providers and face challenges in their cross-border payment needs."

"Emirates International Exchange has been working on introducing innovative solutions that offer value to the customer," said Santosh Tandel, Chief Executive Officer at Emirates International Exchange. "Association with Western Union is one such step in the direction to offer small- and medium-sized enterprises an option to choose a service specifically designed to serve corporate needs."

Western Union Business Solutions enables businesses of all sizes to manage their international transactions, reduce risk, and act on market opportunities through various services such as online FX for small businesses and corporate FX solutions that include foreign currency payments, currency risk management consultation and industry solutions.

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 455,000 agent locations in 200 countries and territories. In 2010, The Western Union Company completed 214 million consumer-to-consumer transactions worldwide, moving $76 billion of principal between consumers, and 405 million business payments. For more information, visit http://www.westernunion.com.

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SOURCE: Western Union

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