Visa Partners MoneyGram for Realtime P2P Push Payments
(25 July 2018 - Philippines) Visa and MoneyGram have announced a partnership to deliver real-time digital disbursements to MoneyGram customers using Visa’s push payments platform - Visa Direct.
Launching in October 2018 in key markets including the Philippines and Mexico, MoneyGram will expand its options in which payees from those markets receive and use funds instantly via their bank-issued Visa-branded debit card or Visa-branded prepaid card. Payers may choose the option by which to transfer those funds. The partnership leverages the ability for receivers to access funds 24/7 and 365 days a year without having to visit an agent location to pick up cash.
Global remittances represent a large and rapidly growing payment market globally. According to the World Bank’s 2017 “Migration and Development Brief,” global remittances have grown to a record-setting US$613 billion, up seven percent year-on-year. Top receiving countries for remittance transfers include India (US$69 billion), China (US$64 billion), the Philippines (US$33 billion) and Mexico (US$31 billion). It’s a market with room for both expansion and innovation including using technology to take the notion of simply moving money from one country to another to a new level, sowing the seeds for the ignition of a real-time global, mobile P2P network that offers senders and receivers optionality, convenience and security. Both payees and payers possess the same range of options when transmitting funds. MoneyGram CEO Alex Holmes noted that the firm has, and will continue to have, an “awesome” cash network, one they are focused on optimizing continually. “The point isn’t just to offer cash, but to start thinking about the sending and receiving options that are the most convenient, and to simplify the ways in which consumers can receive money in various markets around the world,” Holmes said. Not only will this improve the way in which remittances are carried out, but MoneyGram believes that it will accelerate the move to digital for entire economies, providing access to real-time P2P payments for an entirely new class of customers.
“This is just the first step in expanding this capability to more global markets. MoneyGram is the first cross-border use case for Visa Direct. One of the reasons we are so excited to partner with MoneyGram is because they are so passionate about innovating this space forward. When we look at P2P on the domestic front, for example, what we see is that it has taken off because people want to be able to have the money put right into their bank account. They aren’t looking for an extra step where they have to take cash and go make a deposit to get it into their bank account where it is safe” MoneyGram CEO Alex Holmes and Visa Senior Vice President and Head of North America Push Payments, Cecilia Frew in a joint statement.
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