Western Union toasts its 8,000th agent in Vietnam

The milestone of Western Union’s strong presence in all key remittance-receiving hubs of Vietnam, from Mong Cai in the far north to Ca Mau in the far south was certified by the Vietnam Records Book Centre.

“Together with all our agents, Western Union has supported the dramatic growth of the overseas immigration patterns and change in Vietnam’s economy over the past 17 years.  We are scaling our business in line with the economy and meeting the fast-changing money transfer needs of individuals,” said Drina Yue, Western Union’s senior vice president and managing director, Asia-Pacific.

Western Union began offering money transfer services into Vietnam in 1994.  Remittances came from 16 countries in the first year of operations and today Western Union assists in remitting money into Vietnam from approximately 200 countries and territories around the world.

Currently Vietnam is one of the top 16 remittance-receiving markets in the world with an average remittance amount of $8 billion per year.  Approximately four million Vietnamese nationals work, live and study in 101 countries and territories around the world.

“Through our 8,000 locations operated by our agents in Vietnam, Western Union has offered consumers convenient and reliable money transfer services in minutes, to help predominantly Vietnamese living and working overseas to remit money to their family members,” said Yue.

Consumers in Vietnam can receive Western Union Money Transfer transactions from overseas across all 63 provinces and in almost all districts and towns. Some Western Union agent locations are open 365 days a year and operate outside normal business hours.  

To give consumers added choice and convenience, Western Union has recently launched a new service that enables online banking users of VietinBank’s – one of Western Union’s 40 domestic strategic partners – to credit Western Union money transfers received from overseas directly into their accounts.  Providing a new way of receiving money through a bank’s online platform means consumers now have access to their money 24/7.

“Western Union is a trusted brand among Vietnamese.  With Western Union services offered in over 200 countries and territories around the world, our global and local network in Vietnam provides our consumers with a dependable choice to receive international money transfers anytime and from anywhere,” said Ly Nguyen, regional director, Indochina, Western Union.

“Our strategy in Vietnam is to strengthen and expand our network in collaboration with our agents by increasing our presence via multiple channels to connect the world to people in Vietnam,” said Nguyen.

The landmark of Western Union’s record-setting 8,000 agent locations coincided with the celebration of the firm’s 160 years connecting people. Western Union (NYSE: WU) was founded in 1851 as a telegraph business in Rochester, New York.

The company added its money transfer service in 1871 and has since grown to become a global leader in the money transfer industry. In 2010, the company completed 214 million consumer-to-consumer transactions worldwide, moving $76 billion of principal between consumers, and 405 million business payments. It reported $5.2 billion in revenues last year.