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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. That created a need to act. His career span includes working with organizations like FIS, Western Union, HCL Technologies, CGI, Mahindra Satyam and iGate Global Solutions. Its not done from the perspective of correction or a negative consequence. When people send money to friends or family across the country or around the world, chances are good that Western Union is involved. 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. For example, we began offering an option for telephone money transfer. 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. 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. Western Union. She has extensive experience in leading strategic marketing and has worked with brands like Myntra, Arrow, and Amante. From the CEO down through his executive team, you see a real commitment to this transformation exercise and a real commitment to finding ways to optimize our processes, to get efficiencies, and to fund those investments that will drive topline revenue growth. 1 (March 1990), pp. Western Union is a partner of the World Economic Forum (WEF) and is a leading voice in the conversation of how to build a global payments ecosystem, which is stable and where remittances can be made much faster. W ith the outbreak of a crippling global pandemic and a pronounced global economic slowdown, the last few years have been rather tumultuous for the world. In order to fund the investments, we decided that it was really important to do a transformation exercise, look for ways to gain efficiencies and effectiveness across our processes and procedures, and then use those efficiencies to fund the growth investments. Digital transformation can refer to anything from IT modernization (for example, cloud computing), to digital optimization, to the invention of new digital business models. Western Union's cross-functional tech teams pushed out expanded digital options and real-time visibility on the status of its retail locations worldwide. Its more about having the manager understand how the work actually gets done on the floor. . Western Union uses a central team to build new capabilities across the business. Product Director, United States Money Transfer. Business Application Services, Service Experience 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 . The fusion of the digital and the physical, the irrepressible rise of new technologies. Its one of the most widely used platforms from a data perspective and were expanding our relationship with Talend to start using some of its data quality products as well. 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. Media, Madison Square [10]Jeff John Roberts, Western Union is Testing Ripple and XRP for Money Transfers, Fortune, Feb. 14, 2018. & Publishing, Logistics Data privacy and security practices . Many of its 150 million customers worldwide depend on money transfers to pay for food, electricity, medication, and other necessities. Western Union powers your pursuit. However, Western Union doesnt view its established retail business as totally separate from the digital world. Please enable Javascript to see this feature. From apps that save lives to those that process loans in a What Ive tried to do is look at each of the groups and find out who the strong players in each of them are, the leaders that are vocal and very straightforward in conversation. How Your Small Business Can Be Managed With The Right Databases, Why Businesses Must Focus on Introducing Technology in the Workplace. How Western Union achieved Digital Transformation with Infosys and Oracle. Looking back at the results of our work over the last couple of years across all of our deployments, you see some really impressive gains. Africa's largest payment gateway, MFS Africa, has partnered with Western Union to enable individuals and businesses across the continent to receive money Microservices, Digital Process Services, Public Salesforce has a value proposition that was immediately interesting because it allows you to build a single omnichannel journey that can be managed really efficiently when I want to make a change I only need to do so in one place. Western Union has gained a comprehensive view of the customer while running the Data Cloud on AWS. As weve done that, everyone has started to speak the same language, whether its talking about going to huddles, doing process confirmations, conducting one-on-one coaching, or maybe doing floor walks. This is a powerful tool for our business and one of the key capabilities of our new infrastructure.. Marketing tactics evolved to attract digital customers, who have a different profile from traditional retail customers. On May 17, 2018, at the Digital Assembly in Sofia, Bulgaria, the European Commission launched the Digital Agenda for the Western Balkans. Not just front-end, but back office and our contact center. This will enable the company to maintain its high . (2013) Comparing Media Systems beyond the Western World. 