9:41 PM
Wal-Mart jumps into the money transfer biz, loudly
WAL-MART is offering another incentive Co its customers 10 spend more time at its stores.
The world's largest retailer introduced a new money transfer service on Friday that it says will cut fees by up to 50 per cent compared with similar services elsewhere. The Walmart-2-Walmart service is being rolled out in partnership with Ria Money Transfer, a subsidiary of Euronet Worldwide Ine. Shares of Moneygram and Western Union plunged almost immediately today after the announcement. The service, which will be available starting April 24. allows its customers to transfer up to USD 900 to and from more than 4.000 Wal-Mart stores in the US. It is a huge footprint that could reshape that industry and is likely to set off a pricing battle.Customers can transfer up to USD 50 for a USD 4.50 service fee and up to USD 900 for USD 9.50. Comparable services elsewhere cost up to USD 70 when transferring less than USD 1.000. according to Wal-Mart. Western Union on its website puts the price of transferring USD 900 in New York between USD 20, If using a bank account, and USD 85 if using a credit or debit card. Wal-Mart is creating an expanding menu of financial offerings for customers, particularly for those with limited exposure to banks. Wal-Mart already offers prepaid debit cards and tax preparation services.
Shares of MoneyGram International Inc.. which could gel hit the hardest, fell more than 15 per cent to USD 15.25 in mid-day trading. MoneyGram is the company that currently provides money transfers to Wal-Mart. The stock of Western Union Co.. its rival, fell nearly 6 per cent to USD 15.19.
But in a statement emailed to The Associated Press. Western Union said. "Our retail product and service offerings today are already quite diverse." It noted that people had the flexibility to send monev in minutes or next day from a retail agent location or online and they could also send money directly into a bank account.
"The company is well positioned in the US domestic money transfer space, having offered a fee of USD 5 for USD 50 since 2009." it added. Wal-Mart is aggressively trying to increase foot traffic in its stores after seeing comparable-store sides decline for four consecutive quarters. Walmart-2-Walmart service may help stem that trend, giving customers just one more reason to spend more lime inside Wal-Mart.
But in a statement emailed to The Associated Press. Western Union said. "Our retail product and service offerings today are already quite diverse." It noted that people had the flexibility to send monev in minutes or next day from a retail agent location or online and they could also send money directly into a bank account.
"The company is well positioned in the US domestic money transfer space, having offered a fee of USD 5 for USD 50 since 2009." it added. Wal-Mart is aggressively trying to increase foot traffic in its stores after seeing comparable-store sides decline for four consecutive quarters. Walmart-2-Walmart service may help stem that trend, giving customers just one more reason to spend more lime inside Wal-Mart.
Posted in: News 2014
1 comments:
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