Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) recently extended its partnership with The Western Union Company (WU) for seven years, a move expected to significantly enhance cross-border money transfers and financial services accessibility worldwide.
Under the agreement, customers of Western Union in 40 countries will be able to send money to eligible Visa cards and bank accounts of their friends and family using Visa Direct capabilities across five major regions. These regions include countries such as Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Egypt, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, United Kingdom, United States, and Vietnam.
The partnership aims to offer fast and efficient cross-border payment solutions, leveraging Visa’s global scale and Western Union’s digital capabilities. This agreement builds upon the collaboration established in 2022 and 2019 between Western Union and Visa Direct. Providing this expanded reach to their customers is expected to boost both companies’ transaction volumes and revenue streams.
This extended alliance has the potential to increase efficiency and innovation in delivering financial services, leading to improved customer satisfaction and market competitiveness. The collaboration also includes issuing Western Union/Visa Debit Cards and prepaid cards in select markets. Government and NGO customers are expected to benefit from the prepaid cards, particularly in delivering critical humanitarian relief.
This diversification of offerings is expected to attract new customers and alternative revenue sources, contributing to the growth of both companies. The deepening collaboration between the two companies is expected to strengthen their position in the rapidly expanding global remittance space.
Price Performance: Visa’s shares have gained 23.2% in the past year compared with the industry’s 19.8% increase.
Featured Image: Unsplash
Author Stephanie Bédard-Châteauneuf 
