Its reach is staggering: present in more than 200 countries and territories, transacting in 130+ currencies, with approximately 150 million people having used Western Union to either send or receive funds over the last year. Western Union is one of the largest digital money firms, uniquely positioned to connect the cash and digital worlds across platforms, devices, borders, and currencies. Finacle, Infosys
How did you navigate those early moments? There are 13 of these practices, and thats really how were assessing success with the transformation across the organization. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Want to learn more about technology and organizations? People are enthusiastic about the results of the pilot, and they want to see that in their own area. Lastly, how do you see digital continuing to drive your services in the future? When we started the transformation project, we came at it from the perspective of this being a cultural transformation just as much as a process transformation. So we established a set of what we call market-shaper practices that we wanted to focus on. Many CEOs are lured into spending too much time on legacy businesses, which dont need CEO oversight. Western Union's digital transformation efforts may fail to drive earnings growth, but they may be enough to keep earnings steady going forward. Procurement & Construction, Financial
Enterprise Technology Operations Center Manager. We use OutSystems in multiple layers of our tech stack, says Tom. Board Committees. Many of its 150 million customers worldwide depend on money transfers to pay for food, electricity, medication, and other necessities. Continue to partner with popular digital platforms to provide legacy C2C money transfer services. . As we get the pilots completed, the idea is to turn the WU Way team into more of a center of excellence. Increasingly, digital technology and mobile devices play a key role in these transactions. And the new business model may require a very different RPP (traditional money transfer process vs. transfer via blockchain). Now we are on track to achieve those gains and benefits that come with being more agile and being able to grow at scale, we can really begin to look forward and reap the rewards of the transformation.. Thats changing. Western Union has gained a comprehensive view of the customer while running the Data Cloud on AWS. . Leaders across many industries and companies of all sizes report that one of their biggest challenges is siloed data. This is a powerful tool for our business and one of the key capabilities of our new infrastructure.. Automation, Microsoft
The company wanted to improve the digital experiences offered to customers and build new digital bankingproducts to extend its relationship with customers. They have also triggered profound changes within global banking, demanding that lenders remain flexible, nimble, and innovative in their digital-banking strategies to meet customers' rapidly . [7]While cryptocurrencies are an obvious threat to Western Unions cross-border money transfers, Blockchain also can be used in a range of imaginative ways. Western Union could use existing retail outlets as nodes on a land register blockchain, which could bring in new sources of revenue to those retail stores. Banco Santander Consumer Portugal Adopts OutSystems as its Digital Transformation Platform. This aims to support the transition of the region into a digital economy and bring the benefits of digital transformation, such as faster economic growth, more jobs, and better services. It took six months to do the bare minimum. Profiles, Infosys Knowledge
With my work with WEF, I was lucky enough to sit around a table recently with some important people and talk about how we can take this forward. Beyond the public health crisis, COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on personal finances, causing poverty levels and inequality to rise globally. Contributed to establishing Quality Assurance, Training and Documentation strategy and processes for AML Operations functions. One moment later, in Shimla, a hill country city in India, close to the ridge of the Himalayan foothills, a cashier at the . Over the last two years, Singh has been accelerating Western Union's tech plan. Though its too early for results, the response from consumers has been positive, he says. Wingspan, Infosys
That created a need to act. She has extensive experience in leading strategic marketing and has worked with brands like Myntra, Arrow, and Amante. For example, De Beers is trying to create a diamond blockchain for registration and authentication, to prevent the spread of conflict diamonds. Top-down prioritization of digital transformation. Filipino workers abroad), they need to bring physical money somewhere, and most of the fintech companies in remittance space dont have their own channels (they often partner with local kiosks). I want to see those same results in my organization. I think thats an indication of how well its really working across the company. Western Union's Customer Journey Digital Transformation Fueled by NICE - Innovative NICE Nexidia Customer Journey Optimisation provides