Western Union has brand but stagecoach technology won’t help it survive!

• Analysis by: Patrick Young
• Analysis of: Immigrant groups launch Western Union boycott
• Published at: www.latimes.com

Summary

Western Union is slow, disorganised, bureaucratic and expensive. New technology competitors are massing and will take market share unless the provider gets its act together.

Analysis

Due to a family emergency yesterday I actually used Western Union. The web site couldn’t cope with me in any way shape or form, so I ended up hunting physical locations. No joy with the nearest address in NYC, and I got a very helpful chap and transferred cash (yes only cash!) amidst the lowlife somewhere in Boston last night.

Observations: the service is disorganised, and very expensive. Online presence is dreadfully lacking.

I have seen various new providers seeking to enter the market and given the global quantity of money being repatriated (qv outside the US look at transfers from the UK just to emerging EU nations alone from migrant workers in GB), ther can be no question that Western Union and other legacy providers are hugely exposed to being decimated if it does not get its act together.

Thenm again one only needs to look at interbank transfers in Europe and overseas from Europe to see another appallingly disorganised and expensive transfer mechanism…

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