The acquisition of the French part of Travelex Global Business Payments was planned to close after Western Union's global acquisition of TGBP due to regulatory and licensing requirements, which have now been completed.

"France is a key international payments hub, and Western Union's acquisition of TGBP in France will lead to a stronger and more innovative force in the French market," said Raj Agrawal, President, Western Union Business Solutions. "We see a great opportunity to expand into the French market and offer an innovative service that will allow small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) a strong solution for doing business around the world."

Clients in France include companies and SMEs across a variety of industries, including import and export, travel, high-tech and legal, as well as non-profit and educational institutions.

Businesses can make payments in more than 135 currencies, check real-time exchange rates and fees, and receive live customer support. Customers will also be able to utilize Western Union Business Solution's online service platform, which enables clients to make and manage international payments 24 hours a day, seven days a week from their computers on a dedicated French website: business.westernunion.fr.

The combined business offers over 95,000 clients around the world - mostly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) - immediate scale and expanded global reach in the estimated $24 billion international SME cross-border business payments market.