We are not acquiring Money Gram – Western Union
As the competition in the remittance business segment of the global economy gets stiffer, a renowned brand in the sector, Western Union, the world’s largest money transfer company has refuted claims that it is planning to acquire its rival, MoneyGram International Inc.
Unconfirmed reports by Bloomberg Business earlier this month had revealed that Western Union, the global remittance firm was discussing with officials of MoneyGram to buy the company. The media organisation did not however disclose the true identity of its source, opting to protecting their source whom they disclosed preferred to remain anonymous.
But in a swift reaction, the giant American brandin a brief statement to the news agency, Reuters, debunked the rumours, saying that such report was notfactual.
“Western Union states that current news reports indicating that our company is in discussions to acquire MoneyGram are not accurate.”
The statement however did not confirm if indeed there are plans by Western Union to acquire the entire services and operations of one of its long standing rivals.
Although the deal is being sharply denied, analysts insist it’s still worth noting because the planned acquisition of MoneyGram by Western Union if it goes ahead will see the latter taking possession of the former’s 349,000 locations, thereby expanding Western Union’s retail network.
This is also coupled with the fact that MoneyGram’s business has plummeted since the loss of its exclusive partnership with Walmart. Meanwhile, Western Union continues to hold its own against new remittance start-up’s, but is undoubtedly feeling pressure to bolster itself in any way it can.
Even though Western Union has fared better than MoneyGram, both brands are facing increased competition from digital-native remittance companies like Xoom especially in the area of utilising new digital platforms for the convenience of business for customers.
RECOMMENDED ARTICLES
Comment
No comments found.