Western Union Extends Agent Agreement in the Philippines

The world’s leading money transfer company, Western Union Co. (WU), has announced the extension its agent relationship with Universal Storefront Services Corp. (USSC) in the Philippines. Universal Storefront Services provides money transfer services.

Western Union’s presence in the Philippines dates back to the 1990s. The extension of the agency agreement with Universal Storefront Services testifies to the fact that Western Union perceives the Philippines as an important remittance market. The country garners a huge demand from the nearly 10.4 million Filipino population residing outside the country.

The extension of the contract will make it easy for Filipinos to avail the remittance service in underbanked and underserved areas. Data points to the fact that a meager 20% of adults in rural areas and 37% in urban areas in the country have bank accounts which presents enough market penetration opportunities for Western Union.

Western Union recognizes this opportunity and therefore has more than 8,500 agent locations in all its 144 cities and nearly all 756 municipalities and 81 provinces in the Philippines.

This strong networking by Western Union is not, however, unique to the Philippines. Western Union has an industry-leading network, with over 500,000 agent locations and over 100,000 ATMs that offer its money transfer services. The company plans to add new retail locations and more account-based options going forward. We believe that this ongoing investment in the brand and in the addition of new agents reflects Western Union’s solid market position.

The company’s peer Moneygram International Inc. (MGI) also provides money transfer service in the Philippines.

Western Union currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Better-ranked stocks in the industry include Green Dot Corp. (GDOT) and Global Payments Inc. (GPN). Both stocks carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).