Commenting on the partnership, Western Union Business Solutions president Raj Agrawal said that India has about 30 million SMEs, which make a significant contribution to the country’s GDP.
"This arrangement will not only bring improved access to foreign exchange products for SMEs but will also increase the ease and efficiency with which they trade with their global partners," Agrawal added.
In connection with the agreement, IndusInd Bank has also joined hands with two of Western Union’s agents, Weizmann Forex and Paul Merchants, to act as referral agents to assist in marketing the service in India.
With a strategy to offer FX payment service at the clients’ doorstep, the service will be rolled out at selected Paul Merchants and Weizmann Forex locations in 22 cities across the country.
Upon request, a trained representative from any of the agent companies will visit the customer to book a cross-border transaction from their home or office, which will save travel time and expenses for SMEs.
The service will offer efficient processing and payment settlement and shoot automated email notifications to the concerned parties, when a transaction is booked.
Operation as a business unit of the Western Union, Western Union Business Solutions helps companies and organizations to send and receive global business payments and manage foreign exchange.
Having representative offices in London and Dubai, IndusInd Bank had 500 branch offices, and 882 ATMs spread across 358 regions in India, as of 31 March 2013.
