The biggest payment transfer company in the world, Western Union Co., has announced that it will be combining its online, prepaid card, and mobile business to create a single new entity which will provide consumers with a larger number of services and will grow their customer base.
The official online portal for the company, westernunion.com, provides payment transfer services among two hundred countries around the world. This portal will now become a new element of the Western Union Ventures unit, under the leadership of Dianne Scott, the company’s chief marketing officer.
The westernunion.com and mobile payments branches of the company make up its electronic channels business arm, which has experienced a 35 percent growth in revenues during the second quarter, as indicated by Western Union’s reports.
According to a statement from the company, this new unit will bring about its strategic initiatives for business-to-business payments, consumer money transfer, and new services and products.
It has also announced that its executive vice president of business development and innovation, David Yates, will no longer be with the company following September 30, 2011, as he will be pursuing European business interests.
These are only the latest in several announcements made by the company this year. For example, in July, it revealed its purchase of the global business payments division of Travelex, for almost $1 billion. This was a move intended to strengthen its international business payments services. Western Union is based in Englewood, Colorado. Shares of Western Union currently value the business at $10.2 billion.
