Google Pay adds Western Union network to its services

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Valentina Vitali
Valentina Vitali
Research Analyst
Valentina is a Research Analyst and passionate about payments and fintech. Valentin enjoys analysing money transfer companies and the market. In her work, Valentina analyses payments data… Read more
  • Western Union, which is one of the world’s leading cross-border payments services, said that it will now start working alongside Google Pay and Wise to offer this new provision for those making money transfers.
  • It will apply to payments being made to India and Singapore from the US at first, and comes with a fee-free offer for the first few weeks of its existence.
  • Josh Woodward, from Google Pay, said that the move was a way to help ensure that users can transfer cash “quickly, safely and reliably”.

Cross-border payments company Western Union has announced that it will partner with Google Pay to provide customers with a broader range of options when it comes to making transfers.

The company said that the new development will begin in the US and will start with transactions being sent outwardly to two of the largest economies in Asia – Singapore and India.

However, there was also some suggestion that the move might expand over time to also feature other key nations around the world.

The firms are also working with another online money transfer provider, Wise – formerly known as TransferWise – in order to put the service together.

To take advantage of the new service, a customer needs to find the Google Pay recipient they want to send money to using the search facility.

From there, they need to press ‘Pay’ and then pick either Wise or Western Union.

Accounts can be funded using bank cards or a Google Pay bank account.

For the first few weeks of the scheme, Western Union will provide free transfers with no limit for Google Pay transactions.

In a statement, one senior figure at the company emphasised the fact that the new service could be used “with a few taps”.

Shelly Swanback, who serves as president for product and platform at Western Union, said that it would help to improve global connectivity.

“We are pleased to link our digital cross-border capabilities to bring real worldwide connectivity with a few taps for Google Pay’s vast and growing user base,” she said.

A spokesperson for Google Pay was similarly effusive about the development.

Josh Woodward, who is the director of product management at Google Pay, said that cross-border payments were essential in many ways.

“Cross-border payments are not just a lifeline for loved ones; they form the financial backbone for many economies,” he explained.

“For many people with families abroad, sending money home is something they do as frequently as every month.” 

He added that customers would receive a triple set of benefits in the form of speed, security and reliability.

“By teaming up with Western Union, we are providing a way for Google Pay users to send money quickly, safely and reliably from the Google Pay app,” he said.

If you would like to learn more about Western Union and what it can offer in terms of online money transfers, why not head over to our reviews pages.


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