Western Union partners with AirPak

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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
  • Western Union is strengthening its ties with its partners around the world and this includes its partnership with AirPak
  • The American remittance firm has been working on expanding the reach of its digital money transfer offering
  • It has been confirmed by the company in the past month that its digital services have grown exponentially

 

In an effort to transform its digital services, American remittance giant Western Union has partnered with AirPak, one of its old partners in the industry. Insiders note that the move strengthened the relationship between the two companies further as they have been working together for decades.

For around 30 years, AirPak has been the remittance brand’s exclusive representative in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, and this collaboration was “obviously” successful, according to insiders. In the year 2013, AirPak also entered Mexico with the help of Western Union. Their hold in the country, however, is not as it is in their original areas of operation. AirPak is a non-exclusive partner of Western Union in Mexico.

Western Union is one of the most recognisable brands in the remittance industry with millions of people around the world using it to transfer money internationally. It owes its popularity to its affordable overseas transfer rates. AirPak, on the other hand, has the technology that supports Western Union’s goals.

“Western Union has dramatically transformed its digital offering, empowering customers to move money the way they choose, online and offline. We are pleased to expand Western Union’s global digital network to Central America and provide customers more choice[s]”, said Rodrigo Garcia Estebarena, the VP and General Manager for Western Union’s Mexico, Central America and Caribbean operations. Western Union’s digital offering has been quite successful, according to experts. It has grown exponentially since its launch. It is also notable that the company partnered with mobile wallets firm Thune to make it possible for the company to expand its current market.  

Representatives of the company add that Western Union places an importance on reliability, speed, and convenience. AirPak’s President Piero P. Coen told reporters that the company is “constantly seeking new ways to deliver customer-focused solutions that allow convenient access to financial services through different formats”.

Coen added last week that AirPak is proud to be working with the American brand and happy to be “paving the way for online international money transfer services for customers across Central America”. Western Union currently has over 2,500 agent locations in Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Costa Rica thanks to AirPak.

While the development brings online money transfers to the region, there are still a few hindrances, insiders note. AirPak said in a statement that would-be customers will need to register online first and then verify their registration in person by bringing a valid ID to any AirPak location. According to the company, this move is in line with the laws and regulations in the countries that the company operates in.

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