Western Union Expands Reach With WhatsApp to Boost Dollar Exchanges

The Western Union Company WU recently announced a new digital service channel in Peru, which enables customers to send money overseas and exchange U.S. dollars through WhatsApp. This innovative feature enables access to over 200 countries and territories, with the added convenience of making cross-border transfers and foreign exchange transactions from their mobile phones.

Customers can easily connect with WU’s official WhatsApp services by sending a message to the official WhatsApp number. They need to choose the operation they want and fill out a form. After meeting the eligibility requirements, transactions can be completed in just a few minutes. Additionally, for a limited time, the company waived fees on transfers to several Latin American countries, including Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela.

With this initiative, Western Union is not only improving customer service but also combining digital adoption with user comfort. With billions of monthly active users worldwide, WhatsApp has become an everyday communication tool. This move also reflects WU’s earlier strategies to integrate with messaging platforms like WeChat and Viber. It represents a continued strategy to engage with the mobile-first consumer market.

The company reported 9% year-over-year growth in Branded Digital transactions in the second quarter of 2025. Also, Branded Digital revenues improved 6% on a reported and adjusted basis in the same quarter.

If it proves successful in Peru, this model could easily be adapted for other high-remittance markets in Latin America and other regions where WhatsApp is widely used, which could potentially drive transaction volumes and strengthen its long-term growth strategy.

WU’s Price Performance

Year to date, WU shares have fallen 19.4% against the industry’s growth of 4.6%.

WU’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks

WU currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

Some better-ranked stocks in the business services space are OppFi Inc. OPFI, Green Dot Corporation GDOT and Remitly Global, Inc. RELY, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for OppFi’s current-year earnings of $1.42 per share has witnessed two upward revisions in the past 30 days against no movement in the opposite direction. The consensus estimate of OppFi for current-year revenues is pegged at $588.9 million, implying 12% year-over-year growth.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Green Dot’s current-year earnings of $1.35 per share has witnessed two upward revisions in the past 30 days against no movement in the opposite direction. Green Dot beat earnings estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed once, with the average surprise being 42.1%. The consensus estimate for current-year revenues is pegged at $2.1 billion, calling for a 20.3% year-over-year increase.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Remitly Global’s current-year earnings of 12 cents per share has witnessed two upward revisions in the past 30 days against no movement in the opposite direction. Remitly Global beat earnings estimates in three of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 132.9%. The consensus estimate for current-year revenues is pegged at $1.6 billion, suggesting 27.9% year-over-year growth.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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