Western Union: C2C Digital Transactions Hit 10-Year Record High For May

Western Union Co. said that while the payment platform saw transactions fall by 30 percent at the peak of the coronavirus pandemic in March and April, its May digital business set a 10-year record high.

“We are encouraged that our money transfer transaction trends continue to improve as the disruptive effect of COVID-19 appears to be lessening,” said CEO Hikmet Ersek in a statement.

The Denver-based company said digital money transactions fell by 50 percent in early April and 77 percent for the month. But in May, those transactions were up by 99 percent, a record not seen since 2010. 

Ersek said the strong growth in their digital business is especially impressive given that its money transfer business had more than $600 million in revenues last year. “It confirms that our digitally focused growth strategy is positioning us well for the future,” he added.

In addition, Western Union noted that total transactions increased 39 percent in April and 51 percent in May. Across the majority of its most popular markets, customer-to-customer (C2C) transactions improved from April to May. Digital money transfer transactions accounted for about 30 percent of C2C transactions in April and May.

Western Union Chief Financial Officer Raj Agrawal is expected to comment on the company’s financial health on Tuesday (June 2) in a presentation at Bank of America’s Global Technology Conference. He plans to discuss the company’s growth strategy and second-quarter trends through the end of May. Investors and interested parties can listen to the investor presentation at 3:15 p.m. Pacific time via webcast at http://www.westernunion.com. The archived webcast will be available approximately one hour after the conclusion of the presentation.

The company said it will release its second-quarter results in August.

Western Union services are available in more than 75 countries. As of March 31, its network included more than 550,000 locations offering services in more than 200 countries and territories, with the capability to send money to billions of accounts, the company said.