Western Union Expands Amazon Payments To 10 Countries

Western Union has rolled out a new payment option that will let international Amazon.com customers pay in their respective country’s currency, the company announced in a press release.

The service is being offered in 10 countries, including Chile, Peru, Colombia, Hong Kong, Thailand, Taiwan, Philippines, Malaysia, Kenya and Indonesia.

The Western Union service works in conjunction with Amazon’s cross-border payment option, Amazon PayCode. It will automatically process “foreign exchange, settlement and money movement requirements for international eCommerce transactions,” the company said.

Once a customer selects the PayCode option on a checkout page, they will be sent a code and instructions on how to pay the balance in person at a Western Union location. The move is meant to include those who might not have access to online goods due to a lack of accepted payment options.

Cross-border shopping will represent 20 percent of eCommerce by 2022, according to a study by Forrester Research, and sales will reach $630 billion.

“We’re helping to unlock access to Amazon.com for customers who need and want items that can only be found online in many parts of the world,” said Khalid Fellahi, SVP and general manager of Western Union Digital. “This is a great example of two global brands innovating and collaborating to bring customers more convenience and choice. In a world where cross-border buyers and sellers are often located on different continents and in completely different financial ecosystems, our platform is ideally suited to solving the complexity of collecting local currency and converting it into whatever currency merchants need on the other end.”

Ben Volk, the director of payment acceptance and experience at Amazon, said convenience for customers is a big part of Amazon’s goal.

“Amazon is committed to enabling customers anywhere in the world to shop on Amazon.com, and a big part of that is to allow customers to pay for their cross-border online purchases in a way that is most convenient for them,” Volk said. “Amazon PayCode leverages the reach of Western Union to make cross-border online shopping a reliable and convenient experience for customers who do not have access to international credit cards, or prefer to pay in cash.”