Singh is a proponent for a Central Bank Digital Currency, which he says is significantly different to the digital assets such as BitCoin and Ethereum, which can fluctuate wildly in value over short periods of time. But for all its success, Western Union is undoubtedly a legacy player in a market that has been truly disrupted in recent years, with smaller and more agile outfits making waves in the increasingly digitised payments space. . Sector, Travel and Western Union also is uniquely positioned to explore blockchain applications in emerging markets by leveraging Western Unions retail footprint, regulatory compliance learning, and global brand. W ith the outbreak of a crippling global pandemic and a pronounced global economic slowdown, the last few years have been rather tumultuous for the world. Leaders across many industries and companies of all sizes report that one of their biggest challenges is siloed data. Start Time: 16:30 January 1, 0000 5:32 PM ETThe Western Union Company (NYSE:NYSE:WU)Q3 2022 Earnings Conference CallNovember 01, 2022, 16:30 PM ETCompany ParticipantsDevin McGranahan -. Jaffin: Western Union has a culture of innovating to meet customer needs, and the past 12 months have shown us that quick pivots can drive lasting change. The development speedand deployment easeprovided by OutSystems accelerates change and feedback cycles, which paves the way for continuous innovation. Specifically, how Data, Editors note: This is part of a series of blogs about the data economy. The idea is to orient the company around improving these market-shaper practices, really getting the health of our organization strong, and becoming confident that if we can improve the health of the organization, the financial results will follow. The pandemics economic stressors created a situation where more people suddenly needed to send money to family and friends around the world, many of whom rarely use financial services. Marketing tactics evolved to attract digital customers, who have a different profile from traditional retail customers. Western Union launched its digital banking app in Germany and Romania in Spring 2022, following 11 months of iterative development. Youre expected to come up with new ways of innovation to drive revenue growth across the organization. So well go from maybe four pilot teams to a plan to scale out across 400 people and maybe 30 teams next year. Key takeaways. Western Union has gained a comprehensive view of the customer while running the Data Cloud on AWS. Western Union has had a compound annual growth rate above 25 percent over the past five years, since the launch of the digital division. Having found great success with its Marketing Cloud, Singh outlines his longer-term vision to connect a number of Western Unions central products. [11] Western Unions footprint of retail locations gives it a worldwide laboratory for experimenting with blockchain applications. The term is widely used in public-sector organizations to refer to modest initiatives such as putting services online or legacy modernization. In the past, JSON storage and analysis required specific JSON databases. Technology or Operations transformation . That created a need to act. Kong, New Today customers can commence their journey on our mobile App, pay for their transaction digitally or opt to pay cash from any of our participating Western Union retail locations, use wu.com or go directly to any of the 1,200 agent locations or Western Union-owned locations in Austria[i]. When people from different departments do these floor walks together, theyre realizing that they actually have a lot more in common with each other or notice areas where they can collaborate that they didnt realize before. . These strategies are paying off. Korea, United Cambridge: Cambridge University Press We wont bug you too much because thats more work for all of us. Commenting on the speed comparison of OutSystems compared to previous traditional development, Tom said, "On an earlier project, we had ten people working on a pricing and UX project. Western Union must adapt to an increasingly mobile world: if Western Union doesnt develop low-cost mobile money transfers, Western Union wont be able to compete with new competitors like Ant Financial and Zelle. . Policy . Similarly, Western Union's ethos is based on empowering the aspiring populations of the world with accessible financial tools to improve the lives of their loved ones and communities. Snowflake: What do you see changing now that your organization is better able to share data? People are enthusiastic about the results of the pilot, and they want to see that in their own area. Digital transformation in Western Union must be driven from the top-down. In 2016, Western Union completed 268 million consumer-to-consumer transactions and 523 million business payments world-wide, moving more than $150 billion of principal for consumers and businesses. Technology powers the data economy. Western Union has gained a comprehensive view of the customer while running the Data Cloud on AWS. [4] Form 10-K for the year ended December 2017, p.7. Singh estimates that the project has reduced how much it spends on talking to its customers by a quarter, while markedly improving this critical function. For example, in 2016 Western Union integrated money transfer options with messanging apps WeChat and Viber, allowing users to send small amounts of money through the apps. For more details about how Western Union went from 34 on-prem data warehouses to pursuing a multi-cloud strategy based on Snowflake, read our case study. Its one of the most widely used platforms from a data perspective and were expanding our relationship with Talend to start using some of its data quality products as