Fexco/ Western Union alliance
PayPoint PLC
23 November 2005
23 November 2005
PayPoint, Fexco and Western Union(R) in new Money Transfer collaboration
PayPoint, the nationwide cash payment network, is to launch Western Union Money
Transfer(R) in selected outlets under an exclusive agreement with FEXCO, Western
Union's master Agent for the United Kingdom and Ireland. The service will start
in Leeds and Southampton before rolling out across the UK.
Western Union, a world leading Money Transfer service, is currently available at
over 3,000 Agent locations in the UK. The PayPoint alliance will give customers
sending money overseas an ever-widening choice of convenient retail locations
with extended opening hours. It is expected that there could be at least 1,000
PayPoint outlets offering the service over the next few years enabling Western
Union to meet the growing demand for its services.
Western Union provides a valuable service, particularly to communities in which
the principal wage earner may be sending money to family members abroad. It is a
well known and trusted brand in this market worldwide.
PayPoint's Western Union service will be faster for customers and reduce the
workload for the retailer. The new service will allow the Western Union Money
Transfer transaction to be registered in a free telephone call, enabling
customers to make their arrangements from the comfort of their homes and shorten
the time spent at the Agent locations. The retailer simply has to confirm the
transaction and collect the cash and applicable fees. As soon as the transaction
is completed the money can be collected by the recipient abroad.
Dominic Taylor, Chief Executive of PayPoint, said: 'We are delighted that
Western Union and FEXCO have chosen PayPoint to widen their network and to
enhance product delivery for customers and retailers. This marks another
important step in PayPoint's strategy of providing the broadest range of
services under the PayPoint brand.'
Sobia Rahman, Chief Operating Officer of Fexco, said: 'The introduction of
PayPoint to the UK Western Union network allows us to strengthen our position
further within the UK Money Transfer Market. Not only does it give the consumer
more choice in the number of Agent locations but also adds another option as to
how to send a money transfer. This new alliance will enable Western Union to
support the projected growth in its volumes over the next number of years'
Ends
Enquiries
Finsbury Don Hunter
020 7251 3801
About PayPoint
PayPoint is a leading branded payment collection network used, primarily, for
the cash payment of bills and services and prepayments for mobile telephones and
energy meters. There are over 14,000 retail outlets using PayPoint's payment
collection systems.
PayPoint began trading in 1996 and initially collected payments through its
network of retail agents for its founder client investors, including British
Gas, BT, BBC TV Licensing and London Electricity
PayPoint now has more than 500 clients including the UK and Ireland's major
energy, cable, mobile and fixed line telephony companies. The blue chip client
list also extends to numerous water companies, local authorities and housing
associations and a growing transport and travel base.
About Western Union and FEXCO
First Data Corp. (NYSE: FDC) is a leading provider of electronic commerce and
payment solutions for businesses and consumers worldwide. Serving 4.1 million
merchant locations, 1,400 card issuers and millions of consumers, First Data
powers the global economy by making it easy, fast and secure for people and
businesses around the world to buy goods and services using virtually any form
of payment. The company's portfolio of services and solutions includes credit,
debit, private-label, smart and stored-value card issuing and merchant
transaction processing services; money transfer services; money orders; fraud
protection and authentication solutions; check guarantee and verification
services through TeleCheck; as well as Internet commerce and mobile solutions.
The company's STAR Network offers PIN-secured debit acceptance at 1.6 million
ATM and retail locations. For more information, visit www.firstdata.com.
First Data's Western Union Financial Services, Inc., an international leader in
consumer money transfer services, allows consumers to quickly and reliably pay
bills and transfer money around the globe using its proprietary money transfer
network. Western Union and its subsidiary, Orlandi Valuta, together make up one
of the world's largest money transfer networks with approximately 225,000 Agent
locations in more than 200 countries and territories. For more information on
Western Union, visit www.westernunion.com
About FEXCO
FEXCO is a global payments company headquartered in Ireland with operations in
Ireland, UK, Spain, Scandinavia, Malta, Australia and the USA. The company was
established in 1981, and offers a range of Global Consumer Payments, Global
Corporate Payments and Business Services. The company is privately owned with
USA-based First Data Corporation, the world's leading payment processor, holding
a minority shareholding in the business.
FEXCO are Agents for Western Union Money Transfer in seven countries. For more
information on FEXCO please visit www.FEXCO.com.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange