Western Union and Beforepay Combine Lending and Remittances in Australia

Western Union and Beforepay have combined lending and remittances in a “send now, pay later” service.

This new offering brings together Western Union’s cross-border, cross-currency money movement service and Beforepay’s wage-advance product so that consumers in Australia can boost their remittances, the companies said in a Friday (Feb. 24) press release.

“Western Union’s mission is to make financial services accessible to people everywhere,” Gregory Laurent, regional vice president of Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands at Western Union, said in the release. “Our collaboration with Beforepay is another step towards achieving this mission — giving customers the opportunity to access additional funds as they send money to families and communities.”

Western Union expects remittance volumes to remain resilient this year and continue growing in line with a macro backdrop that the company expects to be similar to last year’s, company executives said Feb. 7 during its quarterly earnings call.

“Remittance volume tends to track global [gross domestic product (GDP)] growth,” Western Union President and CEO Devin McGranahan said during the call, adding that global money flows would likely grow around 2% in 2023, per economic projections from the World Bank.

In order to capture this growth, Western Union is working to revitalize its core digital remittance services as well as build out a seamless, omnichannel digital experience for its global customer base, executives said during the call.

With the new “send now, pay later” service, Australian consumers can access Beforepay’s product through Western Union’s mobile app and website, according to the press release.

Consumers can borrow up to 2,000 Australian dollars (about $1,346) to add to their international money transfers, send it to any of more than 200 countries and territories and then re-pay the amount in multiple installments, the release said.

Beforepay said the average advance is 400 Australian dollars (about $269) and it’s generally repaid in three or four weeks, per the release.

“We’re excited to collaborate with Western Union to support their customers with access to safe, affordable short-term lending,” Beforepay CEO Jamie Twiss said in the release. “Beforepay and Western Union share a vision of providing inclusive financial services to aspiring consumers around the world.”