well. Recently I talked to him about the companys rapid pivot to digital this past year, his biggest learnings, and what the future holds. The pandemic really accelerated the digital transformation journey; the plan was for it to be rolled out in three years but that timeframe became 18 months. Reliable for over 170 years. arrow_forward. We're making content recommendations better for thousands of readers. Its been a great combination. Seven months after Goldfinch Partners and The Baupost Group announced they were purchasing Western . These are more tactical, day-to-day ways to implement lean across the organization. Second, Western Unions employees may not have the knowledge or training to effectively lead Western Unions digital transformation, and may resist digital initiatives or operational changes. . One of the benefits that weve really seen as weve gone through these first two years of our journey is what happens when we get everyone speaking the same language. 2023Western Union Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved. To explore this content and receive communications from Google, please sign in with an existing Google account. How would this improve our agility, the need to deliver great digital experiences at scale, and the desire to use low-code across the whole stackfront-end, integration, and back-end core systems., Western Union became an OutSystems customer in November 2020. This is a powerful tool for our business and one of the key capabilities of our new infrastructure.. Data quality is so important to us, we need to know who we are marketing to and that means our data has to be of the highest quality.. Manufacturing, Communication For example, De Beers is trying to create a diamond blockchain for registration and authentication, to prevent the spread of conflict diamonds. And that could be at an operation site or it could be more of a frontline thing like a sales executive. On March 1, Huawei held a "Digital Leadership Seminar" during Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2023 in Barcelona, Spain, attended by more than 60 high-level customers from global carriers, government enterprises, and KOL. Talends technology was used to bring various sources of data from different locations into a single place in rapid fashion, helping make decisions such as waiving fees for those sending funds to people caught up in the explosion. Everest Group Low-Code Application Development Platforms PEAK Matrix 2022. Customers can send and receive money in a fast, reliable and convenient manner., We are proud to offer the same omnichannel choice in Austria. 8 (Managing the Strategy Development Process). Packaged Goods, Engineering Discover the latest data, insights, and inspiration from Think with Google. We built the Western Union Way team, or the WU Way team as we call it, with ten high-potential individuals from around the company. Western Union International Bank GmbH is regulated by the Financial Markets Authority in Austria, [i] Agent location count valid as of 31 December 2017. Imagine what we can do if you let us work with your team as well.. We caught up with Mazzaferro to dive deeper into how the Data Cloud enables ongoing digital . Our technology platform is founded on a Hadoop big data technology cluster that is used for conversion analysis, risk statistical modeling, payments and risk data processing, Fellahi explains. Second, we increased our use of digital media to reach customers and build a feedback loop. Procurement & Construction, Financial Meridian, Infosys First, Western Unions third party agents may try to thwart any concerted moves to digital platforms, seeing such a move as a threat to existing commission revenues. For more details about how Western Union went from 34 on-prem data warehouses to pursuing a multi-cloud strategy based on Snowflake, read our case study. Western Unions typical customers are migrants seeking a better life not just for themselves, but for their families back home who rely on fund transfers to meet basic needs. People are asking us, Hey, can you come help me? The way we approached it was to use the central WU Way team for capability building. We embrace the white canvas and first principles design, breaking away from legacy systems to create smart . For more than 170 years Western Union has been helping people send money all over the world. Chief Data and Innovation Officer, Western Union, Enterprise-grade scalability and security, Cloud-based IT architecture based on microservices. We position ourselves as creating opportunity for financial inclusion by bridging gaps in the financial services sector. Business Unit Represents Approximately 7% of Company Revenue Divestiture Will Support Western Union's Strategic Focus on its Global Cross-Border Payments Platform and Digital Capabilities The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU), a global leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement and payments, together with Goldfinch Partners, LLC ("Goldfinch"), a private equity firm investing in . If any of these should fit what you're looking for, consider exploring a career with Western Union. . In [] Western Union's stock price continued to climb the week of April 12 reaching $25.89, compared to a low of $21.66 in January. We believe in the work we do, why we do it, and who we hire to get it done. In a report on ERP modernization, the global market intelligence firm highlights how Western Digital . Meanwhile, innovators like Ant Financial(China) and M-Pesa(Kenya) are leveraging high mobile penetration rates in emerging markets, and are beginning to experiment with cross-border money transfers. My team and I had thought of the future being digital, of course, but the pandemic really forced us to make it