Western Union Expands Retail Footprint With $500 Million Intermex Deal
Western Union is acquiring money transfer service International Money Express (Intermex) for $500 million.
[contact-form-7]The deal is designed to bolster Western Union’s retail business in the U.S. while helping it speed digital customer acquisition, the company said in a Sunday (Aug. 10) news release.
“This acquisition is a disciplined, strategic step that strengthens our North America operations and expands our presence with key consumer segments across the U.S.” said Devin McGranahan, Western Union’s president and CEO.
“Intermex has built a well-recognized brand, as well as strong agent and customer relationships. Together, we will expand our retail footprint, unlock operational efficiencies, and accelerate digital engagement.”
The company says the acquisition will also help it scale in “historically high-growth Latin America geographies,” while also giving Intermex’s 6 million customers access to Western Union’s digital platforms and capabilities.
It also “expands and stabilizes Western Union’s U.S. retail footprint, enhancing resilience and improving customer access across the Americas,” the release added.
The announcement follows a quarter in which Western Union experienced a 4% drop in revenue, in part due to a slowdown in its North America retail business.
McGranahan said at the time that the company would “continue to execute against our Evolve 2025 strategy,” which includes efforts to optimize its retail experiences.
The company said then that it also sees opportunities to use stablecoins for remittances, employing the technology to reduce friction and float in cross-border transfers, offer on-ramps and off-ramps for crypto-fiat conversions, and reduce its reliance on intermediaries.
Meanwhile, research by PYMNTS Intelligence and Galileo Financial Technologies has charted Latin America’s embrace of digital payments, which are rapidly replacing cash.
Last year, digital payments accounted for 48% of eCommerce transaction value and 30% of POS transaction value in Latin America. These figures represent a significant increase from a respective 14% and 2% respectively in 2014. Experts project these shares to increase further to 66% of online purchase value and 49% of in-store transaction value by 2030. At the same time, the share of in-store cash transactions has dropped from 67% in 2014 to 25% in 2024, forecast to decline to just 17% by 2030.
“The acceleration of digital payments across Latin America is more than a trend — it’s a transformation,” said Tory Jackson, head of Business Development and Strategy for Latin America at Galileo. “By combining mobile-first innovation with inclusive financial infrastructure, the region is not only closing access gaps but redefining what modern commerce looks like.”
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