- The coronavirus pandemic has led Western Union to announce cash delivery services within the area around the country’s capital, Kathmandu
- This new service will only operate for six hours a day, but will be available every day
- “We understand the situation is tough and are happy to provide customers with alternative solutions during this difficult time”, said a spokesperson for WU’s partner firm
The major international money transfer firm Western Union has announced a home delivery service for cash transfers in a major region of Nepal.
The firm, which operates in many countries across the globe, said that customers would be able to request that the firm either picks up outward remittances or drops off inward ones between 10am and 4pm.
The service will operate each day. It will only operate in the Kathmandu Valley region, which focuses on the area around the capital city.
There will be an identification verification process in place in order to ensure the safety of the transaction.
The firm said that it would partner with Annapurna Travels & Tours and Hulas Remittance to deliver the service.
Customers looking to receive cash will be able to call either of these firms in order to get the delivery started.
Senior figures at some of the firms involved gave more details about the thinking behind the move.
According to Jean Claude Farah – who is the president of the Global Network at Western Union – the move will help deliver “essential financial services”.
“The launch of this new agent service – delivering money to customers home will help the public access cash, thereby providing essential financial services to a broad range of customers, including those who do not hold bank accounts”, he said.
For Hulas Remittance, director Hemant Golchha said that “alternative solutions” like this one are needed due to the circumstances.
“We understand the situation is tough and are happy to provide customers with alternative solutions during this difficult time”, he said.
“Our new money transfer doorstep delivery service will ensure that the public has access to cash, thereby providing essential financial services to a broad range of customers, including those who do not hold bank accounts”, Golchha added.
The coronavirus pandemic continues to claim lives and spread around the world at an alarming rate.
While there are some encouraging signs that the virus could be coming under control, social distancing measures are likely to remain in place for some time.
Services such as online money transfer, however, can’t be closed down because so many consumers rely on them for essential purchases.
This new service from Western Union is a welcome sign that big brands in the industry are taking the lockdown measures seriously – and are willing to make changes to their business models in order to ensure people have access to the cash they need.
To discover more about the approach to the coronavirus pandemic being taken by leading cross border payments firms across the globe, just visit our magazine pages.
