Western Union Turning Australian Gas Stations into Cash Transfer Hotspots
Western Union Co (WU) - Get Report and BP plc (BP) - Get Report announced a deal Monday that will allow Australians to send money overseas at 302 BP gas stations down under, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The partnership lets users set up transactions on the Western Union app and pay a gas station attendant in cash. The app already lets users in Australia pay via mobile devices for credit card transactions, but this partnership will open the money transfer to cash transactions outside of normal business hours.
The offer is aimed at taxi and Uber drivers, many of whom are immigrants who send money overseas to relatives at home. If the Australian rollout is successful, Western Union will expand the service to other countries.
Western Union has recently worked to expand its retail presence with kiosks in Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) - Get Report stores in the U.S. and WH Smith bookstores in the U.K. and a mobile partnership with Tencent Holdings' (TCEHY) WeChat app.
Western Union faces increasing international competition as rival MoneyGram International (MGI) - Get Report nears a deal with Alibaba's (BABA) - Get Report Ant Financial.
Western Union stock traded slightly down late-morning.
More of What's Trending on TheStreet:
- Walmart in Focus Amid 'Horrific' Human Trafficking Incident in Texas That Causes Nine Deaths
- Scaramucci Has Been Waiting For A White House Gig For A While
- Chipotle Is Doomed Unless It Takes This One Dramatic Measure
- Trump Just Resurrected the Ugly Practice Known as Civil Forfeiture for No Reason
- Billionaire Mark Cuban: The Rise of Technology Will Cause a Lot of Unemployment
- Game of Numbers: Do You Have Any Idea How Big Game of Thrones Has Become?