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. Country/region, Costa Western Union also is uniquely positioned to explore blockchain applications in emerging markets by leveraging Western Unions retail footprint, regulatory compliance learning, and global brand. Before OutSystems, we typically released every six weeks. That helps us refocus on the particular market-shaper practices that we need to double down on in order to continue improving during our transformation journey. He shares his views on digital transformation and economic opportunities for all. In 1861 it sent the first transcontinental telegraph. According to the terms of the transaction . If CDIOs dont have the right culture on their teams, how can they help drive a data-first culture throughout their organization? So we had to figure out how to continue to show up for customers while also ensuring everyones health and safely. Western Union's investment in India is part of a broader fintech and innovation strategy that is driving the company's digital transformation. Though its too early for results, the response from consumers has been positive, he says. 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. As a global leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement and payments, Western Union has to comply with a huge number of financial regulations. Most popular: Free $20 Amazon.com e-gift code for every friend you refer (earn up to $500). Because if you dont have the right data, your applications will struggle to provide the right business outcomes and customer experiences. [7]For a helpful overview of how Blockchain is being used in emerging markets, see Vinay Gupta & Rob Knight, How Blockchain Could Help Emerging Markets Leap Ahead, Harvard Business Review, May 17, 2017. ene. Something that is ripe for discussion among many of these discussion groups is the idea of a digital dollar, which could be made transferable all around the world with vendors and partners.. Cloud services such as cloud data platforms have become cost-efficient, high performance calling cards for any business that leverages big data. People are enthusiastic about the results of the pilot, and they want to see that in their own area. Mazzaferro: Technology is a critical part of the equation, of course, but technology can never drive culture change. That system is fine in a cash based economy, but is becoming increasingly cumbersome as digital payments take hold in emerging markets. Fellahi sees the Messenger bot as a promising tool. Board of Directors. I have successfully directed virtual teams working on Mastercard integrations, Western Union and MoneyGram. The organisation was looking for somebody with a fresh perspective who could challenge the norms, bring people together to show them the value of what were doing and basically create an environment thats a little bit different to your usual corporate set-up. They essentially sponsor a team and loan the resources that are necessary. Western Union offers digital transactions in 70 countries to move money around the world. For decades, Western Union benefited from network effects as it added density and new geographies. Deloitte announces multi-year collaboration with AWS to co-innovate and engineer solutions that help institutions expedite the launch of digital banking services and modernize their legacy core banking stacks. Services, Consumer Western Union has had a compound annual growth rate above 25 percent over the past five years, since the launch of the digital division. Provide value consistently every month and deliver new value and capabilities. So we established a set of what we call market-shaper practices that we wanted to focus on. Our goal was to build a new Cloud-based IT architecture based on microservicesthat would allow us to integratemany different systems quicklyboth internal and external vendors, explains Tom. Meeting the moment with solutions required Western Union to accelerate its own digital transformation. 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. Why Do Companies Choose to Outsource Work? In 2017 SEED supported 20 projects, impacting 5,000 children and youth; we hope to support event more in 2018.. Updated on. 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. HELIX, Management As the centerpiece of Western Unions omnichannel vision, the Western Union App is increasingly the primary touchpoint for customers: today more than 65% of Western Unions digital transactions originate on a mobile device globally. Western Union Uses AWS to Create Company-Wide Digital Transformation. Open a free Western Union Digital Banking bank account to manage your international finances and make instant, transfer fee-free* money transfers to other Western Union Digital Banking account holders. That means we can onboard new developers and have them productive much faster, and weve got fewer knowledge silos in the development team., Moreover, low-code development on OutSystems helps Tom fight back in the war for digital talent. Denver, Colorado. Singh also sees huge potential in the use of blockchain for specific use cases within financial services and payments, for example, helping with the Know Your Customer (KYC) process that is important to stopping money laundering and fraud and eliminating many of the checks that currently hold up cross-border payments. We wanted plug-and-play convenience to integrate any technology.. [8]. In 2016, Western Union completed 268 million consumer-to-consumer transactions and 523 million business payments world-wide, moving more than $150 billion of principal for consumers and businesses. . 