Global payment services provider Western Union Co. (WU) has announced the formation of a new unit named Western Union Ventures, which will feature the company’s new-age service offerings to customers.
After the introduction of the new unit, Western Union will have three reporting segments– Consumer Money Transfer business, Western Union Ventures and Business-to-Business Payments. The first segment will provide transfer services that enable people to send money around the world in minutes, and will continue to be led by Stewart Stockdale. The second one will offer new-age services via electronic channels, online and prepaid cards, and will be led by Diane Scott (EVP, Chief Marketing Officer and President, Western Union Ventures). Finally, the third segment will consist of consumers and businesses with flexible and convenient options for making one-time or recurring bill payments, including business-to-business, cross-border, and cross-currency payment transactions. It will be led by Raj Agrawal, who has been named the President, Western Union Business Solutions.
The new unit will house electronic channels, which include westernunion.com, account-based money transfer and mobile money transfer as well as stored value/prepaid cards. During the second quarter of 2011, revenue from these channels surged over 35% and represented 3% of the total company’s revenue. Westernunion.com recorded a transaction growth in international markets of nearly 40%, and global transactions spiked over 25%. The company also has 18 agreements in place with mobile network operators and banks, and over 100,000 of agent locations in 57 countries are enabled to provide cash-to-mobile service.
Besides, Western Union also announced that David Yates, Executive Vice President of Business Development and Innovation, will resign from service effective September 30, 2011. Mr. Yates, during his tenure, made significant contributions to the company’s new business initiatives. It was under him that Western Union signed the agreement to acquire Travelex foreign-exchange business for approximately $1 billion. He was also instrumental in launching smartphone mobile money transfer applications, and had established future growth strategies for the company’s electronic channel initiatives.
Along with the traditional money transfer service, Western Union has been aggressively introducing and expanding its technology-driven service offerings. Western Union recognizes the need to introduce e-services with the growing use of technology in daily life. The most recent move to bundle its tech offerings into a separate segment reflects management’s intention to grow it as a major contributor to earnings going forward.
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