Bitcoin Not Ready For International Money Transfers, Says Western Union
In what could probably be called the surprise of the century, financial services company Western Union says Bitcoin just isn't quite ready for international money transfers - Western Union's big business. A huge surprise, indeed. It all went down at a Western Union conference that took place recently. "We're a long, long way from sending momma in Mexico $240 each month or a Somali family in a refugee camp $200 each month in bitcoin that is held in a wallet for conversion to local fiat currency and spending as needed," said MSB Compliance president Jay Postma. "The infrastructure and market....
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It is rather striking to see the average cost of Western Union transfers has remained virtually unchanged since 2014. A rather strange development, considering other providers managed to reduce their fees in the same period. Western Union Money Transfer In a new report by FXCompared, it has become evident the money transfer business is starting to lose momentum. In most cases, sending money around the world remains a very expensive business. Up-and-coming solutions such as cheaper remittance, and even cryptocurrencies, present far cheaper and global options. Mostly Western Union is losing....
In the world of cash-transfers, few other companies come to mind as instantaneously as Western Union. If you’ve walked in a convenience store anywhere between the west and east coast of the United States, you’ve probably seen a banner for Western Union. The remittance provider is currently facing a preliminary antitrust inquiry as the EU examines allegations of Western Union intentionally driving rivals out of business. Allegedly, Western Union is giving their retail outlet partners contracts with exclusivity contracts in them which don’t allow other cash-transfer services to operate....
Although it is not uncommon to charge high fees when sending money to foreign countries, this 10% fee applies to domestic transfers. If anyone ever needed more indication of how expensive Western Union is, look no further. Various Walmart stores across the US have a WU office, where people can send money to other citizens in the US with ease. Unfortunately, this service is rather expensive, as sending up to US$50 is subject to a near 10% fee. Not the solution most people would be looking for, and another reason to get involved in Bitcoin. Most people are well aware of how sending money....
Is bitcoin ready for primetime? Presenters at a recent Western Union conference didn't think so. At its 2013 Consumer Protection & Compliance Conference last month, executives gave a presentation that said it wasn't yet suitable for international money transfer. Are they right? "My audience and the discussion for this slide was about retail consumer money transfer - remittances," said Jay Postma, president of MSB Compliance Inc, a company that consults on compliance issues for money service businesses. Bitcoin holds great promise for payments and settlement transactions, but it'll take....
Remittance giant Western Union has been fined $586 mln after admitting to money laundering and supporting fraudulent wire transfers. The penalty of $586 mln will be used as a refund for the victims of the crimes. Negligence. The Department says Western Union's negligence led to malpractices, and that they could have prevented the significant loss to US consumers if due diligence was upheld. Edith Ramirez, chair of the Federal Trade Commission, noted that: “Western Union owes a responsibility to American consumers to guard against fraud, but instead the company looked the other way, and its....