Western Union Launches “Request Money” Bot for Messenger in Philippines
Did you know that as consumers in the Philippines, you can now request
money from US Messenger users? The Western Union Company, a leader in global
payments, today announced it has launched a new and innovative money transfer bot
which enables money transfer requests through Facebook Messenger in the Philippines.
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(L-R) Molly Shea, Senior Vice
President & General Manager of Western Union Global Money Transfer for Asia
Pacific, Odilon Almeida, President of Western Union Global Money Transfer and
Jeffrey Navarro, Counrty Director of Western Union Philippines during the
launch of “Request Money” Bot for Messenger in Philippines held in Shangri-La
The Fort, Taguig.
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Through the bot, Messenger users in the
Philippines—the world’s third largest remittance-receiving nation—can request
money from friends and family in the U.S. —the world’s largest remittance
sending nation.
Requestors can state the transaction amount
and their preferences for payout; with the options for funds to be received
into all major bank accounts in the Philippines, or in cash at Western Union®
retail Agent locations across every province in the country.
The request for money through Messenger
triggers a message to the sender in the U.S.
The sender simply clicks on the request and they are taken directly into
the Western Union Money Transfer Bot within Messenger to complete the
transaction in just a few simple clicks.
“This collaboration underscores our commitment
to financial inclusion, by connecting the world’s developed and emerging
nations in innovative ways,” said Odilon Almeida, President, Global Money
Transfer at Western Union. “We are constantly looking for opportunities to
ensure we are making our services accessible and convenient, at both ends of a
global money transfer.”
Messenger users both in the U.S. and the
Philippines now have access to Western Union’s industry-leading digital and
retail cross-border money transfer platform, as well as many innovative
features including access to real-time foreign exchange rates, automated
customer support, notifications of transaction status and agent locator
prompting nearby locations. The user
sending funds can also receive transaction tracking and notifications in almost
real time, ensuring convenience and transparency on the platform that is
‘always on’ across devices.
“Our Messenger community in the Philippines
can now connect with their loved ones in the United States via Western Union
services—driving greater financial inclusion in addition to social
connectivity,” said Kahina Van Dyke, Director, Global Financial Services
Partnerships, Facebook Messenger. “We are proud to continue our work with
Western Union, and launch new services via the Western Union bot for
Messenger.”
Filipinos are one of the world’s largest user
groups of Facebook, and the Western Union bot for Messenger enables a
digital-and-physical gateway for money movement, bringing access, convenience
and leading-edge technology to these tech-savvy and highly digital-based
consumers.
“Acceleration
of our digital strategy is allowing Western Union to integrate a money sending
and receiving market seamlessly within the Messenger Platform and we are
pleased to see Philippines chosen as an early adopter of mobile-led digital
technology,” said Jeffrey Navarro, Western Union Country Head of the Philippines.
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(L-R) Odilon Almeida, President of
Western Union Global Money Transfer and Molly Shea, Senior Vice President &
General Manager of Western Union Global Money Transfer for Asia Pacific during
the launch of Western Union “Request Money” Bot for Messenger in the
Philippines held in Shangri-La The Fort, Taguig.
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In April of
2017, Western Union launched a money transfer bot for Messenger in the U.S., which offers a simple, seamless experience
for those who want to move money around the world. The entire experience occurs
within the Western Union cross-border money transfer platform which is embedded
inside Messenger.
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