KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, May 4, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Western Union, a leader in global money transfer services, announced it has signed a 3 year renewal agreement with Hong Leong Bank Berhad (HLBB) to extend its offering of money transfer services throughout its 283 bank locations in Malaysia.
Chew Mei Ling, Malaysia Country Director at Western Union, said, "Outward and inward remittances have been growing in Malaysia. Western Union's renewal of the agreement with HLBB will support this growth. This will enable HLBB's customers to continue to use Western Union's fast, reliable and convenient money transfer services."
Susan Wong, General Manager, Retail Deposits and Remittance, HLBB, said, "Total outward remittance for workers has shown a significant growth of 27.8% in 2014 versus 2013*. Collaborating with Western Union reflects a huge opportunity for us in accelerating the remittance business and meeting the growing consumer needs for real time money transfer."
Since the passing of the Money Services Business Act in 2011 that defined stipulations for the licensing, regulation and supervision of the money changing, remittances and wholesale currency business, there has been a tremendous increase in outward and inward remittances, with a 3-year compounded annual growth rate of 30% and 20% respectively*. This growth is due mainly from senders converting from informal to formal channels for money transfer driven by greater public awareness on the value of using legal channels for remittances plus additional and easier money transfer options through mobile and internet remittance services.
*Source: 2014 Annual Report of Bank Negara Malaysia http://www.bnm.gov.my/files/publication/fsps/en/2014/annex.pdf
About Western Union
The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a leader in global payment services. Together with its Vigo, Orlandi Valuta, Pago Facil and Western Union Business Solutions branded payment services, Western Union provides consumers and businesses with fast, reliable and convenient ways to send and receive money around the world, to send payments and to purchase money orders. As of December 31, 2014, the Western Union, Vigo and Orlandi Valuta branded services were offered through a combined network of over 500,000 agent locations in 200 countries and territories and over 100,000 ATMs and kiosks. In 2014, The Western Union Company completed 255 million consumer-to-consumer transactions worldwide, moving $85 billion of principal between consumers, and 484 million business payments. For more information, visit www.westernunion.com.
About Hong Leong Bank
Hong Leong Bank Berhad is one of the leading financial services organisations in Malaysia. With a heritage of more than 100 years, it provides comprehensive financial services covering consumer banking, business banking and trade finance, treasury, branch and transaction banking, wealth management, private banking and Islamic financial services. Its merger with EON Bank Group in 2011 has further embedded its position as a core banking franchise with an expanded distribution network of more than 300 branches across the country.
With a proven track record in value creation and a highly recognised brand, Hong Leong Bank has also been extending its footprint in the region, with branches in Singapore and Hong Kong and wholly owned subsidiaries in Vietnam and Cambodia. In China, the Bank has a 20% shareholding in Bank of Chengdu Co., Ltd., Sichuan and a consumer finance joint venture.
Hong Leong Bank is a subsidiary of Hong Leong Financial Group Berhad, the financial services arm of the Hong Leong Group. Apart from banking, Hong Leong Financial Group is involved in the provision of insurance and takaful, as well as investment banking, unit trust, and fund management and stock broking services. For more information, please visit www.hlb.com.my.
