The United States, the world's largest sender of cross-border consumer-to-consumer payments and India, the world's largest receiver, along with Singapore, will be the first of three countries to benefit from Western Union's linking of its cross-border platform capabilities with Google Pay.

Western Union, a global leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement and payments, and Google have teamed up to allow people in the U.S. to access Western Union's highly rated digital user experience from the Google Pay app, assisting them to easily make payments to family and friends worldwide with reliability, convenience, and speed.

Commencing today, Google Pay users in the U.S. will enjoy a seamless peer-to-peer in-app experience when sending cross-border payments to family and friends through Western Union's bank account or retail network throughout India and Singapore. Users may fund their transactions using Google Pay (debit or credit card linked to their Google Pay account), bank account or card.

Google Pay users in the U.S. will be able to send money to their family and friends worldwide by year-end. They can choose to pay out across Western Union's global financial network of billions of bank accounts and millions of wallets and cards in 125 countries, or more than half a million retail locations in 200 countries and territories, in minutes.

"We are pleased to link our digital cross-border capabilities to bring real worldwide connectivity with a few taps for Google Pay's vast and growing userbase, commencing in India and Singapore," stated, Shelly Swanback, President, Western Union Product and Platform.

"The pandemic continues to have a devastating impact on communities, customers and colleagues in many parts of Asia, especially in India and Latin America. This convenient channel will help people continue supporting one another in these trying times as they reimagine how they can pay and move money worldwide," she stated.

Google Pay's user base includes 150 million people in 40 countries. The company's redesigned Google Pay app (Android and iOS) gives people a safe, simple and helpful way to pay and manage their finances.          

Cross-border payments are not just a lifeline for loved ones, they form the financial backbone for many economies," said Josh Woodward, Director of Product Management, Google Pay. "For many people with families abroad, sending money home is something they do as frequently as every month. By teaming up with Western Union, we are providing a way for Google Pay users to send money quickly, safely and reliably from the Google Pay app."

Swanback adds, "This collaboration demonstrates the demand and accelerated need for our advanced payments. Our platform services offered through digital partnerships continue to advance Western Union's growth strategy."

This announcement is Western Union's latest move to embed its cross-border, cross-currency platform capabilities into leading third-party platforms and marketplaces and follows similar agreements with financial, telecom and tech players worldwide. Western Union's platform; through a single access point offers the choice of multiple sending and receiving channels and funding options while meeting cross-border currency, compliance, and settlement requirements worldwide.