Western Union collaborates with Malawi Posts Corp on money transfer
The Western Union Company a leader in global payment services, and the Malawi Posts Corporation (MPC), provider of postal and financial services in Malawi, on Monday signed of an agreement to provide – for the first time – Western Union money transfer services to customers across their 120 MPC network.
The agreement will enable customers to receive local and international payments in minutes from any of MPC’s currently operational 21 Western Union agent locations in Malawi.
According to a statement made available to Nyasa Times the MPC intends adding another 49 locations to their transacting list by the end of 2014 and to have a total of 120 locations transacting by early 2015.
“Through this collaboration, MPC will have the largest network for remittance in the country, enabling remittance services to be provided via the postal network in remote locations across the country”, reads the statement.
According to the World Bank (2013), Malawi currently receives over US$16 million (2013) in remittances, and these funds are playing an increasingly large role in the economy of the country, contributing to economic growth and an increase in livelihood opportunities for those otherwise living below the poverty line.
MPC is currently mandated by the Malawian government to provide network services across the country to the 15% urbanised and 85% rural community for increased financial inclusion to the remote access population.
The statement says through the collaboration with Western Union, “this local network will be extended into otherwise remote areas by being integrated into Western Union’s global network of over 500,000 agent locations in over 200 countries and territories, committed to providing quality money transfer services, with the reliability associated with the Western Union brand.
Richard Malcom, Regional Vice President for Southern and East Africa at Western Union, says, “We are delighted to start this collaboration with the Malawi Posts Corporation and are confident this will expand the network offering of Western Union services currently available. This agreement demonstrates the value our international network brings to participating agents, and in this case a national postal service operator in Malawi, as it has in other parts of the world.”
Western Union aims to provide affordable formal remittance options for all in Malawi, a key area for Western Union in Africa. Richard continues, “We are dedicated to make remittance transfers more accessible for the diaspora sending money to Malawi, and believe this is the first step in facilitating financial inclusion in the country especially in the rural areas where there are no formal financial institutions.”
Andrew Kumbatira, Postmaster General for Malawi Posts Corporation says “We trust that this agreement will position MPC as one of the most advanced operators in remittances in the country, and will improve our service offering to our customers who appreciate the accessible, affordable and quality services we provide.”
Western Union offers a fast, reliable and convenient way to send and receive money through traditional, online and mobile channels of a combined network of over 500 000 Agent locations in over 200 countries and territories around the world.
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