The five-year service agreement between the two organizations marks Western Union’s entry into a new customer segment for the first time in the Middle East.
Western Union Business Solutions provides cross-border business payments and foreign-exchange solutions to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Western Union claims that its offering will enable businesses of all sizes to manage their international transactions, reduce risk, and act on market opportunities through various services such as online FX for small businesses and corporate FX solutions that include foreign currency payments, currency risk management consultation and industry solutions.
Western Union senior vice president for the Middle East and Africa Jean Claude Farah said as the number of small- and medium-sized companies doing business internationally in the UAE continues to grow, so does the need for fast and reliable global payment solutions.
"Emirates International Exchange is a leading FX trader and remittance player, with a great record of growth with our core business of money transfer in the UAE," Farah said.
The global cross-border SME payments market is estimated to be similar in size to the consumer cross-border remittance market, with estimated global revenues of approximately $24bn.
