Arminfo
2007-02-24 13:31:00
Western Union money transfer system may reconsider rate policy on
Russia-Armenia, USA-Armenia, Greece-Armenia corridors
The Western Union international money transfer system may reconsider
the rate policy on the Russia-Armenia, USA-Armenia, Greece-Armenia
corridors, Mikhail Babirenko, the Western Union business manager for
Armenia, Georgia and Ukraine, told an ArmInfo correspondent at the
ceremony of opening the first specialized branch in the region jointly
with the Araratbank.
According to him, the Western Union is currently reconsidering the
rate policy in various directions including Armenia. The company is
considering a possible change of prices and trying to introduce new
products. At the moment, the "Next day" (i.e. receiving money the next
day) cheaper product has been introduced in the USA and Great
Britain. It is a kind of experiment, M.Babirenko noted explaining that
the Western Union, which has always been famous for quick money
transfers (15-20 minutes), wonders how interesting it will be to
clients. M.Babirenko emphasized that the company focuses on
specialized branches where people pay and count on a quick transfer.
He added that the Western Union doesn’t try to compete only in price
or run after the competitors’ rates. The company tries to find an
optimal price for consumers and not to run after the price
competition.
M.Babirenko pointed out that markets react to new products in the
region in different ways. The Western Union company regularly holds
market research, communicates with partner banks and partner agents in
different countries. Pointing out the spread of salary projects in
Armenia, Georgia and Ukraine, he said that at the moment, co-branding
card products are being considered. However, this production is not
always possible for countries in technological respect. Still,
everything depends on the market’s readiness for card products, he
noted.
To note, the Western Union is the leading company in the world market
of money transfers. The company has representative offices in over
200 countries and about 30 thsd branches. The company has been
operating for over 10 years and has over 200 points of service in
Armenia. According to the CBA’s data, the total volume of transfers to
Armenia is 1.5 bln USD, the annual growth being 20%. And the total
volume of transfers under the Western Union in 2006 totalled 45.2 bln
AMD, 41.2 bln of them were transferred to Armenia.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
