Western Union Digital Expands Across Middle East: Seven Countries Now Live Including Enhanced Services in UAE

The Western Union Company’s global digital money-moving capabilities are making significant headway across the Middle East, with seven countries now offering online services, connecting customers to their families and loved ones around the world digitally with the choice to pay for transactions online or in person.

The United Arab Emirates was enhanced with the latest generation of Western Union’s omni-channel platform, joining Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman and Qatar, as a part of Western Union’s deep commitment to keeping the Middle East at the forefront of the digital revolution.

In the UAE, the company launched the Western Union® mobile app and relaunched the Westernunion.com website. Customers in the UAE now have the choice to pay for transactions online or within the app via direct transfers from their bank accounts set up in the UAE.

Currently, Western Union offers digital service via WU.com in over 60 countries, plus territories, with mobile apps in 35 countries; moreover, its entire network is a combination of retail Agent locations in more than 200 countries and territories, account payout in nearly 100 countries, and wallet payout in a dozen countries.

The Middle East is a vital and rising economic hub bringing people together from across Europe, Africa and Asia and lifting them toward prosperity. International migrants working and living across the region represent a large part of the population and collectively send billions of remittances back home. In the UAE, 88 percent of the population are international migrants, followed by Qatar at 75 percent, Kuwait 72 percent, Bahrain 51 percent, Oman 41 percent, Jordan 40 percent and Lebanon 34 percent, according to the World Bank1.

“Our commitment to the Middle East is a step forward to a more prosperous and globally connected future. Our digital services support a globally-integrated living without leaving anyone behind. We use cutting-edge technology to simplify money transfer. Our systems automatically handle complexities from compliance to volatile currency exchanges so users can transfer money 24/7 to nearly every country across the world, with the touch of a few buttons,” said Western Union President and CEO, HikmetErsek.

“Our systems are also designed to allow customers at any level of financial experience to use any channel they like, be it digital or cash, online or offline,” he said.

“The ability to smoothly and fluidly transfer money internationally by the latest digital means elevates our relevance to our customers across the world”, said Western Union General Manager and RVP for Middle East and Africa, AlexandruBadulescu.

“Western Union’s customers are multi-cultural, multi-generational with diverse financial and technological savviness. Our omni-channel approach is about servicing the widest group of customers by catering to their specific money transfers needs,” he said.

Western Union has been providing money-transfer services across the Middle East countries for over 20 years and has more than 4,000 retail agent locations in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar and the UAE. Customers still have the choice to access these locations to send money transfers in person, reflecting the company’s commitment to providing choice and options to connect to families and friends around the world.

In addition to the omni-channel countries, which combine Western Union’s digital and retail footprint, Western Union also offers money transfer services across its Agent network of additional Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Egypt, Iraq, Palestine, Syria, Afghanistan and Pakistan, with an additional 10,500 Agent locations.

CUSTOMER GUIDANCE:

In line with the local regulations, prior to the first use of the online service, customers are required to register on www.westernunion.com, then verify in-person with their valid government-issued resident ID at an Al Fardan Exchange Agent location. After successful verification, customers will receive a notification confirming they can now conveniently send Western Union money transfers anytime, with a few clicks, online.

In addition to the convenience and reliability of sending money any time, the website and app (available for iOS and Android users) displays current exchange rates and fees, tracks money transfers online, lists recent and pending transactions, provides round-the-clock customer service and lists payout options available in the receiver’s country.

For more information, customers can visit any of the Al Fardan Exchange locations, call 800 SENDWU, write to [email protected]

About Western Union’s Cross-Border Platform

Western Union’s cross-border, cross-currency money movement platform – including a robust digital footprint, settlement, treasury and compliance infrastructure, a vast global retail network of over half a million locations, and the ability to send money to billions of accounts and mobile wallets – sets the standard for international money movement. With operations in more than 200 countries and territories, Western Union’s platform processed an average of 34 transactions every second and moved $300 billion in principal across 130 currencies in 2018.

Connecting the digital and physical worlds of money, Western Union’s technology stack, APIs, foreign exchange and settlement engine, agent network, anti-money laundering and fraud detection capabilities make it one of the largest digital and physical money movers for consumers around the globe. Approximately 75% of Western Union’s digital transactions globally now originate on mobile devices.

About Western Union

The Western Union Company is a global leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement. As of December 31, 2018, our global network includes over 550,000 retail agent locations offering Western Union, Vigo or OrlandiValuta branded services. Westernunion.com, our fastest growing channel in 2018, is available in more than 60 countries, plus additional territories, to move money around the world. With our global reach, Western Union moves money for better, connecting family, friends and businesses to enable financial inclusion and support economic growth. For more information, visit www.westernunion.com.