Western Union, a leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement, announced it has launched online account-funded money transfers through an alliance with Paramount Commerce, a Canada-based payments technology company.
Consumers in Canada can now send money from westernunion.com or the Western Union® mobile app—funded from their bank accounts—directly into bank accounts in over 100 countries and territories around the world, or to be paid out in local currency at hundreds of thousands of Western Union Agent locations globally.
Building on a decade of Western Union’s digital innovation in Canada, this new service expands on the company’s robust omnichannel offerings for Canadian consumers, delivering choice and convenience in money movement.
“As global digital money transfers continue to grow, consumers are increasingly expecting alternative payment methods to credit cards, including being able to fund transfers directly from their bank accounts,” said Molly Shea, Head of Americas Network, Western Union. “With the launch of account-funded services, we are pleased to offer our customers more choice, both for how they would like to pay and also how the receiver would like to get their funds.”
“For us, combining Paramount’s vast experience in bank-based processing and transactional risk management with Western Union, a leader in global remittances, was a natural fit,” said Justin Ferrabee, Chief Executive Officer, Paramount Commerce. “We know Canadians are very comfortable with the convenience of online banking, and we are pleased to bring this expanded choice to their money transfer experience.”
According to World Bank data, consumers in Canada sent more than USD $24.6 billion abroad in 2017. China, India, the Philippines, France and Italy make up nearly half of the receive remittances. These markets total an estimated 1.6 billion adults with bank accounts, or 42 percent of global bank adults.
