MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Unibank of Armenia Offers UNIMobile Mobile Banking App for Sending, Receiving Remittances via Unistream Network

Unibank, an Armenian commercial bank, recently announced that its customers can use the bank’s mobile banking apps to send and receive money transfers through Unistream, a remittance service that reaches 150,000 cash-out points in 90 countries. The apps are UNIMobile Banking, which is available through Apple’s App Store, and Unibank Mobile Banking, which is on the Google Play platform.

According to a statement from the bank, “During the COVID-19 pandemic, it is especially important to follow the rules set for the quarantine and think not only about the relatives’ health, but also about your self-security. If you want to make a transfer to Armenia, there is no need to leave the house.”

Unibank, which is controlled by Gagik Zakaryan and George Piskov, seeks to help “develop retail business and the promotion of small and medium enterprises” in Armenia. It serves 400,000 customers through 51 branches. For 2019, Unibank reports total assets of AMD 249 billion (USD 609 million), a return on assets of 0.53 percent and a return on equity of 3.9 percent.

Unistream is a Russia-based money transfer service that was launched in 2001 by Gagik Zakaryan and George Piskov within the Russia-based Uniastrum Bank. The service became independent in 2006 and reports 10 million customers as of 2020. Unistream facilitated transfers totaling RUB 227 billion (USD 3.2 billion) during 2018.

By Andrew Janni, Research Associate

Sources and additional resources

Press release from Unibank
https://corp.unibank.am/en/news/press-releases/unisream-22.06.2020/

Google Play profile of Unibank Mobile Banking app
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=am.lsoft.dev.lsmobilebanking.uniproduction

App Store profile of UNIMobile Banking app for Apple devices
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/unimobile-banking/id1156381731

Unistream homepage
https://unistream.ru/

Homepage of Vostochny Bank, which merged with Uniastrum Bank in 2016
https://www.vostbank.ru/

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