MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: In Response to COVID-19, Western Union Transitions to Home Delivery of Money Transfers in Jordan

The Western Union Company, a US-based financial services and communications firm, recently announced that the company’s agents will deliver money transfers directly to customers’ homes in Jordan. Each delivery is to occur within 48 hours of the money being sent, with a verification process performed on-site to validate the identification of the recipient. This change in service is a response to curfews and other travel restrictions being enforced by the Jordanian government in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Customers in Jordan still may receive payments online, but they may no longer transact at agent locations.

Jean Claude Farah, the President of Western Union’s Global Network, says, “The launch of this new agent service – delivering money to customers’ homes – will ensure that the public has access to cash, thereby providing essential financial services to a broad range of customers, including those who do not hold bank accounts.”

Western Union, founded in 1851, provides money transfer, communications and network services through approximately 550,000 agent locations in 200 countries and territories as of 2019. During 2018, the firm moved a total equivalent to USD 300 billion via 800 million transactions.

By Simrun Kothari, Research Associate

Sources and Additional Resources

Western Union press release
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200415005570/en/

Western Union balance sheet
http://ir.westernunion.com/investor-relations/fundamentals/balance-sheet/default.aspx

Previous MicroCapital article on Western Union
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-western-union-paga-to-augment-mobile-money-transfer-services-in-nigeria/

More MicroCapital news on Jordan
https://www.microcapital.org/?s=jordan

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