Western Union Grows Africa Retail Presence Via Morocco ‘Concept Store’

Western Union is bringing its “concept store” concept to Africa with a new outpost in Morocco.

The money transfer service announced the store — its first on the continent — on Wednesday (June 26), saying it was part of Western Union’s “Evolve 2025” strategy for Africa and Morocco.

“The country and the wider continent play a crucial role in our growth strategy thanks to their dynamic markets and significant remittance flows,” Mohamed Touhami el Ouazzani, Western Union’s regional vice president for Africa, said in a news release.

“Morocco is a major inbound market in Africa, with loved ones receiving international money transfers from all over the world, including the United States, France, Spain, Italy, the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” he added.

The release added that Morocco is a “pivotal” remittance hub, with the country taking in around $12 billion in inflows last year, making it Africa’s third-largest inbound market.

“These funds represent a vital source of income for many Moroccan families and are a critical component in the foundation of the country’s economy,” the company said. “Remittances contribute approximately 8% to Morocco’s GDP.”

To make those transfers easier, the company has introduced the concept store, originating them in Europe, where it now has at least 100 such locations. These stores are spaces “where nothing is left to chance from a service and branding perspective,” Nicholas Mandalas, Western Union’s communication director for Europe, told PYMNTS.

“The customer interacts with agents that know the service well — and, since we serve diaspora communities, they quite often come from these communities,” he said. “So, they can offer better, personalized service to customers that they often know and have served for years, offering a premium experience and more service options.”

Western Union said in April that its earnings were showing continued shifts to digital channels to send money across borders, with the company’s branded digital transactions increasing by 13% year over year.

CEO Devin McGranahan told analysts on a conference call that consumer money transfer transactions’ 6% growth rate marked the third straight quarter with transaction growth of 5% or higher. He also noted increased usage among migrant communities.

“Our research would indicate that many migrants start their remittance journey in a retail setting for a variety of important reasons. Given the likely future ongoing growth and migration around the world, we believe that macro trends support the fact that we can indeed stabilize our retail business while at the same time growing our digital and consumer services businesses,” McGranahan said.