Western Union is partnering with Stellar Lumens (XLM) collaborator Thunes to allow Western Union’s customers to make global transfers of funds directly between mobile wallets.
Western Union recently announced the news and Sobia Rahman, Global Head of Account Payout Network for Western Union, was excited to make transfers more accessible:
We are continuously expanding and enhancing our account payout portfolio, providing customers with multiple payout options including bank accounts, cards or mobile wallets. Our goal is to make digital money transfer services more accessible, with a specific focus on enabling mobile transactions.
Thunes CEO Steve Vickers is also positive about how his company’s platform can benefit Western Union customers:
We are delighted to be working with Western Union to provide global reach for their customers. Our payments platform seamlessly interconnects payment providers globally and enables interoperability between diverse payment systems, and by utilizing our vast networks, Western Union customers will now have more flexibility when sending money across borders.
Late last year, Western Union commented on the use of Ripple’s technology for cost-effective and speedy international transfers, which they are currently piloting.
The company, while interested in applying the technology to their business, said that the the technology wasn’t beneficial enough yet, though they continue to monitor developments in the space — and XRP is an important part of that process. Global Money Transfer President Odilon Almeida has said that the company is “ready to adopt any kind of currency,” which is a strong sign of their enthusiasm.
Stellar has had an excellent start to the year as the XLM token was listed on Coinbase and, in collaboration with IBM, is assisting 6 banks release stablecoins on the Stellar Network.