a reality for the business. Its reach is staggering: present in more than 200 countries and territories, transacting in 130+ currencies, with approximately 150 million people having used Western Union to either send or receive funds over the last year. However, Western Union would be wise to form a new, separate unit for exploring blockchain services. And being with the people that are actually doing the work really helps the management get a better sense of where they can use their leadership and influence to make that process easier for the employee and better for the customer. There were definitely times I was looking at costs and thinking how I was going to explain to finance, or my CFO, he says. [3], Western Union operates in three segments, with most of its revenues (79%) coming from the C2C segment: [4], Western Union became the dominant player in cross-border C2C money transfers through a platform strategyit connected people who wanted to send money across borders. So its a real imperative across the top of the organization. Meeting the moment with solutions required Western Union to accelerate its own digital transformation. Digital transformation starts with people, which is a useful reminder that . The gap between access and use is growing, with 56% of people in . Some development teams suffer 100 percent attrition in two to three years., "OutSystems helps in many ways. They tend to be younger, they live online and they prefer to do everything there, at the touch of a button, Fellahi observes. Team members were drawn from different continents and operating on different time zones. Western Union's digital transformation efforts may fail to drive earnings growth, but they may be enough to keep earnings steady going forward. If CDIOs dont have the right culture on their teams, how can they help drive a data-first culture throughout their organization? Learn about JSON storage. Lean deployments are a big piece of our overall transformation program. [8]. People who knew how a team or a group worked before can come in and see its night-and-day different. But you say its about more than technology? Swanback said a . He also praises Snowflakes adaptability when it came to dealing with huge capacity increases. I also agree with you that the competitive advantage of Western Union is a broad network of retail footprint across the world. Poland followed later in 2022, while plans are at hand to launch Italy by the end of the year. The Western Union Foundation is actively supporting NGOs that help refugees and migrants around the globe through education and financial literacy. Using OutSystems for customer-facing digital experiences, back office, and workflow solutions, Western Union launched new digital banking services in two countries in just 11 months. Many of its 150 million customers worldwide depend on money transfers to pay for food, electricity, medication, and other necessities. Western Union launched its digital banking app in Germany and Romania in Spring 2022, following 11 months of iterative development. HELIX, Management We developed the whole front-end for the app in less than four months., Western Union uses OutSystems for customer-facing apps, back office, and workflow solutions. With my work with WEF, I was lucky enough to sit around a table recently with some important people and talk about how we can take this forward. Solutions enabled - Oracle Revenue Management and Billing, Oracle Business Intelligence, Infosys Transaction Reconciliation System, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Solution and Services, Infosys Oracle Services, part of Infosys Cobalt. Now we are on track to achieve those gains and benefits that come with being more agile and being able to grow at scale, we can really begin to look forward and reap the rewards of the transformation.. Western Union has innovated before. By John Manning, International Banker. Mazzaferro: Technology is a critical part of the equation, of course, but technology can never drive culture change. Top-down prioritization of digital transformation. An advantage of Western Unions omnichannel approach is that it includes all customers, whether they are integrated or not in the financial system: the banked, the underbanked, and the unbanked. Mohua Das Gupta - Head of Marketing, Tata CliQ. So we established a set of what we call market-shaper practices that we wanted to focus on. Western Uniona global leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement and paymentsis driving a company-wide transformation, which includes migrating its infrastructure from on-prem to the Cloud. Companies like Venmo(PayPal) and Zelle(joint venture by several large U.S. banks) have deep pockets, but so far are mostly competing in domestic payment markets. It has become one of the leaders in Extract, Transform, Load (ETL) technology and the majority of the data moving across our ecosystem is now powered by Talend. Western Union. Wingspan, Infosys From the CEO down through his executive team, you see a real commitment to this transformation exercise and a real commitment to finding ways to optimize our processes, to get efficiencies, and to fund those investments that will drive topline revenue growth. According to the terms of the transaction . How Western Union achieved Digital Transformation with Infosys and Oracle. SEED aims to improve education and employability of students from low socio-economic backgrounds, especially children of refugees, migrants, and local families. Western Union is a global leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement and payments. The resulting report, How to Win in the Data Economy, includes anecdotes from dozens of customers, analysts, and influencers about how to succeed, all in