powerful analytics to enhance customer experience. Its been a great combination. Western Union began a mission to transform the settlement platform with streamlined retail and digital cross-border money transfer operations to overcome the challenges and constraints of their legacy settlement systems. Most of the customers for remittance service (e.g. Reliable for over 170 years. In 2011, Western Union opened an office in San Francisco to ramp up its digital operation. To learn more about the data economy, what your organization stands to gain from using data effectively, and how to become a Data Economy Leader, download the report overview, How to Win in Todays Data Economy. Cookies help us deliver our services. Others see blockchain as an opportunity to help emerging governments become efficient and transparent, for example, by serving as the official land title registration. "As a digital enabler and a pioneer in the digital transformation, we aspire to play a vital role in the vision of the Saudi . In [] [12]Josh Constine, Western Union Brings Money Transfer and Its Tricky Fees to Chat Apps, TechCrunch.com, Feb. 4, 2016. And if Western Union doesnt embrace and transform along with those technologies, it will fade away just like the telegraph. Whats really nice about that is that its so visually obvious. Because if you dont have the right data, your applications will struggle to provide the right business outcomes and customer experiences. From apps that save lives to those that process loans in a
Western Union International Bank is licensed by the Austrian Financial Market Authority. We recently delivered a similar requirement to a higher standard using one OutSystems developer in just 15 days. These strategies are paying off. Deep divides in digital connectivity, internet use, and access remain. Inclusion, Bloomberg
In the past five years, theres been a leveling across applications and data. Media, Madison Square
One of our most important tools is the floor walk. Best practices were also key. January 25, 2019 | Video. Leading fintech, Mambu, provides the platform and engine that drives the core of Western Union's new digital bank. Arab Emirates. Professors from HEC, ESCP business school, and leading carriers shared insights on . The way we approached it was to use the central WU Way team for capability building. Today, our omnichannel platform places Western Union in a unique position where our physical network and our digital efforts combine to provide customers with a host of options to transfer money, whether in cash, card into billions of bank accounts, online, using our App or one of our 17 mobile wallet partners. Services, Consumer
If Western Union tries to grow its blockchain capabilities within current operations, internal resistors may directly or indirectly sabotage the initiatives. It is our responsibility to enable businesses, problem solvers, regulators and communities to leverage fintech for the betterment of lives. Western Union is renowned for its unparalleled international network, with over 500,000 agent locations spanning 200 countries and territories. The Western Union Way of digital transformation. Poland followed later in 2022, while plans are at hand to launch Italy by the end of the year. The scale of change this represents for a business like Western Union is not to be underestimated; the company employs around 11,000 people and has more than 550,000 retail agents locations within its global financial network, as well as a global online presence. Meanwhile, new fintech players like Transferwise are able to offer cash transfer services for a fraction of the price since their operations are 100% online. 12. The relationship with Talend has enabled Western Union to help its global customer base in times of real need. Jay Jaffin was just starting his role as Western Union's chief marketing officer when the pandemic arrived. Knowledge Institute, Chemical
And being with the people that are actually doing the work really helps the management get a better sense of where they can use their leadership and influence to make that process easier for the employee and better for the customer. Western Unions platform provides seamless cross-border flows and its leading global financial network bridges more than 200 countries and territories and over 130 currencies and 500K partner networks. Talends technology has been used similarly in response to people impacted by floods in Haiti and to Indian citizens at the height of the countrys COVID-19 crisis. Western Union. Gartner Magic Quadrant for Low-Code Application Platforms, 2023. And on our website, we added new support and wayfinding tools to ensure customers could quickly and easily access information. One of these customers is Tom Mazzaferro, Chief Data & Innovation Officer of Western Union, which serves more than 100 million global customers through approximately 600,000 retail locations, and via its digital platforms. Having found great success with its Marketing Cloud, Singh outlines his longer-term vision to connect a number of Western Unions central products. Navigate
