TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

The (Head Office: Denver, Colorado, U.S.A., CEO: Hikmet Ersek; hereinafter referred to as “Western Union”), a leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement, has formed an alliance with (Head Office: Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO Hiroyuki Takahashi; hereinafter referred to as “JTB”) through its Western Union Business Solutions division to create a new distribution channel for the promotion of WU® , an international incoming payments platform for educational institutions. JTB also serves as an acquirer for credit card payment options under the platform.

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WU® GlobalPay for Students International Payment Flow (Graphic: Business Wire)

Western Union’s GlobalPay for Students platform enables academic institutions to efficiently reconcile and track payments from students. With the involvement of students in the design, development and evolution of GlobalPay for Students, the overall payment experience includes the ability to settle their tuition directly from their mobile phone with an intuitive mobile-first user interface, real-time payment tracking capabilities and online payment options including AliPay and UnionPay.

JTB has an impressive network which includes connections to educational institutions throughout Japan. As a part of their role as a local business partner of Western Union, JTB will approach and introduce these institutions to GlobalPay for Students.

Western Union Business Solutions is a trusted payment provider in more than 200 countries and territories, with GlobalPay for Students being offered through more than 700 educational institutions. The platform was introduced to Japanese educational institutions in 2017 and is used in universities, Japanese language schools and professional schools across Japan.

GlobalPay for Students offers stress-free payment methods for the increasing number of foreign students studying in Japan, as well as streamlined operations and reporting functionalities for educational institutions. By introducing educational institutions to a payments solution that connects them to Western Union’s global network, JTB and Western Union hope to contribute to the realization of the Government of Japan's ‘300,000 International Students Plan,’ which aims to accept 300,000 foreign students by 2020.

○ Comment by Ken Nakano, JTB International Education and Exchange

“The number of foreign students accepted by Japanese institutions of higher education and institutions of Japanese language education is currently approximately 270,000, and it is expected that the number of foreign students will continue to increase in the future in conjunction with the policy of accepting foreign students. In such an environment, the remittance solution GPFS used around the world is considered to be a very valuable and essential service for both educational institutions and international students.”

○ Comment from Haruhiko Ohashi, Country Manager, Western Union Business Solutions Japan

“We are honoured to join with JTB in this unique program. As we continue to grow our GlobalPay for Students platform in Japan, we couldn’t be happier to have JTB advocating the payments solution on our behalf.”

About JTB

JTB has extensive experience as a partner of schools and educational institutions in Japan and is pleased to share its accumulated know-how with Western Union in creating this new distribution channel to bring GlobalPay for students to the Japanese market.

About Western Union

The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a global leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement. Our omnichannel platform connects the digital and physical worlds and makes it possible for consumers and businesses to send and receive money and make payments with speed, ease, and reliability. As of December 31, 2018, our network included over 550,000 retail agent locations offering Western Union, Vigo or Orlandi Valuta branded services in more than 200 countries and territories, with the capability to send money to billions of accounts. Additionally, , our fastest growing channel in 2018, is available in more than 60 countries, plus additional territories to move money around the world. In 2018, we moved over $300 billion in principal in nearly 130 currencies and processed 34 transactions every second across all our services. 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 .

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