According to the press release received by MenosFios, Western Union Company (NYSE: WU), a leader in global payment services, and Correios de Angola, announced on 17 in September an agreement to make money transfer services available to consumers in the Post Office network for the first time. The agreement will allow consumers to send and receive local and international payments in minutes, through the agencies of the Angola Post Office and Western Union in Angola.
African countries have recently experienced high economic growth and investment levels. With a 4,8% growth forecast for 2014, Angola is one of the fastest growing sub-Saharan African economies. According to the Oxford Economics report, this growth has been fueled by the inflow of foreign direct investment capital. Most of this investment is driven by the country's significant oil and mineral reserves, as well as by the country's period of political stability. Ernst & Young reports inflows of more than US $ 10 billion in foreign direct investment in Angola in sectors other than oil and natural gas. Consequently, the number of immigrants in the country has increased, as investors send workers to assist Angolans in implementing projects in sectors as diverse as the development of infrastructure, agriculture, education and real estate.
Richard Malcolm, Regional Vice President for Southern and Eastern Africa at Western Union, says:
very pleased with the beginning of this collaboration with the Post Office of Angola. We are confident that we will expand the Western Union service offering network. We encourage investment to come to Angola, and we are sure that Angola will continue on the path of growth and development. "
Western Union intends to offer remittance solutions accessible to all in Angola, a key market for Western Union in Africa. According to Richard Malcolm:
We are committed to making shipments more affordable. We believe it is the first step towards facilitating financial inclusion in Angola. This agreement demonstrates the value that our international network brings to participating agents, in this case the national postal service in Angola, as it has done elsewhere. "
Maria Luísa Andrade, chairman of the board of directors of the Correios de Angola agrees, stating that:
the Post Office of Angola longs to continue to participate in the economic development of the country. The partnership with Western Union allows us to facilitate connectivity through Angolan territory, keeping our services relevant in the years to come. "
The network of post offices tends to have a wider reach in rural and remote areas than banking agencies, and are important agents in the expansion of remittance services. According to a Universal Postal Union (UPU) study, more than 80% of postal agencies in sub-Saharan Africa are outside the three largest cities in each country, where 82,5% of the population resides. which are outside the banking system. Because of this broad reach, there is great potential for couriers to offer remittance services and include these populations into the formal financial system.
By associating shipping services with postal account-based services, Western Union will be making it easier to create savings accounts in an easier and more accessible way, encouraging remittance recipients to save their money. This will contribute to the creation of a more productive remittance and small business creation environment.
Western Union offers a fast, convenient and reliable way to send and receive money through traditional channels, online and mobile network of more than 500.000 agents in more than 200 countries and territories.
By: LessFios.com
Via: Press Release
