New Service Provides UK Viber App Users the Ability to Send Money to
More than 200 Countries and Territories
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU), a leader in global payment
services, today announced it is enhancing its existing relationship with
Viber, a leading mobile messaging app with 754M unique users worldwide,
by enabling Viber users in the UK to send money domestically and
internationally to more than 200 countries and territories from the
convenience of the Viber app.
Western Union and Viber have created a money transfer experience that
will start and complete within the chat interface of Viber, not only
providing the convenience of never leaving the app, but also
contextualizing money transfer within the personal relationships it
supports. Earlier this year, both companies announced Viber users in the
United States could send money to more than 200 countries and
territories worldwide.
Leveraging Western Union’s proprietary WU® ConnectTM
FinTech platform, this new capability allows consumers to send up to
£400 when using a credit or debit card to be received in cash at more
than 500,000 Western Union® Agent locations in more than 200
countries and territories. If transferring to a bank account, consumers
can send up to £500. As part of this launch, consumers transferring
money from the app to a bank account can take advantage of a zero
transfer fee* offer, for a limited time.
“Western Union’s imperative has always been to make the money transfer
experience for our customers convenient and fast. This means continuing
to invest in technology to provide choice for the customer to send money
when and where they would like to do so,” said Western Union Executive
Vice President, Global Operations and Technology and CTO David Thompson.
“We are pleased to grow our relationship with Viber to help enable its
users the ability to conveniently send money via the Viber app to
practically anywhere in the world.”
“At Viber, we’re always striving to make it easier for our users to
connect, and the Western Union alliance has allowed us to take this one
step further in allowing users to send money through the app, while
availing of a large global Agent network,” explained Robi Kopel, FinTech
lead, Viber. “Our users have always been a priority for us and we have
worked closely with Western Union to make this a reliable service for
everyone, and we are excited to continue to grow this relationship.”
The API-based WU Connect platform enables third-party digital platforms
to integrate with Western Union in order to provide a seamlessly
integrated global money transfer experience to their users. Consumers
are able to enjoy using their favorite social and messaging app while
they send money directly from the app. They can fund the money transfer
utilizing debit card or credit card and easily direct the funds to a
participating Western Union retail Agent location, or a bank account
where available.
For more information about the WU Connect platform or integration
opportunities: WUConnect@wu.com.
* Western Union also makes money from currency exchange. When choosing a
money transmitter, carefully compare both transfer fees and exchange
rates. Fees and foreign exchange rates may vary by brand, channel, and
location based on a number of factors. Fees and rates subject to change
without notice.
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 September 30, 2016,
the Western Union, Vigo and Orlandi Valuta branded services were offered
through a combined network of over 550,000 agent locations in 200
countries and territories and over 100,000 ATMs and kiosks, and included
the capability to send money to billions of 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.
About
Viber
Part of the Rakuten family, Viber freely connects users around the world
with the people that matter to them most. With more than 754 million
unique users on the platform, Viber allows people to connect in the way
that works best for them, whether that’s through individual messaging,
video calls or group chats, or following brands and celebrities on
Public Chats. Viber can be used on iPhone®, iPad®, Android™ phones and
tablets, Windows Phone, Windows®, Windows 8®, Mac, Linux and Symbian
devices over mobile or WiFi connections.
WU-G
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161207005215/en/
Source: The Western Union Company