DUBAI, June 5, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --
Customers can send
or receive money from 50 select bank branches; number of locations
to cross 120 by Q1 2014
Western Union (NYSE: WU), a leader in money transfer and global
payment services today announced that it has signed an agreement
with AlexBank, the Egyptian subsidiary of the Intesa Sanpaolo
Group, to offer Western Union® money transfer services in
Egypt. With this agreement,
Western Union has increased its agent network in Egypt to three, with over 200 agent locations
offering its services.
(Logo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130515/613588 )
(Logo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130605/618576 )
Under the agreement, AlexBank will initially provide the service
in 50 select branches across the country from where customers can
send or receive money; the number of branches will be increased to
over 120 by the end of Q1 2014.
Jean Claude Farah, Western
Union's Senior Vice President, Middle East and Africa said, "Western Union connects
consumers in some of the most remote corners of Egypt to the rest of the world by maintaining
an unsurpassed agent network of over 90 locations across
Egypt; and 515,000 retail
locations in 200 countries and territories. This agreement with
AlexBank consolidates our market presence, taking our agent
locations to over 200 owing to their nationwide network of
branches. Over 6 million Egyptians live abroad[1], a
number that's continuously growing, and so is the need for a money
transfer service that's reliable and easy to use but also
convenient in terms of accessibility for the sender and the
receiver."
Egypt accounts for over 40
percent of total remittance inflows to the MENA region and the
country saw a six-fold increase in remittances over the last eight
years to become the largest recipient ahead of Lebanon, Morocco, Jordan and Tunisia according to the World Bank.
Bruno Gamba, Chairman
of ALEXBANK, added, "Western Union
represents the latest in the Intesa Sanpaolo Group's continuous
efforts to provide world class services throughout our network.
Both entities, with the support of the Central Bank of Egypt, have put in a tremendous effort to
bring this to light."
--------------------------------------------------
1. MINISTRY OF MANPOWER & IMMIGRATION REPORT
Hatem Sleiman, Western
Union's Regional Vice President, Near East,
Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Sudan said, "Remittances are an essential
source of income for migrant families, meeting as much as 40
percent of household expenses[2]. With nearly two
decades of experience in providing money transfer services in
Egypt, we see the need to extend
our services to as many consumers as possible by growing our agent
base and number of locations. This alliance with AlexBank is a
clear example of two leading entities collaborating to meet the
growing needs of consumers. I would like to thank the Central Bank
of Egypt for their support and
cooperation in enabling us to bring money transfer services to more
Egyptians and their families than ever before."
Bassel
Rahmy, ALEXBANK's Director of
Retail and SME Banking, added, "This alliance will
effectively deliver the service to every governorate in
Egypt. Egypt is a vibrant market with a sizeable
diaspora of over 6.5 Million individuals who frequently remit and
transfer money back home. This alliance puts us in pole position to
capitalize on this market and provide WU services to our existing
customers while also opening our doors to non- AlexBank customers
who will experience our unique service proposition for the first
time."
According to the 2013 Migration and Development Brief of the
World Bank, remittance flows to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region are expected to
grow by 5-6 percent during 2013-2015, mainly driven by Egypt but also boosted by robust performance
forecasted for the other key remittance recipient countries of the
region. Remittance inflows in MENA are estimated to be about
$49 billion in 2012.
Photo Caption (L - R):
Bassel Rahmy, ALEXBANK's Director
of Retail and SME Banking, Bruno
Gamba, Chairman of ALEXBANK and Jean
Claude Farah, Western Union's Senior Vice President,
Middle East and Africa
About Western Union
The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a leader in global
payment services. Together with its Vigo, Orlandi Valuta, Pago
Facil and Western Union Business Solutions branded payment
services, Western Union provides consumers and businesses with
fast, reliable and convenient ways to send and receive money around
the world, to send payments and to purchase money orders. As of
September 30, 2012, the Western
Union, Vigo and Orlandi Valuta branded services were offered
through a combined network of approximately 515,000 agent locations
in 200 countries and territories. In 2011, The Western Union
Company completed 226 million consumer-to-consumer transactions
worldwide, moving $81 billion of
principal between consumers, and 425 million business payments. For
more information, visit http://www.westernunion.com.
--------------------------------------------------
2. 2013 Migration and Development Brief of the World Bank
About AlexBank
AlexBank is one of Egypt's
leading private sector banks. Established in 1957, the bank later
sold 70.25% of its shares to the Italian group Intesa Sanpaolo. The
IFC subsequently became a shareholder, acquiring 9.75% of the bank.
AlexBank has since launched an ambitious development strategy to
move in line with Intesa Sanpaolo's innovative systems and
platforms and has recently set the standard for branch design, IT
infrastructure, services and a portfolio of financial services.
With a country wide network of 180 branches and over 1.5 million
customers, AlexBank represents Egypt's largest private sector bank in terms
of branch network and one of the largest in terms of deposits with
an 8% market share.
For more information, visit http://www.AlexBank.com
SOURCE Western Union