- The money transfer company based in Dallas is slowly recovering from a slew of bad press in the past few months
- MoneyGram's stock value rose this week due to an analyst upgrade
- First Abu Dhabi Bank’s payit will be using MoneyGram’s global network to reach more users
International payments brand MoneyGram just announced that it will be collaborating with Abu Dhabi brand payit, a First Abu Dhabi Bank digital wallet. Teaming up with payit is a milestone, insiders comment, as it is the first of its kind in the United Arab Emirates. The digital wallet is expected to be used by millions of smartphone users in the country. The brand has not yet confirmed if it has plans to expand its send operations in other parts of the Middle East anytime soon. As of Friday, April 5th, no other send countries have been announced.
First Abu Dhabi Bank said that their partnership with MoneyGram gives the brand access to MoneyGram’s global network. The UAE firm also said that their collaboration with the Dallas-based company will also allow them to access MoneyGram’s 50 million strong market. This agreement will help the digital wallet “tremendously” according to fintech observers in the Middle East, as it would give them a huge network to make global money transfers possible.
The news of the new deal came after the cross-border payments company got an analyst upgrade, according to reports. Just this week, MoneyGram stocks jumped 7.4% due to the upgrade. Experts say that upgrades happen when analysts at Wall Street change their views on a stock favourably. The upgrade encouraged stockholders to hold on to their MoneyGram stocks and investors to buy the stock.
The brand is currently recovering from the bad publicity it was subjected to in the past few months. Now that its stock value has increased, those who have held on to their stocks are being rewarded for their patience, analysts say.
MoneyGram has not halted its expansion efforts despite the problems it has faced. While MoneyGram has a huge market globally, observers say that the remittance brand is concentrating on its expansion goals. Its deal with payit will help both companies move forward. Getting into the United Arab Emirates' finance ecosystem is a great opportunity for MoneyGram as the country sent over $44 billion in 2017 alone. The numbers are likely to increase by 2020, experts say.
The UAE is a rich country and 80% of its population has a smartphone. With payit now available, the American company will be able to leverage these numbers too. Observers add that it is a win-win for both firms.
"We're excited to partner with payit to better serve UAE's growing population by providing the safest and easiest cross-border money transfer service in the industry", CEO and Chairman Alex Holmes told the media.
Find out why MoneyGram is still among the world’s most trusted remittance brand by reading FX Compared’s thorough review. Take a look at the capabilities of the company and the benefits of using their services here.
