Visa announces 7-year agreement with Western Union

Visa (NYSE: V) has announced a 7-year agreement with Western Union (NYSE: WU). Under the new deal, West­ern Union customers will be able to receive money from their family and friends’ eligible Visa cards and bank accounts in 40 countries across five regions. The agreement encompasses card issuance, Western Union’s integration with Visa Direct, and value-added ser­vices delivery including risk products. Western Union customers will also be able to receive Visa prepaid cards in select markets offering an innovative solution that bridges the physical and digital world. Western Union and Visa are also developing disbursement programs for humanitarian organizations and governments to sup­port the delivery of critical funds during a disaster. The programs are intended to support emergency and hu­manitarian payouts, cross-border pension payouts , and domestic benefits and dis­bursement payouts. “Send­ing money abroad to support their families and loved ones is essential for many people. We are thrilled to expand our collaboration with West­ern Union to provide fast, se­cure, and convenient money transfers to customers in 40 countries across five regions,” said Umar Khan, Visa’s Country Manager for Pakistan & Afghanistan. He added: “Visa’s global scale and Western Union’s digital capabilities are revolution­izing how customers send and receive funds around the world. We are proud to offer more people fast and efficient solutions for cross-border payments.” “Aspir­ing populations around the world rely on Western Union to provide them with inno­vative and accessible finan­cial services that offer flex­ibility, value and trust,” said Sam Jawad, Head of Ecosys­tem, at Western Union. “By strengthening our strategic collaboration with Visa, to­gether we will deliver im­pactful products and ser­vices that can help empower our customers to build a life of opportunity for them­selves and their loved ones.”