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. Manufacturing, Information Services The pandemic really accelerated the digital transformation journey; the plan was for it to be rolled out in three years but that timeframe became 18 months, Singh tells Digital Bulletin. Western Union. The international roll-out continues to other countries at pace. Rapid iteration is a crucial capability for Western Union, especially when designing customer experiencesin over 200 countries with local customer and regulatory requirements. Guide for Suppliers, Select Were talking 30 percent, 40 percent, and, in some cases, deployments with a 70 percent return on capacity. After exceeding expectations in 2020 despite the outbreak of COVID-19, the world's largest currency exchange service Western Union looks set to exceed US$1 billion in total annual revenues for its digital business segment in 2021 a major milestone for the company and a first in the world of digital cross-border payments.. Western Union's shift toward digital shows little sign of relenting. There was a need to accelerate the process we wanted to undertake, I have that experience of transformation projects happening on a massive scale. Meeting the moment with solutions required Western Union to accelerate its own digital transformation. Blockchain is technology that uses an open, distributed ledger to permanently verify and record transactions between two parties. Data safety. My team and I had thought of the future being digital, of course, but the pandemic really forced us to make it a reality for the business. Singh was given autonomy to mould his teams, combining the skills already at Western Union with external talent, many of which were from a consulting background, resulting in a diverse and varied team, which he says proved invaluable. Today, WU.com is available in 40 countries, with mobile apps in 18 of them. Digital transformation starts with people, which is a useful reminder that . "As users turn to our services in bigger numbers and as many new digital players come to the market, we know we have to change," he says. Harveer Singh, Chief Data Architect & Global Head of Engineering, reveals how the initiative will give the organisation the speed and agility it needs to . Digital transformation in the EU. Although retail business declined during . In just 11 months, we delivered a full-service digital banking experience that expands our relationship with customers.. How would this improve our agility, the need to deliver great digital experiences at scale, and the desire to use low-code across the whole stackfront-end, integration, and back-end core systems., Western Union became an OutSystems customer in November 2020. | Learn more about Rokas kudas's work experience, education, connections & more by visiting their profile on . As mobile payments and blockchain tech challenge the status quo of cross-border money transfers, Western Union must digitally transform itself at the right pace or risk going the way of the telegraph. In 2011, Western Union opened an office in San Francisco to ramp up its digital operation. I also agree with you that the competitive advantage of Western Union is a broad network of retail footprint across the world. With the blockchain environment, there may be value in the technology as it becomes more mature and efficient. Western Union's digital transformation efforts may fail to drive earnings growth, but they may be enough to keep earnings steady going forward. Western Union International Bank is licensed by the Austrian Financial Market Authority. We're making content recommendations better for thousands of readers. For decades, Western Union has defended its global position by investing in regulatory compliance. 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. 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. To ensure those approaches were safe and secure, we partnered with governmental organizations to find new and secure ways to verify customers. Convera. 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. We teach employees, and then they execute. If Western Union tries to grow its blockchain capabilities within current operations, internal resistors may directly or indirectly sabotage the initiatives. What we are talking about is not cryptocurrency, it is not something that has to be mined. Mazzaferro: Keep it simple. While WU is considered a global leader in their space, competitive insights and . The gap between access and use is growing, with 56% of people in . [2] Westar 1, Wikipedia, accessed April 2018. To address this new competitive landscape, Western Union sought an agility boost to accelerate innovation. Now that these pilots are winding down, its been easy to get the support across the organization to find the resources necessary to establish teams that can scale it out in different areas across the company. 