Western Union taps i-PCV for money transfer service

MANILA, Philippines - Western Union has signed i-Pay Commerce Ventures, Inc. (i-PCV), a back-end electronics payments provider for store and on-line businesses, as its newest agent to offer Western Union Money TransferSM services.

The agreement with i-PCV, a subsidiary of publicly listed information technology conglomerate IPVG Corp., cements Western Union’s foray into a new class of trade – electronic commerce – which gives the company access to i-PCV’s multitude of merchant partners from health and beauty, pharmacies, gasoline stores and internet cafes.

i-PCV will activate up to 200 of its merchant partner locations to offer Western Union’s international and domestic money transfer services by year-end 2010, another 300 by year-end 2011, and another 500 by year-end 2012. Besides the expansion of retail store types, the agreement also strengthens Western Union’s network presence in greater Metro-Manila beyond Metro-Manila mirroring i-PCV merchant’s nationwide presence

“Signing up many classes of trade to offer Western Union Money Transfer services is in keeping with our network expansion strategy. This enables us to uphold our commitment to providing more choice and convenience to consumers in the Philippines, matching their lifestyles and schedule,” said Patricia Riingen, senior vice president, Pacific & Indochina, The Western Union Co.

“The agreement with i-PCV is significant as it expands our current classes of trade to include a new and emerging class of trade such as e-commerce which services a variety of ‘every-day’ type retail stores.”

“Signing up as a direct agent with Western Union provides us with a new stream of business and revenue covering the vital area of international and domestic remittances,” said Enrique Y. Gonzalez, chief executive officer of IPVG.

“Our plans to continually expand our retail base of SME’s in the country uniquely positions i-PCV to become a leading remittance provider of globally reputable Western Union Money Transfer services,” says Alejandro James Chiongbian, president of IPCV.