Market familiarity, multi-channel and multi-brand advantages help Western Union outperform in Mexico

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. & MEXICO CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU), a leader in global payments, has grown its reach in Mexico with the ability to send money from the United States directly into nearly all bank accounts in Mexico¹, amplifying funds-out options in the fourth largest remittance market in the world.

Customers in the United States can now send money via the Western Union® mobile app, westernunion.com and retail Agent location channels, directly into millions of bank accounts in Mexico.

The company has also significantly increased the amount of Western Union Agent locations in Mexico to nearly 13,600—adding 3,200 locations in 2015, across the Western Union, Vigo® and Orlandi Valuta^SM brands—giving customers more options for cash pick-up across urban, rural and remote Mexico.

Based on Banco de Mexico data, Western Union’s U.S.-to-Mexico transaction and principal growth has outpaced the market. The amount of money customers send through all three brands has been growing ahead of the market for twelve consecutive quarters, while transactions have grown for more than eleven consecutive quarters. During the same periods, the Mexico market grew on average five percent in principal and seven percent in transactions.

“Our market familiarity, multi-channel and multi-brand advantages centered on meeting customer needs are driving the company’s performance in Western Union’s largest international corridor and one of the oldest remittance markets in the world,” said Odilon Almeida, President of the Americas and European Union.

“With activation of account payouts in the U.S.-to-Mexico corridor, our customers have the choice of using retail Agent locations in the first or last mile, or using digital channels, wherever they are, 24/7,” Almeida said.

“Our advancing cross-border FinTech capability is appealing to both existing and new bank-centric and tech-savvy customers and it is helping us to realize our vision. We are connecting more people, across more channels, with speed and ease,” he added.

In the U.S., Western Union is attracting a new category of digital savvy customers who are increasingly using the Western Union mobile app and westernunion.com to send money to Mexico. This is in addition to existing customers using the Western Union, Vigo and Orlandi Valuta retail Agent network.

Western Union has grown together with Mexico for more than two decades. The company’s expanding retail presence in Mexico emphasizes convenience, and now account payout is appealing to a banked population, which has grown to 40 percent from 27 percent three years ago.

Mexico has a long tradition of international migration, with more than 13.2 million or 9.4 percent of its native population living overseas². According to the World Bank, Mexico–United States is the largest migration corridor in the world³.

In 2015, remittances to Mexico totaled USD$24.8 billion, according to Banco de Mexico, growing 4.75 percent over 2014. While U.S. senders account for more than 90 percent of the money moved into Mexico, Western Union transferred money to Mexico from more than 180 countries last year. Funds are primarily used for food, housing and education.

There are more than 80 million bank accounts in Mexico, according to the National Banking and Stock Commission.

Western Union offers account payout to major remittance receiving countries around the world, including India, China, Philippines, Nigeria, Egypt, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Vietnam. This capability gives cash, bank and tech-centric customers the choice to send money directly into accounts in more than 50 countries.

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 March 31, 2016, the Western Union, Vigo and Orlandi Valuta branded services were offered through a combined network of over 500,000 agent locations in 200 countries and territories and over 100,000 ATMs and kiosks, and included the capability to send money to over a billion accounts. In 2015, The Western Union Company completed 262 million consumer-to-consumer transactions worldwide, moving $82 billion of principal between consumers, and 508 million business payments. For more information, visit www.westernunion.com.

WU-G
WU-F

___________________________________

¹ Source: Secretaria de Hacienda y Credito Publico de Mexico. 040-4A-R30
² Source: United Nations PD, International Migrant Stock 2015 estimates
³ Source: World Bank Migration and Development Brief 26

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160621005469/en/

Source: Western Union