- Key insights: New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani is asking state regulators to reject Western Union's plans to acquire Intermex, claiming it will increase prices for immigrants.
- What's at stake: Western Union aims to improve its agent network in the U.S. and add Intermex's technology globally.
- Forward look: Western Union hopes to close the acquisition this year.
Both liberal and conservative politicians are looking to score points off of payment companies, with New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani pushing against Western Union's expansion plans for immigrant-focused money transfers just a week after President Donald Trump's Department of Justice extracted a
In New York, Mamdani is pressuring the New York State Department of Financial Services to
In a letter to state regulators, the mayor's office says "For many of these New Yorkers, particularly unbanked ones, remittance services provided by Western Union and Intermex are a vital financial tool used to support family and friends living in their countries of origin. Against that backdrop, I have serious concerns that Western Union's proposed acquisition of Intermex will hurt working families and immigrant communities across New York City — all for the purpose of enriching Western Union executives and investors."
Mamdani's office also references the recently passed U.S.
The mayor's office referred questions about Mamdani's letter to the NYDFS. Western Union did not return a request for comment. The company told the NYDFS that the Intermex deal would "ensure accessible and affordable" remittances remain available through an agent network that would operate as an alternative to digital remittance apps.Western Union hopes to close its Intermex acquisition sometime this year. It has not yet passed all federal and state regulatory approvals. Mamdani's letter was sent during a comment period, which ended April 10.
New York's mayor has no authority to reject a merger, but is attempting to influence state regulators.
"Paraphrasing Leon Trotsky, the payments industry may not be interested in politics, but politics is increasingly interested in the payments industry," Eric Grover, a principal at Intrepid Ventures, told American Banker, adding that by framing the merger as a "private tax" on immigrant remittances, Mamdani is playing to his progressive base.
"If it were just Mamdani, that would be one thing, but there is a growing coalition of politicians at both the federal and state levels who are vilifying prominent payment providers, payment providers that provide valuable services that consumers and businesses value, but largely take for granted," Grover said.
There's a sizable volume of payments at stake. For example, $62 billion was sent to Mexico from the U.S. in 2024, according to
By adding Intermex, Western Union hopes to "stabilize" Western Union's U.S. retail footprint and use the 31-year-old Intermex's "decades of operational and cultural expertise" to boost retail growth.
Western Union is also attracted to Intermex's mobile app, which speeds onboarding; and provides technology that Western hopes to deploy globally.
Intermex additionally has a broader base of independent agents in North America, which will enable Western Union to improve its retail services in North America, according to Western Union's executives.
"In recent years Western Union has pursued organic investment and M&A opportunities that broaden its geographic reach or enhance its production offering," analysts at William Blair said in a research note, noting Western Union recently closed on the previously announced acquisitions of Lana in Mexico and Dash in Singapore, which should add to revenue. "Further, digital asset initiatives [at Western Union] continue to progress."
In another research note, Citizens Bank said Western Union is exposed to political risk from its Intermex deal—from the Trump side.
"We previously noted that the acquisition appeared to represent Western Union investing further in a losing remittance channel, U.S.-based retail, as digital offerings continue to capture market share," Citizens analysts said. "We also noted that Intermex is particularly exposed to more aggressive immigration actions given its corridor mix, and with more than two years left under the Trump administration, we do not expect this pressure to alleviate in the near term."
