Western Union Expands in Europe Through UAE Exchange

The world’s leading money transfer company, Western Union Co. (WU), has announced the expansion of its relationship with UAE Exchange, in an effort to strengthen its presence in the European region UAE Exchange foreign exchange brand trusted by millions of customers and partners, across the world.

The news, however, failed to boost the share price.Shares lost about 0.5% in the last two trading sessions.

The tie-up with UAE Exchange will function across 16 major cities in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany and the Netherlands. Notably, London, Leicester, Birmingham and Wolverhampton (UK) and Dublin (Ireland) will have the service activated.

The service will enable customers in these cities to send money using Western Union Money Transfer services. The service will soon be available in Munich (Germany) and Rotterdam (Netherlands).

The tie-in will enable European customers to access Western Union’s global connectivity with multiple channel payout options. While the cash payout facility will be available in more than 200 countries and territories, the direct-to-mobile and direct-to-bank services will also beavailable in 40 and 10 countries, respectively, including some of the South East Asian countries.

Western Union is keen on expanding its presence in Europe, which attracts international migration and has a large demand for remittances. In Aug 2014, the company expanded its account-to-account transfer network in Europe, to cover Austria, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

Western Union’s peer Moneygram International Inc. (MGI) also provides the money remittance service in Europe.

Currently, Western Union carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Better-ranked players include Green Dot Corp. (GDOT) and Global Payments Inc. (GPN). While Green Dot sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Global Payments carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).