New Foreign-Exchange Payment Service from Western Union Gives Mobile Freedom to Business Clients with Smartphones

ENGLEWOOD, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU), a leader in global payments, today announced the launch of a new foreign-exchange (FX) payment service that will enable small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) business clients to make payments from their smartphones.

“This new mobile payment service not only makes it easier to transfer funds globally to foreign suppliers and workers but also offers the ability to take advantage of foreign currencies when making international payments.”

The new mobile-friendly payment service is now available in countries where Western Union currently offers online payment and FX services through its Business Solutions division, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, France and Australia.

The new mobile service is designed for busy professionals and offers an intuitive interface for customers making international business payments. The service, which offers more than 140 currencies to choose from, allows users to make payments to suppliers in global markets anywhere, anytime, and lock in a currency-exchange rate and fee before transferring funds.

“The sheer demand for innovative mobile services is evident, and our clients want to take advantage of new m-payment options,” said Raj Agrawal, General Manager, Western Union Business Solutions. “This new mobile payment service not only makes it easier to transfer funds globally to foreign suppliers and workers but also offers the ability to take advantage of foreign currencies when making international payments.”

According to an IEMR Global Mobile Payment Market Forecast report, mobile payments will reach 1 billion users and the $1 trillion transaction mark in the next five years. To take advantage of this growing market opportunity, this service will allow Western Union Business Solutions clients and partners the ability to take advantage of diverse foreign-exchange payment solutions that are flexible and easy to use.

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. The Western Union, Vigo and Orlandi Valuta-branded services are offered through a combined network of 445,000 agent locations in 200 countries and territories. In 2010, The Western Union Company completed 214 million consumer-to-consumer transactions worldwide, moving $76 billion of principal between consumers, and 405 million business payments. For more information, visit www.westernunion.com.

WU-G