Western Union Expands Mobile Money Transfer Service to Nepal

Western Union Mobile Network Grows to 20 Deployments in 18 Countries Worldwide

ENGLEWOOD, Colo.--()--The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU), a leader in global payment services, today announced the launch of a new mobile money transfer service that enables consumers to send money into a mobile wallet in Nepal.

The new mobile money transfer service to Nepal integrates directly with eSewa, one of the leading digital wallet platforms in Nepal with more than 200,000 registered users. The functionality was developed through the collaborative efforts of Western Union, its Agent Nabil Bank Limited, and FonePay Pvt. Ltd., the owner of eSewa.

Consumers in Nepal who subscribe to the eSewa mobile wallet now have the option of receiving a Western Union Money Transfer® transaction on their mobile phones, or through eSewa’s web interface. International money transfers for mobile pick-up can be initiated at westernunion.com in 23 countries, or at participating Western Union® Agent locations worldwide.

The new offering complements Western Union services offered through its retail Agent network of more than 5,600 locations in Nepal.1

According to the World Bank, Nepal had more than US$4.2 billion in migrant remittance inflows during 2011, representing 22% of Nepal’s gross domestic product. The World Bank estimates that remittance inflows to Nepal grew to more than US$4.9 billion in 20122.

“Western Union continues to expand its mobile footprint as part of our multi-product, multi-channel strategy,” said Patricia Riingen, senior vice president, East & South Asia, Western Union. “We are very pleased to launch mobile services to Nepal, and we remain committed to building our mobile network in strategic markets around the world.”

Anil Gyawali, chief executive officer, Nabil Bank, commented, “Nabil Bank is delighted to extend its long-standing relationship with Western Union to offer digital money transfer services to Nepal. Remittances are an important aspect of economic stability for the nation, as well as for local communities throughout the country. We are happy to provide more choice and convenience to Nepalese consumers, no matter where they reside.”

According to Asgar Ali, chief executive officer of FonePay Pvt. Ltd., “We are proud that FonePay is part of the collaboration between Western Union and Nabil Bank, to deliver a new and unique money transfer service to the Nepalese community. As the demand for mobile solutions continues to grow, enabling international mobile remittances will help address evolving customer needs in a timely, efficient and proactive manner.”

For more information on Western Union’s online and digital capabilities, including mobile applications and mobile money transfer services, please visit www.westernunion.com.

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 June 30, 2013, the Western Union, Vigo and Orlandi Valuta branded services were offered through a combined network of approximately 520,000 agent locations in 200 countries and territories and approximately 115,000 ATMs. In 2012, The Western Union Company completed 231 million consumer-to-consumer transactions worldwide, moving $79 billion of principal between consumers, and 432 million business payments. For more information, visit www.westernunion.com.

About Nabil Bank

Nabil Bank Limited, the first foreign joint venture bank of Nepal, started operations in July 1984. Nabil was incorporated with the objective of extending international standard modern banking services to various sectors of the society. Pursuing its objective, Nabil provides a full range of commercial banking services through its 51 points of representation across the nation and over 170 reputed correspondent banks across the globe. Nabil Bank is fully equipped with modern technology which includes ATMs, credit cards, state-of-art Internet and Mobile Banking, and uses the world-renowned Core Banking System from Infosys Technologies System, Bangalore India. For more information, please visit www.nabilbank.com.

About FonePay and eSewa

FonePay Pvt. Ltd is a leading mobile financial services and e-commerce company in Nepal. It specializes in providing digital payment and money transfer solutions via mobile and/or the Internet. Targeting the banked customers, it provides a proprietary network of more than 30+ national banks in Nepal and offers interbank fund transfer and shared merchant payments where fund can be easily moved from one bank to another bank via mobile phone or Internet. For the unbanked economy, it hosts a shared wallet, eSewa,” and offers customers to receive, pay and send money digitally.

eSewa is a digital payment portal in Nepal, developed by F1 Soft International and owned by FonePay, that facilitates financial transactions via the web-based or mobile-based services. It has more than 31 valued member banks in its network.

1. Network data as of June 30, 2013.

2. World Bank Migration & Remittances Fact Book 2011, World Bank. http://econ.worldbank.org/

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Contacts

Western Union
United States
Andrew Silver, +1 (720) 332-4119
andrew.silver@westernunion.com
or
Asia Pacific
Connie Yip, +852 6392 6221
connie.yip@westernunion.com

Release Summary

Western Union, a leader in global payment services, today announced the launch of a new mobile money transfer service that enables consumers to send money into a mobile wallet in Nepal.

Contacts

Western Union
United States
Andrew Silver, +1 (720) 332-4119
andrew.silver@westernunion.com
or
Asia Pacific
Connie Yip, +852 6392 6221
connie.yip@westernunion.com