Western Union is expanding its digital-based money transfer business by partnering with social media app Viber, the company announced Thursday.
Viber users will be able to send money through WU Connect, which the Douglas County-based payment transfer company launched last October. The platform allows third-party apps and services to integrate with Western Union’s money-transfer services.
The agreement is the second such partnership recently for Western Union, which in November announced a similar deal with messaging app WeChat.
“While the retail component of the business we obviously do not see going away, it is a strong complement to the digital side of the business,” said Brad Jones, a Western Union spokesman. “Social media messaging is quite frankly opening up a new method for our existing customer base to be able to transact in a different form or fashion. We’re also gaining new customers.”
Viber has more than 600 million registered users.
Alicia Wallace: 303-954-1939, awallace@denverpost.com or @aliciawallace
