Western Union Joins Stellar Partner Thunes to Use Blockchain to Speed Up Transfers

Western Union, a world leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement, has teamed up with Thunes,  formally known as TransferTo, a company that previously partnered with Stellar.org to further enhance the way in which money is transferred across borders with its distributed ledger.

Facilitating value to move across borders and directly between banks and payment gateways, Thunes enables Western Union customers to send funds directly into mobile wallets around the world.

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Senders can now utilise Western Union’s growing digital network or an agent location to send funds directly into a recipient’s mobile wallet.

“We are continuously expanding and enhancing our account payout portfolio, providing customers with multiple payout options including bank accounts, cards or mobile wallets,” said Sobia Rahman, Global Head of Account Payout Network for Western Union. “Our goal is to make digital money transfer services more accessible, with a specific focus on enabling mobile transactions.”

The collaboration will enable greater financial access for consumers – especially those who lack access to traditional financial services – by connecting them to alternative payment solutions, such as mobile wallets, that ultimately help drive better financial inclusion on a global scale.

“We are delighted to be working with Western Union to provide global reach for their customers,” said Steve Vickers, CEO at Thunes. “Our payments platform seamlessly interconnects payment providers globally and enables interoperability between diverse payment systems, and by utilizing our vast networks, Western Union customers will now have more flexibility when sending money across borders.”