Western Union (NYSE:WU) and Beforepay (ASX: B4P) announced a first-of-its-kind collaboration, allowing consumers “to boost their cross-border money transfers by accessing reliable, ethical and affordable short-term lending.”
Consumers can ‘Send Now, Pay Later’ by “borrowing up to AUD 2000 through Beforepay’s wage-advance product on Western Union’s digital channels.”
Exclusive insights from Western Union research show “that as many as 44% of Australia’s consumers would like to have the choice to ‘Send Now, Pay Later’ when transferring money around the world.”
This announcement means “that consumers will be able to do just that. By accessing Beforepay’s wage-advance product through Western Union’s mobile app and website, customers will be able to increase how much they transfer.”
Registration to access the additional funds can be “completed within minutes and once issued, can be repaid in multiple installments.” International money transfers through Western Union can be “sent to over 200 countries and territories.”
Gregory Laurent, Regional Vice President of Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands at Western Union, said:
“We are committed to supporting our customers and their communities by offering financial services that are accessible, ethical, and reliable. Western Union’s mission is to make financial services accessible to people everywhere. Our collaboration with Beforepay is another step towards achieving this mission – giving customers the opportunity to access additional funds as they send money to families and communities. We are excited about the positive impact it can have for consumers, as they proactively look for convenient options to meet their financial needs.”
This announcement “reinforces Western Union’s ‘Evolve 2025’ strategy to combine high-value, accessible retail and digital financial services.”
Beforepay’s wage-advance product is “designed to give customers the opportunity to meet temporary cash-flow challenges.”
The average advance Beforepay offers to customers “is approximately AUD$400.” The full amount is “repaid within an average of three to four weeks.”
Beforepay CEO Jamie Twiss said:
“We’re excited to collaborate with Western Union to support their customers with access to safe, affordable short-term lending. Beforepay and Western Union share a vision of providing inclusive financial services to aspiring consumers around the world.”
As noted in the update, the Western Union Company is “committed to helping people around the world who aspire to build financial futures for themselves, their loved ones and their communities.”
Their cross-border, cross-currency money movement, payments and digital financial services empower consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments—”across more than 200 countries and territories and approximately 130 currencies—to connect with billions of bank accounts, millions of digital wallets and cards, and a global footprint of hundreds of thousands of retail locations.”
Their goal is “to offer accessible financial services that help people and communities prosper.”
As mentioned in the announcement, Beforepay “an Australian fintech providing ethical-lending products to consumers.”
Beforepay’s wage-advance product “enables its more than 750,000 registered users to borrow small amounts of money for short periods of time in a safe, affordable manner.”
The company’s flagship product “charges a fixed fee of 5%, with no interest, late fees, penalty fees, or other costs of any kind.”