Customers of App Postepay, among the preferred payment Apps in Italy, can now access Western Union’s cross-border and cross-currency platform to send money globally, following an agreement between Postepay, one of the largest Electronic Money Institution (EMI) in Italy, bringing together Poste Italiane’s assets and expertise in payments and telecommunications and Western Union (NYSE: WU), a leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement and payments.

More than seven million Postepay Evolution customers can now send money globally using Western Union via the Postepay App. They have the choice to fund their payments within the App using card or account and payout via Western Union’s Global Retail Network in over 200 countries and territories.

The integration of Western Union’s global cross-border, cross-currency money movement platform – including global settlement capabilities, network, compliance, and technology systems — enables international real-time cross-border transfers for financial institutions and service providers like Postepay, while globalizing services for their customers.

“It’s exciting to see two leading financial institutions working together to advance digital services for their customers by offering a seamless global cross-border payments experience,” said Hikmet Ersek, President and CEO, Western Union.

“Western Union’s open platform strategy allows us to innovatively connect the digital and physical worlds of money while helping leading organizations scale their services globally. We are delighted to welcome Postepay into the Western Union family,” he said.

Postepay SpA, a young company in the digital payments market, can count on a strong customer base of nearly 20 million of prepaid cards, more than 7 million of Postepay Evolution cards and more than 4,8 million of digital wallets. Postepay SpA is a center of excellence within the Poste Italiane Group.

“Postepay leads the country’s development and innovation by offering solutions that enable our customers to benefit from quality services and easy-to-use products,” said Marco Siracusano, Chief Executive Officer of Postepay.

“In line with our company’s strategy, Postepay’s first goal is to inform and guide changes in consumer habits while strongly investing and promoting our App based strategy. Therefore, the Postepay App offers our customer, not only highly performing dedicated services, but an ecosystem of integrated products and services which simplify transactions and exchanges at any level. Thanks to the collaboration with a leading brand such as Western Union our customers can now send money around the world in total comfort. In this context, a global leader such as Western Union, is the right partner to increase our growth,” he said.

“Summarizing the Postepay slogan, payments must be comfortable, simple and safe, and I believe that through this valuable partnership, we will be able to serve our respective customers even better,” concluded Marco Siracusano.

Remittances from Italy to the rest of the world in 2018 was USD 18.5 billion and into Italy USD 9.5 billion, according to the world bank.

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About Western Union

The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) 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 September 30, 2019, our network included over 550,000 retail agent locations offering our 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 75 countries, plus additional territories, to move money around the world. 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.

About Postepay

Poste Italiane is one of Italy’s leading payment system providers, exploiting the Group’s integrated multichannel distribution platform based on its physical post office network and latest generation digital infrastructure. In 2018, the Company established Postepay SpA, the new company specializing in the development and processing of mobile and digital payments. Postepay SpA aims to consolidate its leadership and take advantage of the opportunities created by convergence between physical and digital channels, whilst at the same time supporting delivery of the Group’s overall strategy and guiding citizens, businesses and Public Administration entities through the transition from traditional payment systems to more advanced solutions. Postepay count on nearly 20 million of prepaid cards, more than 4,8 million e-wallets in use and nearly 4.5 million of SIM cards.