Today Mastercard and The Western Union Company announced they are working together to integrate Mastercard Send into the Western Union Money Transfer service, allowing Western Union to deliver funds to virtually all U.S. debit cards.
The alliance opens a new channel for U.S. consumers to quickly and conveniently send money via Western Union to the debit cards people use every day, including non-Mastercard cards. Western Union is the money transfer industry’s first to offer the debit card-enabled service via the Mastercard Send platform in the United States.
The new Western Union service, expected to be available in early 2018, will initially offer digital funds transfers within the U.S. via westernunion.com and the WU mobile app, enabling senders to use their U.S. debit, credit and bank accounts to fund a payment. Customers simply need to know the recipient’s 16-digit debit card number to complete the transfer.
Moving billions of dollars globally each year, Western Union’s vast reach and range of money transfer and payment services - from its mobile apps to thousands of retail agent locations - provide consumers and businesses with fast, reliable and convenient ways to send and receive money around the world. By integrating Mastercard Send, a first-of-its-kind platform that facilitates funds to be sent quickly and conveniently via debit networks, Western Union is enabling consumers to move funds in the U.S. to a recipient’s debit card quickly.
“With Mastercard Send, Western Union customers now have a powerful new way to send funds directly to the debit cards in the wallets of millions of Americans,” said Leigh Amaro, senior vice president, Enterprise Partnerships, Mastercard. “Today’s consumer is busier than ever, and any option to make everyday tasks like money transfer more convenient is hugely important. Western Union is giving consumers one more option to make the service work for their needs.”
“Western Union is synonymous with fast, reliable global money transfer and payments,” said Libby Chambers, chief strategy, product and marketing officer for Western Union. “We’re offering customers more choice and convenience when they send and receive money. This new capability we’ve developed with Mastercard means customers will be able to send funds directly to their receivers’ debit card, with speed and ease.”
Mastercard Send helps power some of the industry’s most innovative payment products. For developers, Mastercard provides financial institutions with an easy-to-use API, one of more than 35 APIs available through the Mastercard Developers portal. Backed by the Mastercard network, banks further benefit from simplified settlement as well as Mastercard’s network and compliance expertise.