Leap in consumer transactions for Western Union

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Daniel Webber
Daniel Webber
Founder & CEO
Daniel is Founder and CEO and has 20 years of experience in the international finance world focusing on cross-border payments, technology and the property sectors. Daniel is widely quoted as an expert… Read more
  • Coronavirus impact seems to be decreasing for WU as consumer to consumer transactions went up last month
  • Firm also reports best level of growth in digital transactions for a decade over the course of May
  • “We are encouraged that our money transfer transaction trends continue to improve as the disruptive effect of COVID-19 appears to be lessening”, says firm’s CEO

Major international money transfer firm Western Union (WU) has said it saw a rise in its consumer to consumer business in May.

The firm also revealed that in May it had seen its best ever growth level in 10 years when it came to digital transactions.

According to the figures, the firm experienced a drop in digital money transactions of around 77% in April.

However, they had gone up by 99% in May – a surge that was last recorded in the year 2010.

Overall, the firm’s total transactions went up by 51% over the course of May.

This stood in contrast to the same metric in April, which saw a 39% rise.

According to Western Union’s President and CEO Hikmet Ersek, the development suggested that “the disruptive effect” of coronavirus seemed to be on the wane.

“We are encouraged that our money transfer transaction trends continue to improve as the disruptive effect of COVID-19 appears to be lessening”, he said.

“Importantly, the strong growth we are seeing in our digital business is especially impressive given that our digital money transfer business was already over $600 million of revenue in 2019, and it confirms that our digitally focused growth strategy is positioning us well for the future”, he added.

It was expected that the Chief Financial Officer at the firm, Raj Agrawal, would deliver some remarks about the firm during a presentation at the Bank of America’s Global Technology Conference.

Western Union is one of the world’s most famous cross border payments institutions.

As well as an online presence, the firm also has physical agents in locations across the globe.

It described itself in its update press release as a “global leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement and payments”.

“Our omnichannel platform connects the digital and physical worlds”, it added.

Western Union’s new figures from its consumer to consumer business certainly are impressive, and there’s little doubt that the company is a sturdy one when it comes to market dominance in the cross border payments sector.

However, how much of this change is due merely to the fact that lockdown is coming to an end?

One possibility is that while most firms in this space are likely to now be seeing boosts in business, it’s giants like Western Union in particular – with their prestige, longevity and name recognition – that cautious customers will head back to first.

Coronavirus, then, clearly cannot keep WU down.

Are you looking to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to the performance of the cross border payments sector?

If so, check out more information here.


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