UBA and Western Union Extend Partnership
By Nicholas Tago
The United Bank of Africa (UBA) the pan African banking group with operations in 19 African countries, as well as presence in New York, London and Paris, and the Western Union Company, a leader in global payment services best known for its global money transfer services, have extended their partnership to other outlets. Western Union Money Transfer service is now live across more than 500 UBA locations in Nigeria. This adds to their existing joint offering in Burkina Faso, Guinea, Senegal, Tanzania with Gabon and Kenya soon to be added.
The announcement brings Western Union’s Agent network in Africa to nearly 21,000 and adds to UBA’s extensive service offering for its customers.
Western Union began working with UBA this year in accordance with a global agreement with the bank with a view to extending the relationship to every African country where UBA has operations.
The services offered at UBA branches will offer customers a fast, reliable and convenient, money in minutes service. The announcement is directly aligned to Western Union’s commitment to expand the company’s network by working with reputable organisations to provide quality services to its consumers.
Speaking on behalf of Western Union, Regional Vice President for the Economic Community for West African States (Ecowas) Aida Diarra said: “As Africa’s ‘global bank’ with a significant branch network across the continent and ambitious growth targets, UBA is an excellent addition to our global Agent network complementing our extensive reach across Africa. However there is more work to be done in Africa to provide access to formal channels - even with the continent’s largest financial service networks comprising nearly 21,000 Agent locations, Western Union currently reaches a ratio of just under 50,000 people per location. Based on an estimated population of 1 billion (UNPF, State of the World Report 2009) and an estimated 81per cent of the working age population remain without access to financial services.
Phillips Oduoza, Group Managing Director/CEO, UBA added, “We are delighted to be launching the Western Union service today following a comprehensive roll-out across our Nigeria network. UBA is committed to excellence and our relationship with one of the world’s largest money transfer companies is the latest example of this.”
Remittances to Africa play an important role in the development process and are estimated to exceed the level of overseas development assistance. Western Union is committed to continuing its expansion across Africa as it seeks to expand its role in connecting consumers in the Diaspora with home and enabling the flow of vital funds that contribute to development around the globe.