MoneyGram International (NYSE:MGI), a global leader in the payment services industry and CashEdge, the leading provider of Intelligent Money Movement services including Popmoney, today announced that they have signed a letter of intent to integrate their respective money transfer and payment services platforms to expand choice, flexibility and convenience of the MoneyGram and Popmoney services.
With the integration, recipients of Popmoney payments would be able to direct receipt of their funds to any of MoneyGram's 200,000 retail agent locations in more than 190 countries. This would enable Popmoney customers to send money to recipients who can then direct the funds to be picked up at an international MoneyGram location, to recipients who may lack a traditional bank account, or to those who simply prefer to withdraw funds as cash.
The parties expect the relationship to also provide MoneyGram customers with additional sending options by leveraging CashEdge financial institution relationships and capabilities in the United States and India, while adding leading-edge technological functionality for future products and services.
"CashEdge, like MoneyGram, is committed to moving money as fast, easily and conveniently as possible. Their commitment is evident in Popmoney's rapid and growing success in the market, making CashEdge, and Popmoney, an ideal partner for MoneyGram," said Tim Summers, VP, Global Head of Strategic Partnerships at MoneyGram. "We are very pleased to work with CashEdge to explore opportunities to add convenience for our existing customers by providing access to most of the U.S. financial institution market, and also introduce our quick and reliable service to millions of potential new consumers."
"We are excited about developing a strategic alliance with MoneyGram, and what it will mean to our clients. Recipients will be able to opt for cash pickups in the U.S. or internationally, greatly expanding the value of our service and its international and domestic reach. We're thrilled to be working with MoneyGram in this endeavor," said Neil Platt, Senior Vice President and General Manager, US Banking, CashEdge Inc.
Popmoney is the first email and mobile person-to-person payments service that allows bank customers to send electronic payments directly from their online or mobile banking service, by simply using the recipient's email address, mobile phone number or bank account information. A strategic relationship with MoneyGram globalizes the person-to-person payments for Cash Edge and its financial institution connections by allowing access to over 200,000 MoneyGram agent locations worldwide for a cash payout options. In addition, Popmoney includes support for text messaging, WAP, and downloadable mobile applications, enabling financial institutions to extend their P2P functionality to email and mobile phones. The service is currently live via 175 U.S. bank relationships.