Western Union Debuts New Payment Option for Amazon.com Shoppers in Hong Kong

New way to pay allows customers to shop global, pay local

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HONG KONG, CHINA - Media OutReach - 25 February 2019 - The Western Union Company, a leader in
cross-border, cross-currency money movement, today unveiled a new payment option that allows Amazon.com
customers in Hong Kong to pay in local currency for their Amazon.com
purchases. The service is being offered initially in 10 countries — Chile,
Colombia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Peru, Philippines, Taiwan and
Thailand — enabling customers who prefer to pay in cash to shop Amazon.com’s
vast product selection.

 

Western Union’s
platform is powering Amazon’s new cross-border payment option, called Amazon
PayCode, by processing the complex foreign exchange, settlement and money
movement requirements for international e-commerce transactions.

 

After selecting PayCode
on the Amazon.com checkout page, customers will be sent a code, along with
instructions on how to pay in person at a participating Western Union® agent
location. The move by Western Union and Amazon will provide greater access to
online goods for customers who have largely been excluded from e-commerce
shopping due to lack of accepted payment methods.

 

Expanding Customer Access and Closing the Payments Gap

Forrester Research
estimates that cross-border shopping will represent 20% of e-commerce by 2022,
with sales reaching $630 billion.¹ Choice, quality and cost are the
main motivations for customers to shop online from overseas, but there are
challenges and concerns about the lack of payment options for those who prefer
to pay in person or those who do not have access to international credit cards
or debit cards.

 

“We’re helping to
unlock access to Amazon.com for customers who need
and want items that can only be found online in many parts of the world,” said
Khalid Fellahi, SVP and General Manager of Western Union Digital. “This is a
great example of two global brands innovating and collaborating to bring
customers more convenience and choice. In a world where cross-border buyers and
sellers are often located on different continents and in completely different
financial ecosystems, our platform is ideally suited to solving the complexity
of collecting local currency and converting it into whatever currency merchants
need on the other end.” 

 

“Amazon is committed to enabling customers anywhere in
the world to shop on Amazon.com, and a big part of that is to allow customers
to pay for their cross-border online purchases in a way that is most convenient
for them”, said Ben Volk,
Director, Payment Acceptance and Experience at Amazon. “Amazon PayCode
leverages the reach of Western Union to make cross-border online shopping a
reliable and convenient experience for customers who do not have access to
international credit cards, or prefer to pay in cash.”   

 

For more information
about the new Western Union payment option, visit: https://www.westernunion.com/paylocal/hk/. For more information about Amazon
PayCode visit: https://www.amazon.com/paycode_HongKong.

 

¹Source: Forrester
Research, “Online Cross-Border Retail Forecast, 2017-2022 (Global)”, April 20,
2017

About Western Union’s Cross-Border Platform

Western Union’s
cross-border, cross-currency money movement platform — including a robust
digital footprint, settlement, treasury and compliance infrastructure, a vast
global retail network of over half a million locations, and the ability to send
money to billions of accounts and mobile wallets — sets the standard for
international money movement. With operations in more than 200 countries and
territories, Western Union’s platform processed an average of 34 transactions
every second and moved $300 billion in principal across 130 currencies in 2017.

Connecting the
digital and physical worlds of money, Western Union’s technology stack, APIs,
foreign exchange and settlement engine, agent network, anti-money laundering
and fraud detection capabilities make it one of the largest digital and
physical money movers for consumers around the globe. The company offers
digital transactions in more than 50 countries and territories. Approximately
70% of Western Union’s digital transactions globally now originate on mobile
devices. 

About Western Union

The Western Union Company is a global leader in
cross-border, cross-currency money movement. Our omnichannel platform connects
the digital and physical worlds and makes it possible for consumers and
businesses to send and receive money and make payments with speed, ease, and
reliability. As of December 31, 2018, our network included over 550,000 retail
agent locations offering Western Union, Vigo or Orlandi Valuta branded services
in more than 200 countries and territories, with the capability to send money
to billions of accounts. Additionally, westernunion.com, our fastest growing
channel in 2018, is available in more than 60 countries, plus additional
territories, to move money around the world. In 2018, we moved over $300
billion in principal in nearly 130 currencies and processed 34 transactions
every second across all our services. With our global reach, Western Union
moves money for better, connecting family, friends and businesses to enable
financial inclusion and support economic growth. For more information, visit www.westernunion.com.