Western Union Now Accepting Apple Pay in United States

[MacRumors]

American payment services company Western Union announced on Tuesday that it now accepts Apple Pay as a way for customers to make money transfers and bill payments in the United States. iPhone users will be able to make NFC-based payments using their smartphones at Western Union's flagship locations and at kiosks in over 7,600 Walgreens and Duane Reade locations nationwide.

Apple Pay support was launched at Western Union's iconic 1440 Broadway store in New York City and will be rolled out to other agent locations in the near future. The company operates over 65,000 agent locations across the United States, Canada and Mexico, processing over 242 million consumer-to-consumer transactions and moving over $82 billion in principal between customers in 2013.

"Our customers have an expectation of using mobile technology to make money transfer service and product accessibility easier. Western Union is rising to the occasion as we harness our system with modifications to link cash and digital transfers between retail locations, mobile phones, prepaid cards, online and traditional bank accounts and ATMs," said David Thompson, Executive Vice President, Global Operations and Technology and Chief Information Officer.

USA Technologies, a provider of mobile payment technologies for small-ticket, self-serve retailing industries, also announced today that it is rolling out Apple Pay support in the United States. The move makes Apple Pay available at over 200,000 acceptance points that rely on the company's payment solutions, such as coffee shops, vending machines, kiosks, laundry equipment, parking pay stations and other self-serve appliances.

Article Link: Western Union Now Accepting Apple Pay in United States

 

[levitynyc]

Oh good. A service thats used 95% for fraudulent and illegal activities now accepts Apple Pay.

 

[2457282]

Oh good. A service thats used 95% for fraudulent and illegal activities now accepts Apple Pay.

No, there are a lot of imigrants that use this service to send money back to their families in their home country. They pay a steep price to Western Union to do this and most of them probably cannot afford an iPhone or have a bank card to link Apple Pay to.

Still, I am sure there will be a group of iphone users that will want to leverage Apple Pay at Western Union.

 

[4jasontv]

I would think that Apple Pay would help circumvent Western Union.

 

[ptb42]

I submitted this as a tip a couple of days ago, but it didn't get posted. So, I offer it for everyone's amusement:

Missouri lawmaker proposes requiring ID for mobile payments

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) _ A Missouri lawmaker is pushing a measure that would require identification each time a person uses a mobile payment system on their phone or tablet.

Democratic Rep. Joshua Peters of St. Louis says the bill he introduced Wednesday requires customers to show a state driver’s license or other identification when they use a mobile wallet app or other electronic payment system.

He says it will prevent fraud if the mobile device is lost or stolen.

Merchants would have to record the license or identification number or could be responsible for the illegal purchases made if a device is reported stolen.

 

[2457282]

I submitted this as a tip a couple of days ago, but it didn't get posted. So, I offer it for everyone's amusement:

Missouri lawmaker proposes requiring ID for mobile payments

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) _ A Missouri lawmaker is pushing a measure that would require identification each time a person uses a mobile payment system on their phone or tablet.

Democratic Rep. Joshua Peters of St. Louis says the bill he introduced Wednesday requires customers to show a state driver’s license or other identification when they use a mobile wallet app or other electronic payment system.

He says it will prevent fraud if the mobile device is lost or stolen.

Merchants would have to record the license or identification number or could be responsible for the illegal purchases made if a device is reported stolen.

That is so riduculous as to make this funny. Either Google or CurrentC is behind this. LOL

 

[wolfaaron]

That is so riduculous as to make this funny. Either Google or CurrentC is behind this. LOL

I don't see why Google would be behind it if they were there before Apple pay. It's in their best interest for NFC to be accepted since their Google Wallet relies on it as much as Apple Pay.

 

[gnasher729]

Oh good. A service thats used 95% for fraudulent and illegal activities now accepts Apple Pay.

That's quite ignorant. If you want to send money to someone in a foreign country, Western Union is a service that makes one hundred percent sure that the money will arrive where it should arrive. It's like handing over cash in person.

Obviously like handing over cash in person, if the receiver is a crook then you'll find it hard to get your money back. That's not Western Union's fault. Don't hand over cash to strangers.

(I once noticed a random seller on eBay who put in bold letters that he wouldn't accept payment through Western Union. How clueless).

 

[ptb42]

That is so riduculous as to make this funny. Either Google or CurrentC is behind this. LOL

That's why I posted it "for your amusement".

But, this would affect CurrentC and Google, as well.

Perhaps a local bank left out in the cold (because they don't support Apple Pay) is behind this. But, it's more likely to just be a clueless legislator.

 

[2457282]

I don't see why Google would be behind it if they were there before Apple pay. It's in their best interest for NFC to be accepted since their Google Wallet relies on it as much as Apple Pay.

That's why I posted it "for your amusement".

But, this would affect CurrentC and Google, as well.

Perhaps a local bank left out in the cold (because they don't support Apple Pay) is behind this. But, it's more likely to just be a clueless legislator.

For both Google and CurrentC the use of their solution requires multiple steps. For Apple there are no steps so it is significantly more convinient. To pull out an ID removes all advantage between the solutions in terms of convinience at least IMO. Technically there are other reasons why I think that Apple is still better,but to most folks its all about convinience.

 

[kdarling]

I would think that Apple Pay would help circumvent Western Union.

Unlike Paypal and Google Wallet, Apple Pay does not support money transfers.

However, I'd bet that for most Western Union transactions, the recipient simply wants cash, not a transfer. They might not have (or not want to reveal) any personal or account info.

 

[Jeff Meredith]

Bill Pay, Transfers to Children, InterCountry Transfers

This is a big win for Apple Pay. There are lots of people who pay bills and transfer money through Western Union. And lots of people who are financially connected to families through Western Union.

Just because you might not use a merchant doesn't mean that merchant is not important. I don't buy makeup but that doesn't mean makeup is not a big business.

One of the nice things about Google Wallet is the ability to transfer money. This makes that capability a little bit easier for Apple Pay users.

 

[kghoops]

That's quite ignorant. If you want to send money to someone in a foreign country, Western Union is a service that makes one hundred percent sure that the money will arrive where it should arrive. It's like handing over cash in person.

Obviously like handing over cash in person, if the receiver is a crook then you'll find it hard to get your money back. That's not Western Union's fault. Don't hand over cash to strangers.

(I once noticed a random seller on eBay who put in bold letters that he wouldn't accept payment through Western Union. How clueless).

Not actually. I've worked where one of these machines have been used. You're not understanding what he means by "fraudulent and illegal activities". It's not unknowingly handing money over to a crook, it's a crook knowingly handing money over to another crook.

 

[levitynyc]

Not actually. I've worked where one of these machines have been used. You're not understanding what he means by "fraudulent and illegal activities". It's not unknowingly handing money over to a crook, it's a crook knowingly handing money over to another crook.

Bingo.