MoneyGram Launches First-Ever Ukraine Bank Deposit Service

Peer-to-peer payments service MoneyGram will partner with Industrialbank to create a new bank deposit service in Ukraine. MoneyGram is the first company to let users send money directly to anyone’s bank account in the country, according to a press release.

Alex Holmes, MoneyGram chairman and chief executive officer, said MoneyGram was in the middle of a “global transformation,” and wanted to focus on expanding their services in key markets that needed them.

In Ukraine, funds from MoneyGram will be available on the same day they are sent, if they are sent within Ukrainian business hours. Otherwise, they will be available on the next business day with no back-end fees. The press release states that the exchange rates will be “low” and “locked-in.”

Ukraine had high rates of World Bank funds in 2018, with data showing the country received about $14 billion — up 19 percent over what the country received in 2017. The country is the largest remittance recipient in the Europe and Central Asia region, and the MoneyGram and Industrialbank team-up is expected to give them greater access to funds and more financial inclusion.

Industrialbank board chair Mykhailo Bukreev said the partnership with MoneyGram would provide account deposit services services in Ukraine that would greatly benefit residents.

MoneyGram’s services are available at more than 400 banks across the globe, and customers can access it easily — they just have to enter information for the sender and receiver at the point of sale, and then select the bank deposit option. MoneyGram provides its services in 200 countries, with 65 of them having digital capabilities.

MoneyGram has a track record of partnering with entities to empower finances in various countries. They teamed with the Suez Canal Bank to provide services in Egypt, with Lulu Money to make sure residents in the Asia-Pacific had access to financial transferring services, and with EbixCash to bring their services to India.