SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU), a leader in global payment services, today announced it is enhancing its existing relationship with Viber, a leading mobile messaging app with 754M unique users worldwide, by enabling Viber users in the UK to send money domestically and internationally to more than 200 countries and territories from the convenience of the Viber app.
Western Union and Viber have created a money transfer experience that will start and complete within the chat interface of Viber, not only providing the convenience of never leaving the app, but also contextualizing money transfer within the personal relationships it supports. Earlier this year, both companies announced Viber users in the United States could send money to more than 200 countries and territories worldwide.
Leveraging Western Union’s proprietary WU® ConnectTM FinTech platform, this new capability allows consumers to send up to £400 when using a credit or debit card to be received in cash at more than 500,000 Western Union® Agent locations in more than 200 countries and territories. If transferring to a bank account, consumers can send up to £500. As part of this launch, consumers transferring money from the app to a bank account can take advantage of a zero transfer fee* offer, for a limited time.
“Western Union’s imperative has always been to make the money transfer experience for our customers convenient and fast. This means continuing to invest in technology to provide choice for the customer to send money when and where they would like to do so,” said Western Union Executive Vice President, Global Operations and Technology and CTO David Thompson. “We are pleased to grow our relationship with Viber to help enable its users the ability to conveniently send money via the Viber app to practically anywhere in the world.”
“At Viber, we’re always striving to make it easier for our users to connect, and the Western Union alliance has allowed us to take this one step further in allowing users to send money through the app, while availing of a large global Agent network,” explained Robi Kopel, FinTech lead, Viber. “Our users have always been a priority for us and we have worked closely with Western Union to make this a reliable service for everyone, and we are excited to continue to grow this relationship.”
The API-based WU Connect platform enables third-party digital platforms to integrate with Western Union in order to provide a seamlessly integrated global money transfer experience to their users. Consumers are able to enjoy using their favorite social and messaging app while they send money directly from the app. They can fund the money transfer utilizing debit card or credit card and easily direct the funds to a participating Western Union retail Agent location, or a bank account where available.
For more information about the WU Connect platform or integration opportunities: [email protected].
* Western Union also makes money from currency exchange. When choosing a money transmitter, carefully compare both transfer fees and exchange rates. Fees and foreign exchange rates may vary by brand, channel, and location based on a number of factors. Fees and rates subject to change without notice.
The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a leader in global payment services. Together with its Vigo, Orlandi Valuta, Pago Facil and Western Union Business Solutions branded payment services, Western Union provides consumers and businesses with fast, reliable and convenient ways to send and receive money around the world, to send payments and to purchase money orders. As of September 30, 2016, the Western Union, Vigo and Orlandi Valuta branded services were offered through a combined network of over 550,000 agent locations in 200 countries and territories and over 100,000 ATMs and kiosks, and included the capability to send money to billions of accounts. In 2015, The Western Union Company completed 262 million consumer-to-consumer transactions worldwide, moving $82 billion of principal between consumers, and 508 million business payments. For more information, visit www.westernunion.com.
Part of the Rakuten family, Viber freely connects users around the world with the people that matter to them most. With more than 754 million unique users on the platform, Viber allows people to connect in the way that works best for them, whether that’s through individual messaging, video calls or group chats, or following brands and celebrities on Public Chats. Viber can be used on iPhone®, iPad®, Android™ phones and tablets, Windows Phone, Windows®, Windows 8®, Mac, Linux and Symbian devices over mobile or WiFi connections.
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