Sorbo said the cash-to-cash rate (sending and receiving cash – e.n.) is on the rise, but money transfers via electronic channels see double-digit growth. He also said that Western Union accounts for nearly 5% of global money transfers via electronic channels and it is expected a faster growth on electronic channels segment, which is also the case of Romania.
Western Union launched Thursday, along with MasterCard and Banca Transilvania (BT), a premiere service worldwide whereby all holders of MasterCard and Maestro cards may receive money from anywhere both globally and nationally directly into the account attached to the card, at the ATMs of Banca Transilvania, regardless of the bank issuing the card.
A person who receives money through Western Union transfer can choose how they want to cash the respective amount, namely, from a bank unit, a partner location or at Banca Transilvania’s ATMs, based on the money transfer control number (MTCN).
Banca Transilvania CEO, Omer Tetik, said the lender wants to increase the volume of transactions through this service and offer those who do not have accounts/cards at BT the possibility to use the bank’s services. He also said this is a good way of promoting the bank through its ATM network.
BT has a network of 1,000 ATMs and a portfolio of 2.48 million cards. Its card transactions rose nearly 19% on the year in the third quarter of 2015. As regards the volume of transactions, the bank holds a 18% market share, according to its own data, at a rate of four transactions per second. The lender offers its clients eight types of MasterCard cards.
Sorbo said the agreement with Banca Transilvania is not exclusive and expects other banks to adhere to the service in the near future.