Western Union Mobile Network Grows to 20 Deployments in 18 Countries
Worldwide
ENGLEWOOD, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU), a leader in global payment
services, today announced the launch of a new mobile money transfer
service that enables consumers to send money into a mobile wallet in
Nepal.
The new mobile money transfer service to Nepal integrates directly with eSewa,
one of the leading digital wallet platforms in Nepal with more than
200,000 registered users. The functionality was developed through the
collaborative efforts of Western
Union, its Agent Nabil
Bank Limited, and FonePay
Pvt. Ltd., the owner of eSewa.
Consumers in Nepal who subscribe to the eSewa mobile wallet now have the
option of receiving a Western Union Money Transfer®
transaction on their mobile phones, or through eSewa’s
web interface. International money transfers for mobile pick-up can
be initiated at westernunion.com
in 23 countries, or at participating Western Union® Agent
locations worldwide.
The new offering complements Western Union services offered through its
retail Agent network of more than 5,600 locations in Nepal.1
According to the World Bank, Nepal had more than US$4.2 billion in
migrant remittance inflows during 2011, representing 22% of Nepal’s
gross domestic product. The World Bank estimates that remittance inflows
to Nepal grew to more than US$4.9 billion in 20122.
“Western Union continues to expand its mobile footprint as part of our
multi-product, multi-channel strategy,” said Patricia Riingen, senior
vice president, East & South Asia, Western Union. “We are very pleased
to launch mobile services to Nepal, and we remain committed to building
our mobile network in strategic markets around the world.”
Anil Gyawali, chief executive officer, Nabil Bank, commented, “Nabil
Bank is delighted to extend its long-standing relationship with Western
Union to offer digital money transfer services to Nepal. Remittances are
an important aspect of economic stability for the nation, as well as for
local communities throughout the country. We are happy to provide more
choice and convenience to Nepalese consumers, no matter where they
reside.”
According to Asgar Ali, chief executive officer of FonePay Pvt. Ltd.,
“We are proud that FonePay is part of the collaboration between Western
Union and Nabil Bank, to deliver a new and unique money transfer service
to the Nepalese community. As the demand for mobile solutions continues
to grow, enabling international mobile remittances will help address
evolving customer needs in a timely, efficient and proactive manner.”
For more information on Western Union’s online and digital capabilities,
including mobile applications and mobile money transfer services, please
visit www.westernunion.com.
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, 2013, the Western Union, Vigo and
Orlandi Valuta branded services were offered through a combined network
of approximately 520,000 agent locations in 200 countries and
territories and approximately 115,000 ATMs. In 2012, The Western Union
Company completed 231 million consumer-to-consumer transactions
worldwide, moving $79 billion of principal between consumers, and 432
million business payments. For more information, visit www.westernunion.com.
About Nabil Bank
Nabil Bank Limited, the first foreign joint venture bank of Nepal,
started operations in July 1984. Nabil was incorporated with the
objective of extending international standard modern banking services to
various sectors of the society. Pursuing its objective, Nabil provides a
full range of commercial banking services through its 51 points of
representation across the nation and over 170 reputed correspondent
banks across the globe. Nabil Bank is fully equipped with modern
technology which includes ATMs, credit cards, state-of-art Internet and
Mobile Banking, and uses the world-renowned Core Banking System from
Infosys Technologies System, Bangalore India. For more information,
please visit www.nabilbank.com.
About FonePay and eSewa
FonePay Pvt. Ltd is a leading mobile financial services and e-commerce
company in Nepal. It specializes in providing digital payment and money
transfer solutions via mobile and/or the Internet. Targeting the banked
customers, it provides a proprietary network of more than 30+ national
banks in Nepal and offers interbank fund transfer and shared merchant
payments where fund can be easily moved from one bank to another bank
via mobile phone or Internet. For the unbanked economy, it hosts a
shared wallet, eSewa,” and offers customers to receive, pay and send
money digitally.
eSewa is a digital payment portal in Nepal, developed by F1 Soft
International and owned by FonePay, that facilitates financial
transactions via the web-based or mobile-based services. It has more
than 31 valued member banks in its network.
1. Network data as of June 30, 2013.
2. World Bank Migration & Remittances Fact Book 2011, World Bank. http://econ.worldbank.org/
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Source: Western Union