MasterCard, Western Union partner to promote electronic payments

MASTERCARD and The Western Union Company havein New York, USA, announced a global agreement that will make electronic payments, including prepaid cards and money transfers, more efficient and convenient for consumers around the world.Today, an estimated 2.5 billion adults worldwide are financially underserved, and within the United States, more than a quarter of the adult population is excluded from the financial mainstream. Prepaid cards and money transfers are helping build bridges to provide consumers with reliable, convenient and affordable forms of financial services.MasterCard and Western Union have been working together to provide prepaid card services for the past year.The expanded global relationship makes MasterCard the preferred brand for Western Union-sponsored prepaid programs around the world and makes Western Union the preferred money transfer service for MasterCard.Consumers will have access to a global network to transfer and load funds onto prepaid cards. Western Union and MasterCard prepaid cardholders will be able to reload their prepaid cards at MasterCard rePower locations as well as at participating Western Union Agent locations.Western Union and MasterCard are simplifying the transfer of money for consumers by making their electronic payment networks interoperable. Consumers using Western Union for money transfer services will be able to arrange for a money transfer to go directly to an eligible MasterCard. Senders will be able to pay for money transfers using a card or account backed by the MasterCard brand and move funds through a participating Western Union Agent location.President and Chief Executive Officer of Western Union, Hikmet Ersek, said: 'This agreement sets the stage to globalise prepaid services. We're opening up more options for consumers around the world by combining Western Union's global network of money movement solutions with MasterCard's world class global electronic payments network.''The primary focus of our global partnership is to enable greater financial inclusion for consumers and provide additional electronic payment options that create efficiencies in their daily lives,' said MasterCard President and Chief Executive Officer, Ajay Banga. 'We look forward to all of the benefits that our partnership will bring to consumers around the world.
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