ICBC customers to send or receive funds via Western Union through on-line banking platform

ENGLEWOOD, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU), a leader in global payment services, has signed an agreement with one of the world’s largest banks, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), enabling its customers to send or receive money from their online bank accounts on a 24/7 basis around the world through Western Union’s global network.

ICBC, ranked as the world’s largest Bank based on capital and third largest based on assets, will work with Western Union to activate the Account Based Money Transfer Service which will allow customers to receive funds in US or RMB currencies.

“Providing account based money transfer services through a large and prestigious bank such as ICBC is another demonstration of the ongoing changes at Western Union,” said Hikmet Ersek, Western Union President and CEO. “While we provide much needed services to people throughout the world, we also understand that our customers are seeking more choices and convenience, which our agreement with ICBC will be able to accommodate. Thanks to our robust Western Union cross-border money transfer platform, we are now able to complement our more than 36,000 location strong Agent network in China to include banking online channels giving consumers across China the choice to manage their international money transfers with flexibility.”

Western Union’s Account Based Money Transfer services in China have gained momentum recently with the company activating services with Postal Savings Bank of China (PSBC), Agriculture Bank of China (ABC) and China Everbright Bank (CEB). All of these banks allow their customers with on-line banking to direct international money transfer received via Western Union into their bank accounts, while CEB also offers its customers outward remittances services.

For more than 17 years, Western Union has remained committed to the China market, moving money between consumers and their family members overseas through a fast, reliable and convenient money-transfer service.

ICBC is a much awarded bank on a global and national scale and has a portfolio of 282 million account holders, of which 115 million are activated for online banking. The agreement with Western Union will propel ICBC to lead Bank account-linked inward and outward remittances in a nation that receives the second largest amount of remittances in the world – US$62 billion based on the World Bank 2011 data.

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. As of June 30, 2012, the Western Union, Vigo and Orlandi Valuta branded services were offered through a combined network of approximately 510,000 agent locations in 200 countries and territories. In 2011, The Western Union Company completed 226 million consumer-to-consumer transactions worldwide, moving $81 billion of principal between consumers, and 425 million business payments. For more information, visit www.westernunion.com.

About Industrial Commercial Bank of China

ICBC provides a wide range of financial products and services to 4.11 million corporate clients and 282 million individual customers through 16,648 outlets across China, 239 overseas subsidiaries and a global network of more than 1,669 correspondent banks as well as Internet Banking, Telephone Banking and Self-service Banking. ICBC established strong presence by its commercial banking operation and rapid expansion to markets worldwide. ICBC held the top slots in the country in many business areas of commercial banking. ICBC has 408,859 employees under payroll.

At the end of 2011, total assets reached RMB 15,476.868 billion, representing an increase of RMB 2,018.246 billion, or 15.0% over the end of previous year; Total liabilities reached RMB 14,519.045 billion at the end of 2011, up RMB 1,882.08 billion, or 14.9% from a year earlier. Having a 25.6% increase against previous year in net profit to RMB 208.445 billion in 2011, ICBC defended its position as the world’s most profitable bank. Return on average total assets and return on weighted average equity on par with the international standard, were at 1.44% and 23.44% respectively. Earnings per share rose RMB 0.12 from a year earlier to RMB 0.6. Ratio of non-performing loans fell to 0.94 percent, down 0.14 percentage points against previous year.

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Source: The Western Union Company