addition to the survey itself, based on feedback from 1,000 senior business, technology, and data managers across five industries and from all over the world. As an iconic brand for over 150 years, Western Union is constantly striving to innovate for their customers. s full anLearn more about the data lake, a repository for structured, unstructured, and semi-structured data that provided direct access to raw organizational data. Now data is the driver and applications are being developed to handle that data and represent it to business stakeholders to make it consumable. Here is Swamy Sivasubramaniyan, Head of Financial Services and Settlement Platform for Western Union, discussing the digital transformation experience with Infosys and Oracle. The pandemic really accelerated the digital transformation journey; the plan was for it to be rolled out in three years but that timeframe became 18 months, Singh tells Digital Bulletin. The top challenge for businesses with digital transformation goals in 2023 is determining where their companies should direct spending on technologies, according to a BCG X report. They essentially sponsor a team and loan the resources that are necessary. In the past five years, theres been a leveling across applications and data. Its created a need for financial sector brands to step up and help by democratizing access to their services via mobile phones. An undisputed leader in the global payments space, Western Union is driving a company-wide technology transformation, underpinned by migrating its infrastructure from on-prem to the cloud. ", Tom adds, In fast-moving customer-facing scenarios, development is never build-once-and-doneyoure always iterating to refine the customer experience. Talend is our backbone for that work and have really evolved their product to meet our needs.. InsurTech & Crypto projects as the world embraces CX, Business Transformation and Digital . To address this new competitive landscape, Western Union sought an agility boost to accelerate innovation. Youre expected to find ways to optimize your processes and drive value. The international roll-out continues to other countries at pace. Salesforce has been such an important part of the digital experience journey.. This is just one example of how blockchain could be an opportunity for Western Union. Management, Digital Workplace A doctor in London taps an app on her phone to transfer 500 pounds. As such, when Western Union embarked on its technology transformation, it was keen to recruit personnel who could help achieve its vision. The new generation of customers, especially Millennials, want to find us in the ecosystem of messaging apps.. Cloud services such as cloud data platforms have become cost-efficient, high performance calling cards for any business that leverages big data. Our goal was to build a new Cloud-based IT architecture based on microservicesthat would allow us to integratemany different systems quicklyboth internal and external vendors, explains Tom. And, Fellahi points out, When you look at customer acquisition on our digital channel, 80 percent of the customers we acquired in the past 12 months are new to usnot migrated from our traditional customer base., He expects digital money transfer and mobile technology to be the major driver of overall growth in coming years, adding, In the U.S., over 65 percent of WU.com transactions are initiated on a mobile device, and globally it is nearly 60 percent.. Its not done from the perspective of correction or a negative consequence. Western Union International Bank's CEO Peter Bucher firmly believes you can drive successful, innovative business while creating a better world for the community you live in. Although retail business declined during . DENVER-(BUSINESS WIRE)-The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU), a global leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement and payments, today announced that the Company has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a minority stake in fast growing Saudi Digital Payments Company, or stc pay, a fully owned subsidiary of Saudi Telecom Company. The service, which is set to launch in Madagascar, will see funds from around the world move through payment rails operated by MFS Africa, the continent's largest payment gateway.. MFS Africa's digital payments network connects more than 400 million mobile money wallets, more than 200 million bank accounts across Africa, and more than 200,000 agents in Nigeria, to enable cross-platform and . Harare Responsible for . We scored ourselves as an organization on these market-shaper practices when we started the transformation in 2016. Group, Infosys Revenue Management Platform for Banking, About In this video, Shelly Swanback, president of product and platform at Western Union, discusses the three key . During its February 2018 earnings call, CEO Hikmet Ersek announced that Western Union is experimenting with Ripple for settling transactions and for capital optimization, and is also testing Ripples native currency (XRP).[10]. Contributed to establishing Quality Assurance, Training and Documentation strategy and processes for AML Operations functions. Think of Western Union, and its yellow placard advertising an agent location comes to mind. Infosys accelerated Western Union's digital transformation by harmonizing agent operations, implementing billing and collection standards, enabling modular growth, accelerating new product launches, enabling digital on-demand procedures, designing global accounting solutions based on one single template, supporting highly complex pricing and multiple business models, and massive management processes as a strategic technology partner.
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