MoneyGram Hires Former PayPal Exec W. Alexander Hoffman

W. Alexander Hoffman is the new senior vice president of global product management and emerging channels at MoneyGram International.

Hoffman was previously head of consumer growth for the EMEA region for PayPal. Overall Hoffman has 20 years of experience in the payments, cards, online services and technology industries, MoneyGram says. Hoffman also spent 12 years at McKinsey & Co. in Brussels and Palo Alto, Calif., working with clients in the payments and telecommunications industries.

He will work out of MoneyGram's headquarters in Dallas.

Hoffman joins MoneyGram as the company is striving to be more competitive with Western Union. While the global remittance market is expected to reach $559 billion in 2013, MoneyGram has only a 5% share of that market, while Western Union holds about 15%.

MoneyGram's recent moves include a partnership with FNB to launch mobile money services in Africa and a distribution partnership with Ukash in the U.K.

MoneyGram has also entered alliances with eBay's PayPal and Fiserv's Popmoney.