Western Union has launched a fee-free
promotion for people sending money online from the US to Mexico,
India and the Philippines.
These three countries represent a major
portion of the total worldwide remittances transfers excluding
China.
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India ranked at the top of the recipient
countries in 2011, with an estimated flow of USD64 billion,
followed by Mexico (USD 24 billion) and Philippines (USD 23
billion) according to the World Bank.
The corridor with the highest volume is US to
Mexico. Around 92.5% of its remittances came from Mexicans working
in the US.
Pilipino expatriates in the US sent almost
half (43%) of the total USD 23 billion remittances received last
year.
Western Union’s web-based money transfer
business experienced more than 35% revenue growth in 2011 and
almost 40% revenue growth in the first quarter of 2012.
Khalid Fellahi, Western Union Senior VP, and
general manager of Western Union Digital said:
“This segment continues to grow and has become
a key audience for Western Union. Our strategy is to provide a
complete suite of services catering to their needs. This includes
the attractive bank-to-bank segment, which complements our
traditional retail services.”
The company said it is also looking to expand
its offerings for banked customers and further into the mobile
arena and prepaid cards.
