In a bid to lend a helping hand to the Japanese affected by the earthquake and tsunami, Western Union Co. (WU) has rolled out a service named “No Transfer Fee”, wherein it will not charge for money-transfers to Japan from Agent locations around the world.
Western Union’s services are available through a network of 444,000 agent locations (up from 430,000 last year) in more than 200 countries and territories. In 2011, the company plans to expand its retail network by adding another 30,000 to 40,000 agent locations.
Western Union has also set up a Japan Earthquake Relief Fund to match donations from Western Union employees.
Japan is a very important market for Western Union. The company recently announced that it would launch international money transfer services in Japan via Seven bank, a unit of Seven & I Holdings Co., to provide money transfer service through online banking, wherein funds will be transferred from accounts at the bank to pre-registered overseas accounts.
Western Union is a very active player in Japan. It has been registered in this region following the country’s new Financial Settlement Act in June 2009, which allowed non-bank entities to carry out money transfer business in the region.
Western Union has been working to build on the huge demand for remittance services among approximately 2.2 million immigrant workers in Japan. With its ageing demography, Japan is getting increasingly dependent on foreign workers to fill the gap. Also, with the last recession reported to have ended in March 2009, the Japanese economy is steadily recovering, attracting people across the world.
Western Union competes with MoneyGram International Inc. (MGI) based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The stock carries a Zacks #3 Rank, which translates into a ‘Hold’ recommendation over the short term. In addition, over the medium-to-long term, we suggest investors to maintain a “Neutral” position.
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WESTERN UNION (WU): Free Stock Analysis Report
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