- New app will link up KEB Hana Bank and Western Union for better services
- Western Union to preserve its own branded services in South Korea too
- “Western Union’s global money transfer engine will enable KEB Hana Bank’s mobile app to send money globally”, said Western Union VP
One of the main banks in South Korea has announced that foreign nationals will receive a better cross-border payments service thanks to a new partnership.
KEB Hana Bank has revealed a partnership with the payments provider Western Union to improve access to payments services in the country.
It will use Western Union’s Worldwide pay-out Network to expand its services through the use of an app.
The app will ensure that customers can transfer cash from their internet-enabled phones and have it cashed out in over 200 economies across the globe.
In essence, the service will be white-labelled: the forex aspect and the cash settlement will be done by Western Union, but the app and the branding will come from KEB Hana.
The app, which will be called Hana EZ, will be available in over ten languages, so that it can be used across the world.
However, Western Union was keen to emphasise that the partnership would not affect its existing, own-name services in the country.
The firm has been in business in South Korea for almost 20 years, and it intends to keep its over 4,000 outlets in the country as well as its internet-based transfer services.
Speaking on the topic of the new partnership, Molly Shea, Western Union’s Senior Vice President and General Manager for Global Money Transfer in the Asia Pacific region, said that the move would act as a “unique integration” of the two firms’ advantages.
“Western Union’s global money transfer engine will enable KEB Hana Bank’s mobile app to send money globally”, she said.
“It is a unique integration of our strengths as we continue to drive breakthrough connections by enabling national enterprises to scale their business offerings worldwide, leveraging our money movement platform”, she added.
This is a prime example of a mutually beneficial money transfer services partnership. KEB Hana Bank will no doubt find itself even more popular with customers thanks to this new offering, and Western Union will be able to create another revenue stream in a country where it already has thousands of locations. It is also worth noting the major commitment to translation that KEB Hana Bank and Western Union have displayed. The app can be used in 15 languages, which is a big step up from the easy option of creating services only English and one or two local languages. This is likely to create a model for a truly globalised service which other firms can choose to follow in the future.
Western Union and other major names are working hard to bring top quality transfer services to customers. Remain informed about what they’re doing over at our news pages.
