The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

WESTERN Union's regional head says the company is targeting the Family Island vacuum caused by the withdrawal of the commercial banks as "a top priority".

André Largie said the commercial banking exit is enabling the money transfer business to expand its footprint in The Bahamas, having already established 31 agent locations since its re-entry into this market.

He added that the commercial bank contraction in the Family Islands "hasn't passed our attention", and filling the financial services needs of those communities was a "top priority".

Mr Largie said the customer response has been "phenomenal" since Western Union's return, adding: "We have worked hard to deliver new services to the market, to expand our presence in the market in a way that not even the incumbents have done. We are the first into many of the Family Islands. We are in six Family Islands right now."

Western Union announced its return to the money transmission market earlier this year. Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) had been its previous local franchisee.

Mr Largie said the company was "incredibly proud" of the efforts of its three agents, SunCash, headed by ex-banker Barry Malcolm; MoneyMaxx, led by Carlos Mackey; and GraceKennedy Money Services, a subsidiary of the Jamaican conglomerate, GraceKennedy.

"We are very proud of what our agent partners have done and the investments that they have led. There have been growing pains building out a network as rapidly as we have. It has been a learning process for our agents, two of which are new and the other, GraceKennedy, is a regional operator. The agents have really responded well, and clearly they are committed to serving the community," said Mr Largie.

"In addition to our own Western Union services, all of them have opportunities in the financial services space to offer products. We are very focused on cross-border money movement; that is our sole area of interest, but we are very comfortable with our agents seeking this opportunity to provide complementary services to their customers. They have been investing incredibly in that, and I know that there are some strong service offerings coming to the table in the coming months from our agents.

"This is business and you have to do proper feasibility studies, but we continue to look at the needs of the customers. We will continue to innovate and expand where we can with our agents. We are very grateful about the response and support our customers in The Bahamas have given."

As a thank you to its customers for their loyalty and support, Western Union is today offering it customers in The Bahamas free fee transaction coupons as well as Western Union giveaways at all 31 agent locations.