U.S. Bancorp is expected to announce today that it has agreed to offer Western Union Co.'s money transfer services in its 2,791 bank branches.
The multiyear deal marks the end of a five-year relationship between U.S. Bancorp and MoneyGram International Inc., which currently provides money transfer services at all of the Minneapolis banking company's branches.
A U.S. Bancorp spokeswoman wrote in an e-mail Monday, "We will have an exclusive agreement with Western Union when the relationship takes effect in May." She would not elaborate.
MoneyGram did not return a call by press time.
Starting in May, U.S. Bancorp consumers will be able to send money to any Western Union location via a bank branch. Western Union said it is also developing a way for U.S. Bancorp customers to send money on the banking company's Web site. The financial terms and the exact length of the contract were not disclosed.
Stewart Stockdale, an executive vice president and the president of the Americas for Western Union, said in an interview Monday that the deal with U.S. Bancorp is part of an effort to widen the Englewood, Colo., company's business beyond its traditional core of "underbanked" consumers. "By expanding our footprint into banks, it gives us access to a whole new customer base," he said. The deal with U.S. Bancorp will help "broaden that customer base to a much larger, mainstream customer."
