Visa and Western Union Announce Expanded Collaboration Transforming How Money Travels Cross-Border

3/05/2024


  • Using Visa Direct capability, Western Union customers in 40 countries will be able to quickly send funds to friends and family around the world
  • Companies plan to issue Western Union/Visa Debit Cards across North America, Asia Pacific, Latin American and Europe
  • Western Union’s government and NGO customers will also be able to use prepaid cards to aid humanitarian relief

SAN FRANCISCO & DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar. 5, 2024-- Today, Visa (NYSE: V) announced a 7-year agreement with Western Union (NYSE: WU). Under the new deal, Western Union customers will be able to send money to their family and friends’ eligible Visa cards and bank accounts in 40 countries across five regions1.

The agreement encompasses card issuance, Western Union’s integration with Visa Direct, and value-added services delivery including risk products. Western Union customers will also be able to receive Visa prepaid cards in select markets offering an innovative solution that bridges the physical and digital world.

Western Union and Visa are also developing disbursement programs for humanitarian organizations and governments to support the delivery of critical funds during a disaster. The programs are intended to support emergency and humanitarian payouts, cross-border pension payouts2, and domestic benefits and disbursement payouts.

“People rely on remittances to send lifeline payments to their loved ones overseas. When we consider the urgency and need for accessibility, secure payment options with added convenience can make all the difference,” said Chris Newkirk, Global Head of Commercial & Money Movement Solutions, Visa. “Visa’s global scale and Western Union’s digital capabilities are revolutionizing how customers send funds around the world. We are proud to offer more people fast and efficient solutions for cross-border payments.”

“Aspiring populations around the world rely on Western Union to provide them with innovative and accessible financial services that offer flexibility, value and trust,” said Sam Jawad, Head of Ecosystem, at Western Union. “By strengthening our strategic collaboration with Visa, together we will deliver impactful products and services that can help empower our customers to build a life of opportunity for themselves and their loved ones.”

The agreement builds on Western Union’s existing integrations with Visa Direct in 2022 and 2019, which enabled US and European customers to send and/or receive funds directly to eligible Visa card holders overseas.

For more information on Visa Direct, visit:
https://usa.visa.com/partner-with-us/payment-technology/visa-direct.html.

About Visa Inc.

Visa (NYSE: V) is a world leader in digital payments, facilitating transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, convenient, reliable and secure payments network, enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. We believe that economies that include everyone everywhere, uplift everyone everywhere and see access as foundational to the future of money movement. Learn more at Visa.com.

About Western Union

The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is committed to helping people around the world who aspire to build financial futures for themselves, their loved ones, and their communities. Our leading cross-border, cross-currency money movement, payments and digital financial services empower consumers, businesses, financial institutions, and governments—across more than 200 countries and territories and nearly 130 currencies—to connect with billions of bank accounts, millions of digital wallets and cards, and a global footprint of hundreds of thousands of retail locations. Our goal is to offer accessible financial services that help people and communities prosper. For more information, visit www.westernunion.com.

1 The United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Turkey, Romania, Poland, Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Hong Kong, India, Pakistan, Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Costa Rica, Egypt, Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania among others.
2 Availability varies by market. Please refer to your Visa representative for more information on availability.

Tierney Deggelman
[email protected]

Brad Jones, Western Union
[email protected]

Source: Visa Inc.