Viber UK Users Can Send Money Thanks To Western Union

Western Union, the global payment services company, announced Wednesday (Dec. 7) it is enhancing its relationship with Viber, the mobile messaging app that counts 745 million unique users around the globe.

In a press release, Western Union said it is enhancing its existing relationship with Viber by enabling Viber users in the U.K. to send money domestically and internationally to more than 200 countries and territories via the Viber app. According to Western Union, it, along with Viber, created a money transfer service that will start and complete within the chat interface of Viber. It not only gives users the ability to transfer money without leaving the app but also contextualizes money transfer within the personal relationships it supports. Earlier this year, both companies announced Viber users in the United States could send money to more than 200 countries and territories worldwide.

“Western Union’s imperative has always been to make the money transfer experience for our customers convenient and fast. This means continuing to invest in technology to provide choice for the customer to send money when and where they would like to do so,” said Western Union Executive Vice President of Global Operations and Technology and CTO David Thompson. “We are pleased to grow our relationship with Viber to help enable its users the ability to conveniently send money via the Viber app to practically anywhere in the world.”

The new ability leverages Western Union’s WU Connect FinTech platform, which enables consumers to send up to £400 when using a credit or debit card to be received in cash at more than 500,000 Western Union Agent locations in more than 200 countries and territories. If transferring to a bank account, consumers can send up to £500. As part of this launch, consumers transferring money from the app to a bank account won’t be charged a transfer fee for a limited time.