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). The reason for that is due to the huge increase in demand for our digital services as lockdowns were implemented across many different geographies. Singh was brought in to help facilitate that leap, drawing on his expertise with business transformations, technology management, data architecture and collaborative working, backed up by various consulting roles at Deloitte, IBM and Accenture. Today customers can commence their journey on our mobile App, pay for their transaction digitally or opt to pay cash from any of our participating Western Union retail locations, use wu.com or go directly to any of the 1,200 agent locations or Western Union-owned locations in Austria[i]. Leaders across many industries and companies of all sizes report that one of their biggest challenges is siloed data. Kong, New Mazzaferro: Snowflake is enabling quite a bit around analytics, reporting, event triggers, and settlement across our card providers. [9]Western Union recently dipped its toes into blockchain. As we get the pilots completed, the idea is to turn the WU Way team into more of a center of excellence. Were there tools or technology that were particularly helpful in your transformation? Seven months after Goldfinch Partners and The Baupost Group announced they were purchasing Western . Digital transformation in Western Union must be driven from the top-down. Poland followed later in 2022, while plans are at hand to launch Italy by the end of the year. 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. By John Manning, International Banker. That allowed us to go from ten people to about 50 change agents in the first wave, which will be able to support 2,500 employees and 4,000 vendor full-time employees within two years. Governments pay close attention to cross-border money transfers, and heavily regulate these services to prevent fraud, tax evasion, and other criminal activities. Secure, touchless, digital money transfers were a safe, reliable way for people to send funds where they needed to, so we leaned in there. First, for continuity of services. Security, Infosys For example, De Beers is trying to create a diamond blockchain for registration and authentication, to prevent the spread of conflict diamonds. Whats really nice about that is that its so visually obvious. Western Union's digital banking platform is a complex ecosystem of partnerships from across the technology and fintech landscape. & Distribution, Media and The idea is to orient the company around improving these market-shaper practices, really getting the health of our organization strong, and becoming confident that if we can improve the health of the organization, the financial results will follow. In a report on ERP modernization, the global market intelligence firm highlights how Western Digital . What does "digital transformation" mean to Western Union? We saw that our revenue and customer base didnt reflect the opportunity and size of the market.. After the catastrophic explosion in Lebanon in 2020, the two companies worked together to build data pipelines to help those affected by the incident and provide support to agents in the area. Infosys accelerated Western Union's digital transformation by harmonizing agent operations, implementing billing and collection standards, enabling modular growth, accelerating new product launches, enabling digital on-demand procedures, designing global accounting solutions based on one single template, supporting highly complex pricing and multiple business models, and massive management processes as a strategic technology partner. Swanback said a . 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. ", Tom adds, In fast-moving customer-facing scenarios, development is never build-once-and-doneyoure always iterating to refine the customer experience. In addition to our digital banking app, there are at least 20 internal employee-facing apps that weve delivered that make work easier and more efficient for our employees., Asked what differences he sees in the development team, Tom says, With OutSystems, weve got a more cohesive and multi-talented development team because were using visual low-code development thats self-documenting. [5] 2017 Annual ReportCEO Letter (noting Western Union has expanded its fund payout network to billions of bank accounts). As such, when Western Union embarked on its technology transformation, it was keen to recruit personnel who could help achieve its vision. Sub-Saharan Africa 3G and 4G mobile broadband coverage stands at 86% and 57% of the population, respectively. ; With the solution, Western Union launched a state-of-the-art digital . [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. 2023Western Union Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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 . 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. [12]These kind of digital initiatives are good pursuits for current operational leaders, since they represent incremental or modular innovations to Western Unions existing product offerings. With a history of more than 170 years, the company has a presence in more than 200 countries and territories, connecting more than 120m people to one another and to the global economy, through cross-border money transfers in approximately 130 currencies. Looking ahead, the Sales Cloud will be connected to the Marketing Cloud, which in turn is connected to our Care Cloud, so that whenever something happens across any of those products we are able to react in a way that suits that customer. And still others want to do it all online.. Start Time: 16:30 January 1, 0000 5:32 PM ETThe Western Union Company (NYSE:NYSE:WU)Q3 2022 Earnings Conference CallNovember 01, 2022, 16:30 PM ETCompany ParticipantsDevin McGranahan -.