Visa & Western Union partner to streamline cross-border payments

By Delisha Fernandes

Visa has announced a 7-year agreement with Western Union. Under the new agreement, Western Union customers will be able to receive money from their family and friends’ eligible Visa cards and bank accounts from 40 countries across five regions.

The agreement encompasses card issuance, Western Union’s integration with Visa Direct, and value-added services delivery, including risk products. Western Union customers will also be able to receive Visa prepaid cards in select markets, which offers an innovative solution that bridges the physical and digital world.

“Customers are always looking for efficient and secure methods to send money home to support their families and loved ones. We are thrilled to expand our collaboration with Western Union to provide fast, secure, and convenient money movement for customers living in 40 countries across five regions,” said Malak El Baba, Vice President and Country Manager for Egypt at Visa. Visa’s global scale and Western Union’s digital capabilities are revolutionizing how customers send and receive funds around the world. We are proud to offer fast and efficient solutions for cross-border payments solutions to Egypt, given the noticeable contribution of remittances on the nation’s economy.”

Western Union and Visa are also developing disbursement programs for humanitarian organizations and governments to support the delivery of critical funds during a disaster. The programs are intended to support emergency and humanitarian payouts, cross-border pension payouts, and domestic benefits and disbursement payouts.

“Aspiring populations around the world rely on Western Union to provide them with innovative and accessible financial services that offer flexibility, value and trust,” said Sam Jawad, Head of Ecosystem, at Western Union. “By strengthening our strategic collaboration with Visa, together we will deliver impactful products and services that can help empower our customers to build a life of opportunity for themselves and their loved ones.”

The agreement builds on Western Union’s existing integrations with Visa Direct in 2022 and 2019, which enabled US and European customers to send and receive funds directly to eligible Visa cardholders overseas.