Yahoo Finance Western Union's (WU) Concept Store Sets Foot in Morocco
The Western Union Company WU recently teamed up with the payment institution, Cash Plus, to unveil Africa’s first "concept store" in the satellite city of Errahma, Morocco.
A concept store provides access to personalized, safe and seamless international money transfer services in a high-traffic area. The store has been designed to provide easy access to a wide array of services and more flexibility, thus ensuring customers can connect with dedicated service representatives for personalized support and guidance.
The latest move reflects Western Union’s sincere efforts to establish a solid presence in Morocco and more broadly, across the African market. The African continent remains pivotal to WU’s growth strategy, owing to its dynamic economy and substantial remittance flows. In addition, the African nation in which Western Union’s concept store has been introduced stood as the continent’s third-largest inbound remittance recipient in 2023. This further substantiates the prudence exhibited by WU in undertaking the recent initiative.
In 2023, Morocco witnessed inbound remittance flows of roughly $12 billion. The country receives international money transfers from various corners of the world, including the United States, France, Spain, Italy, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Therefore, WU can tap into this lucrative inbound remittance market by offering an enhanced level of convenience, support and accessibility through its concept store.
The new launch is expected to expand the reach of WU’s efficient money transfer services and subsequently, gain a wider customer base. This, in turn, may fetch higher money transfer revenues to Western Union, which remain the most significant contributor to its overall revenues. Consumer money transfer revenues improved 3% year over year in the first quarter, thereby accounting for nearly 92% of total revenues.
One of Western Union’s growth strategies includes the development of concept stores to expand its global retail footprint. Currently, WU operates more than 200 such stores worldwide. In 2023, the company partnered with Al Sadat & Al Hindi Exchange to open its first concept store in Jordan. Similar stores were also launched in Italy and Spain.
Western Union's robust cross-border money transfer platform, bolstered by numerous partnerships and substantial investments, facilitates seamless global money movement. In addition to its extensive network of retail locations, customers can utilize the Western Union app to send and receive money in near real-time.
Shares of Western Union have gained 5.2% in the past year compared with the industry’s 15.9% growth. WU currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
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