Western Union Services to Continue in New York
Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that the Department of Financial Services, in partnership with the New York State Attorney General’s Office, has secured commitments from The Western Union Company (Western Union) to maintain its services for communities throughout New York after acquiring International Money Express, Inc. (Intermex). Following the New York State Department of Financial Service’s (DFS) approval of Western Union’s acquisition of Intermex, Western Union will ensure availability and fair pricing of critical financial services in New York. Western Union must maintain locations throughout the state, continue to offer remittance services, and cap fee increases for three years after it acquires Intermex, ensuring New Yorkers will continue to have reliable access to its services.
“Every New Yorker deserves reliable and affordable access to the financial services they rely on to support their families,” Governor Hochul said. “As Western Union moves forward with this acquisition, my administration is ensuring that critical remittance services will remain available in communities across the state while protecting consumers from unfair fee increases. I thank Attorney General James for her partnership in delivering this important agreement for New Yorkers.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James said, “New Yorkers rely on Western Union to support their families and send money to loved ones across the globe. We are taking action to ensure that this merger does not threaten remittance services that working families need. I thank Governor Hochul and Acting Superintendent Asrow for their work to secure this plan to keep Western Union affordable and available to communities throughout New York.”
New York State Department of Financial Services Acting Superintendent Kaitlin Asrow said, “DFS is focused on protecting the availability of affordable and accessible financial services for all New Yorkers. The commitment secured in partnership with the Attorney General’s Office advances that work by ensuring New Yorkers have the same access to critical remittance services following the acquisition of Intermex.”
Western Union is a multinational financial services company that allows its customers to send money to more than 200 countries and territories through its website and apps, or over the counter at any of its roughly 3,000 licensed agent locations throughout New York. Intermex serves more than 6,000 New York consumers per year, allowing them to send money to more than 60 countries through its online apps and licensed retail locations, including branches in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, Westchester County and on Long Island. Intermex focuses on remittance services to Latin America and the Caribbean. After acquiring Intermex, Western Union will control a significant share of New York customers’ retail remittances to six countries: Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and Peru.
Under agreements with DFS and the Office of the Attorney General (OAG), Western Union is barred from using its acquisition of Intermex to reduce services available to New York consumers who remit money to those six countries for three years. Intermex’s locations will remain open and transition to Western Union branding. Specifically, Western Union must take the following actions:
- Maintain at least the same physical presence in ZIP codes where Intermex locations are operating at the time of acquisition;
- Offer retail remittance services for New York customers to Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Peru at each of those locations; and
- Limit price increases on retail services to only those that keep pace with inflation.
Western Union will also provide reports to DFS for three years that include:
- A list of service terminations at retail locations and reasons for termination;
- All customer communications regarding service availability and pricing; and
- The number and amount of retail and digital remittance services at each location by method and country of destination, as well as the fee schedule for those services.
Western Union must also pay for an independent, DFS-approved auditor to conduct an audit one year after the acquisition to ensure compliance with the conditions of the agreement. As its regulator, DFS will continue to supervise the conduct of Western Union including its compliance with the agreement. The OAG will be able to take enforcement action or extend the terms of the agreement if Western Union is found to have breached its terms.
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