Western Union announced it has partnered with Albertsons to enable consumer access to international and domestic money transfer and money order services, as well as bill payment services at Albertsons’ locations. Consumers will also have the option to start a money transfer transaction on the Western Union mobile app, then pay in cash at any Albertsons store to complete it.
Hikmet Ersek, president and CEO of Western Union, said in a press release, “At Western Union, we continue to connect the dots across the world as we link reputable U.S. brands, popular with our money transfer customers, to our global Agent network in more than 200 countries and territories. Our brand heritage, advancing technology and compliance capabilities are the pillars of our reputation and enable strong, lasting relationships with our customers and agents. We welcome Albertsons into our global family of network agents.”
He added, “We want to make it convenient for consumers to move money wherever and whenever they need to. Our collaboration with Albertsons supports our network expansion strategy of offering customers convenience to send money and pay bills as a part of their daily routine.”
The agreement with Albertsons also extends Western Union’s 30-year relationship with Safeway, which merged with Albertsons in 2015.
“At Albertsons Companies, our goal is to exceed our customers’ evolving expectations by seeking better ways to create and deliver unsurpassed service and value. Our agreement with Western Union will help our customers quickly and easily complete multiple errands under one roof,” said Mark Panzer, senior vice president of Pharmacy Health & Wellness at Albertsons.
Western Union’s North American retail network has more than 45,000 agent locations, while Albertsons operates under 20 well-known banners, which include Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s, Acme, Tom Thumb, Randalls, United Supermarkets, Pavilions, Star Market, Haggen and Carrs.