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We caught up with Mazzaferro to dive deeper into how the Data Cloud enables ongoing digital transformation at Western Union: Snowflake: Tom, as CDIO you lead the charge on keeping Western Union at the forefront of data economy leadership. We set up virtual war rooms, met with our executive team daily to strategize, and spoke to customers every week to keep a pulse on their needs. Nov 2011 - Present11 years 5 months. What are the biggest lessons you learned? Digital transformation in the EUBenefitting people, the economy and the environment. Solutions enabled - Oracle Revenue Management and Billing, Oracle Business Intelligence, Infosys Transaction Reconciliation System, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Solution and Services, Infosys Oracle Services, part of Infosys Cobalt. The new generation of customers, especially Millennials, want to find us in the ecosystem of messaging apps.. When people from different departments do these floor walks together, theyre realizing that they actually have a lot more in common with each other or notice areas where they can collaborate that they didnt realize before. Reflecting on the transformation to-date, Singh is clear that it hasnt come without its challenges. Head of Information Technology & Digital Transformation Econet Wireless Zimbabwe Oct 2015 - Present 7 years 6 months. It works with Talend to streamline data movement in compliance with GDPR across financial, reconciliation, auditing and trading partners. Western Union is the worlds first P2P company. We wanted plug-and-play convenience to integrate any technology.. Western Union is working alongside Amazon Web Services (AWS) and AWS Partners to transform and expand its business, including the launch of a new digital bank. The reason for that is due to the huge increase in demand for our digital services as lockdowns were implemented across many different geographies. Similarly, Western Union's ethos is based on empowering the aspiring populations of the world with accessible financial tools to improve the lives of their loved ones and communities. We know there are certain systems that we cannot just move to the cloud straight away such as the AS400 IBM mainframe, but weve managed to take the ecosystem that surrounds our legacy technology and move it to the cloud and we think we can get everything to the cloud before the end of the year. Please enable Javascript to see this feature. Meeting the moment with solutions required Western Union to accelerate its own digital transformation. By John Manning, International Banker. With the blockchain environment, there may be value in the technology as it becomes more mature and efficient. Cloud services such as cloud data platforms have become cost-efficient, high performance calling cards for any business that leverages big data. Were there tools or technology that were particularly helpful in your transformation? However, Western Union would be wise to form a new, separate unit for exploring blockchain services. Log in to help. HELIX, Management
McKinsey's Kausik Rajgopal and Lang Davison recently sat down with Western Union's CEO to talk about its multicultural customer base (and . Business Unit Represents Approximately 7% of Company Revenue Divestiture Will Support Western Union's Strategic Focus on its Global Cross-Border Payments Platform and Digital Capabilities The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU), a global leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement and payments, together with Goldfinch Partners, LLC ("Goldfinch"), a private equity firm investing in . Western Union International Bank's CEO Peter Bucher firmly believes you can drive successful, innovative business while creating a better world for the community you live in. Western Union has innovated before. First, Western Unions third party agents may try to thwart any concerted moves to digital platforms, seeing such a move as a threat to existing commission revenues. One trend that has emerged as a result is the growing role of digital money transfers among people who may not otherwise use those services. Western Union and Beforepay Offer 'Send Now, Pay Later' Service to Consumers for International Money Transfers This would help Western Union objectively pursue new blockchain opportunities, even if those opportunities eventually cannibalize or destroy its existing C2C business. Commenting on the advantages of development on OutSystems, Tom says, "We estimate that we're getting new products . Dan Nordlander, senior vice president of Western Union Way Operations at Western Union, discusses his companys unique transformation journey with McKinseys Barr Seitz. Furthermore, a chain of retail outlets is expensive. You stepped in as CMO just as COVID-19 was emerging, and I cant imagine that a global health crisis was what youd envisioned for your first 100 days. Finance. Three things were front-of-mind as we evaluated OutSystems, explains Tom Mazzaferro, Chief Data and Innovation Officer at Western Union. Now its more pull. During its February 2018 earnings call, CEO Hikmet Ersek announced that Western Union is experimenting with Ripple for settling transactions and for capital optimization, and is also testing Ripples native currency (XRP).[10]. Snowflake: What do you see changing now that your organization is better able to share data? The Western Union Way of digital transformation. Business Unit Represents Approximately 7% of Company Revenue . While the pace of change has been considerable, the leadership team at Western Union has been focused on implementing a large-scale technology transformation. Transfers can be delivered in cash or into a digital wallet or a bank account via electronic funds transfer. Leadership. The company, which has been in the money-transfer business since 1871, launched online transfers via WU.com in 2000 and got into mobile money transfers in 2007. Africa, South
