Western Union boosts digital services

Business Bureau, Gulf Today

Western Union’s global digital money-moving capabilities were enhanced in the UAE, as a part of the company’s deep commitment to keeping this nation at the forefront of the digital revolution.

Western Union chose to unveil its upgraded digital services in the UAE as a part of the famed light show on the Burj Khalifa, a first for a financial services firm. In the UAE, the company launched the Western Union mobile app and re-launched the Westernunion.com website, in association with local Agent Al Fardan Exchange, one of the leading financial services providers in the country. Customers in the UAE can now connect to their families and loved ones around the world digitally with the choice to pay for transactions online or within the app via direct transfers from their bank accounts set up in the UAE.

“Our commitment to the Middle East is a step forward to a more prosperous and globally connected future. Our digital services support 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, Hikmet Ersek.

“The UAE launch is aligned with this vision of the country, one that is staying on the edge of innovation to make a better life for all its people. This is where UAE and Western Union grow together, and we are glad to be a part of this historic collaboration,” said Al Fardan Exchange CEO, Osama Al Rahma.

“Digital tools mean, at their essence, more ways to reach more people and more opportunities for all. The more the UAE fulfills its ambitious plans for economic transformation, the greater will be its need to interact with the world.”

More workers from overseas, more tourists visiting its shores, more students going abroad to study all require better flows of international capital,” 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. We have offered our services for more than two decades across the Middle East, including the UAE and we are pleased to be collaborating with Al Fardan Exchange,” said Western Union General Manager and RVP for Middle East and Africa, Alexandru Badulescu.

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 per cent, Bahrain 51 per cent, Oman 41 per cent, Jordan 40 per cent and Lebanon 34 per cent, according to the World Bank.

The UAE remits a sizeable volume of the total amount of remittances, which makes the country the third largest person-to-person remittance market in the world, according to the World Bank.