Western Union Launches “Request Money” Bot for Messenger in Philippines

The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU), a leader in global payments, today announced it has launched a new and innovative money transfer bot which enables money transfer requests through Facebook Messenger in the Philippines.

Through the bot, Messenger users in the Philippines—the world’s third largest remittance-receiving nation—can request money from friends and family in the U.S.—the world’s largest remittance sending nation.

Requestors can state the transaction amount and their preference for payout; with the option for funds to be received into all major bank accounts in the Philippines, or in cash at Western Union® retail Agent locations across every province in the country.

The request for money through Messenger triggers a message to the sender in the U.S. The sender simply clicks on the request and they are taken directly into the Western Union Money Transfer® Bot within Messenger to complete the transaction in just a few simple clicks.

“This collaboration underscores our commitment to financial inclusion, by connecting the world’s developed and emerging nations in innovative ways,” said Odilon Almeida, President, Global Money Transfer at Western Union. “We are constantly looking for opportunities to ensure we are making our services accessible and convenient, at both ends of a global money transfer.”

Messenger users both in the U.S. and the Philippines now have access to Western Union’s industry-leading digital and retail cross-border money transfer platform, as well as many innovative features including access to real-time foreign exchange rates and automated customer support. The user sending funds can also receive transaction tracking notifications in almost real time, ensuring convenience and transparency on the platform that is 'always on' across devices.

“Our Messenger community in the Philippines can now connect with their loved ones in the United States via Western Union services—driving greater financial inclusion in addition to social connectivity,” said Kahina Van Dyke, Director, Global Financial Services Partnerships, Facebook Messenger. “We are proud to continue our work with Western Union, and launch new services via the Western Union bot for Messenger.”

In April of 2017, Western Union launched a money transfer bot for Messenger in the U.S., which offers a simple, seamless experience for those who want to move money around the world. The entire experience occurs within the Western Union cross-border money transfer platform which is embedded inside Messenger.

Filipinos are one of the world’s largest user groups of Facebook, and the Western Union bot for Messenger enables a digital-and-physical gateway for money movement, bringing access, convenience and leading-edge technology to these tech-savvy and highly digital-based consumers.