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For example, in 2016 Western Union integrated money transfer options with messanging apps WeChat and Viber, allowing users to send small amounts of money through the apps. Second, Western Unions employees may not have the knowledge or training to effectively lead Western Unions digital transformation, and may resist digital initiatives or operational changes. Safety starts with understanding how developers collect and share your data. Introducing the next-generation operating model, Winning with your talent-management strategy. The fusion of the digital and the physical, the irrepressible rise of new technologies. So well go from maybe four pilot teams to a plan to scale out across 400 people and maybe 30 teams next year. Jaffin: Evolution meant expanding the ways in which customers experience the brand digitally. It's a physical branding and marketing component that few money-transfer providers can match but one that's of diminishing value in a digital world. So its a real imperative across the top of the organization. For more than 170 years Western Union has been helping people send money all over the world. The international roll-out continues to other countries at pace. Faced with numerous applications to deliver, the need to rapidly iterate customer experiences, and the steep learning curve for new Cloud DevOps toolchains, Western Union decided to evaluate low-code platforms. Patrick Gauthier, CEO of Convera, formerly known as Western Union Business Solutions. How did you evolve for digital convenience and safety? Thats the high performancewe rely on with OutSystems., Low-Code for Digital Financial Services Delivery. Increasingly, digital technology and mobile devices play a key role in these transactions. . Western Union's cross-functional tech teams pushed out expanded digital options and real-time visibility on the status of its retail locations worldwide. Our leadership team remains true to our vision and values, putting customers' evolving needs at the center of our innovation and holding up trust and convenience as the hallmarks of our business. An advantage of Western Unions omnichannel approach is that it includes all customers, whether they are integrated or not in the financial system: the banked, the underbanked, and the unbanked. [10]Jeff John Roberts, Western Union is Testing Ripple and XRP for Money Transfers, Fortune, Feb. 14, 2018. Heute nutzen bereits rund 150.000 Anwender in Deutschland sowie in Rumnien, Polen und Italien die Western Union Digital Banking App fr ihre finanziellen Angelegenheiten - immer mit dem Ziel . To explore this content and receive communications from Google, please sign in with an existing Google account. Our research identified 10 attributes of an organizations data infrastructure that enable it to take full advantage of the data economy, the global supply and, Editors note: This is part of a series about the data economy. Tom Mazzaferro, Chief Data Officer at Western Union together with Nick Halsey, CEO at Okera talk about the technology that Western Union has adopted to help build new products and Western Union, Chief Data Officer: Digital Transformation Initiatives (Part 3) | Cloud | cdomagazine.tech Recipients can choose to pick up the sent money at a Western Union location, or send the money to a digital wallet or bank account. For more details about how Western Union went from 34 on-prem data warehouses to pursuing a multi-cloud strategy based on Snowflake, read our case study. Meridian, Infosys
Salesforce has been such an important part of the digital experience journey.. This entails a leader or a manager being on the floor with people doing their day-to-day jobs, just observing the way they work. Companies like Venmo(PayPal) and Zelle(joint venture by several large U.S. banks) have deep pockets, but so far are mostly competing in domestic payment markets. The resulting report, How to Win in the Data Economy, includes anecdotes from dozens of customers, analysts, and influencers about how to succeed, all in addition to the survey itself, based on feedback from 1,000 senior business, technology, and data managers across five industries and from all over the world. What we are talking about is not cryptocurrency, it is not something that has to be mined. In a report on ERP modernization, the global market intelligence firm highlights how Western Digital . Entertainment, Professional
SEED aims to improve education and employability of students from low socio-economic backgrounds, especially children of refugees, migrants, and local families. Improvements that we made to our apps digital customer experience, for example, helped it become one of the most downloaded apps among our peer set in 2020. By using our services, you agree to our use of cookies. The map, Barmer and Newman say, is designed to do precisely that turn the western Pennsylvania fish-fry culture into an adventure stamped onto the landscape that fosters community engagement . Western Union has recently partnered with other digital platforms to expand its digital offerings. These agents typically manage retail stores across the world, and offer Western Union money transfer services in exchange for a commission. These are things like rewards and recognition, top-down innovation, and consequence management. The Western Union Foundation is a separate charitable corporation that is tax-exempt under 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, contributions to which are tax-deductible for US income tax purposes. But for all its success, Western Union is undoubtedly a legacy player in a market that has been truly disrupted in recent years, with smaller and more agile outfits making waves in the increasingly digitised payments space. [3], Western Union operates in three segments, with most of its revenues (79%) coming from the C2C segment: [4], Western Union became the dominant player in cross-border C2C money transfers through a platform strategyit connected people who wanted to send money across borders. Originally, the capacity of our on-prem environments wasnt projected to hit capacity until 2022, but we could see that point was going to be reached in 2020, so that meant a real acceleration.. We position ourselves as creating opportunity for financial inclusion by bridging gaps in the financial services sector. In Austria our employees have put in place numerous initiatives such as German courses and mentoring programs, and we celebrated in March the first anniversary of SEED, a project supported by the Western Union Foundation in collaboration with the Austrian Ministry of Education and Teach for Austria Alumni Association. A hugely significant piece of the transformation has come from rethinking how Western Union communicates with its vast customer base. It requires a change in process and culture, the adoption of a common lingo, executive buy-in, and a center . s full anLearn more about the data lake, a repository for structured, unstructured, and semi-structured data that provided direct access to raw organizational data. Western Union uses a central team to build new capabilities across the business. Marketing tactics evolved to attract digital customers, who have a different profile from traditional retail customers. We developed the whole front-end for the app in less than four months., Western Union uses OutSystems for customer-facing apps, back office, and workflow solutions. Build customized, secure, and scalable mobile banking apps. The pilots help get buy-in across the organization, and then once we have that buy-in, it provides the resources necessary to scale. We are also launching new products into the market, including a pilot for digital banking services in select markets in Europe and a revamped loyalty programme, which require us to capture data from our central warehouses to drive decision making, marketing and customer acquisition. The company considers local preferences, as well, accepting about 10 payment methods, such as Apple Pay in the U.S. Zealand, South
Experienced and certified (ACAMS) AML and Learning & Development professional with a proven track of records in compliance, people management, learning areas. Specifically, how Data, Editors note: This is part of a series of blogs about the data economy. Big data has helped Western Union merge data across multiple channels for years, for marketing and promotion, customer lifecycle management, compliance and fraud modeling. And when that happens, they start to see further opportunities for continuous improvement, leading them to new ideas about things they can do to improve efficiency or effectiveness. Some changes that used to take a month, we now deliver in around 48 hours.. Some want to go to a retail store and pay cash. We're making content recommendations better for thousands of readers. Services, Public
Cortex, Infosys
Part of this agility drive involved Western Union migrating its legacy on-prem IT infrastructure to the Cloud. Download the Western Union (WU) money transfer app and quickly start sending cash to Mexico and worldwide, 24/7! You have to recognise that youre taking a massive journey as a company because it has always relied on data centres. We scored ourselves as an organization on these market-shaper practices when we started the transformation in 2016. How Your Small Business Can Be Managed With The Right Databases, Why Businesses Must Focus on Introducing Technology in the Workplace. Western Union's digital services align with the UAE government's policy to create an economy driven by innovation and technology," said Salma Massoud, head of digital, Middle East and Africa .