Western Union Continues to Connect Communities and Economies at a Critical Time
June 25 2020 - 8:00AM
Business Wire
Company releases second annual ESG report
and highlights response to recent global crises
Western Union (NYSE: WU), a global leader in cross-border,
cross-currency money movement and payments, today released its
second annual Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report,
which spotlights the Company’s 2019 ESG progress. The report also
highlights Western Union’s response and ongoing initiatives
surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and social justice movements
across the globe in early 2020.
“Today, against the backdrop of COVID-19 and global protests
against social injustice, business’s role in building a more united
future has never seemed more relevant – or more urgent. Serving our
stakeholders in today’s world takes determination and innovation.
It demands that we build unity through ingenuity to create new,
lasting solutions for people, businesses, and societies,” said
Hikmet Ersek, President and CEO, Western Union. “This report
provides an update on Western Union’s ESG efforts, and how we are
addressing some of the most pressing global issues facing society,
our shared environment, and our Company.”
The report highlights six key areas where Western Union is
making an impact globally:
Connecting people and businesses to the global economy:
Our services connect people and businesses pursuing global
opportunities – for example, individuals looking to better the
lives of their families, and businesses looking for new partners,
customers, and markets. The transactions we process build bridges
across economies, geographies, and cultures.
- In response to COVID-19, Western Union doubled down on its
commitment to serve customers with a range of new offerings and
resources including piloting home delivery of money transfers,
introducing “digital location” concierge services to offer
personalized phone or video support to help customers make digital
money transfers, expanding westernunion.com to five additional
countries bringing the total to more than 75, and expanding
real-time account and wallet payout to 50 countries.
Fostering an engaging and inclusive workplace: Western
Union works to build and support a workforce that reflects the
global diversity of the 150 million customers we serve in more than
200 countries and territories around the world. It starts at the
most senior levels of our business and manifests itself throughout
our Board of Directors and our global workforce. We are actively
engaging in open and honest dialogue with our employees and we are
committed to playing a role in the fight for positive change
globally. 2019 highlights include:
- Reaching gender parity with our customers and employees:
approximately half of our customers and half of our global
workforce are women.
- Our executive team in 2019 was comprised of 40% women and
includes leaders born in 10 different countries who have
wide-ranging global leadership experience.
Moving money with integrity: We are committed to using
the right combination of people and technology to protect our
customers and partners, keep illicit activity out of our network,
and ensure we conduct our business with integrity.
- In 2019, we prevented $1.1 billion in fraudulent transactions.
Overall industry data suggests a growing rate of fraudulent
activity. Western Union’s fraud levels, however, are trending
downward.
- Our Financial Intelligence Unit continues to partner with law
enforcement and nonprofit entities to better target and disrupt
human trafficking financial flows. This team has conducted
approximately 1,800 human trafficking investigations since 2013,
resulting in hundreds of arrests and the rescue of hundreds of
victims.
Governing and managing for success: Western Union’s
governance structures and practices provide oversight and guidance
around critical issues, including ethics, board diversity,
executive compensation, fair competition, data privacy, and
cybersecurity, and board diversity. 2019 highlights include:
- Our Board is comprised of a wide range of nationalities from
around the world.
- Three of our 11 Board members were women.
Safeguarding our shared environment: We are committed to
acting responsibly to respect the environment and minimize our
footprint.
- 25% of building materials, by value, are made of recycled
materials at our global headquarters.
- We have equipped our major offices with state-of-the-art video
conferencing technology, which reduced the need for air travel
between locations, even prior to COVID-19.
Catalyzing change through the Western Union Foundation:
The Western Union Foundation works to provide vulnerable youth with
the skills needed to succeed in today’s global digital economy, and
to support people across the globe through humanitarian relief.
- In 2019, the Western Union Foundation launched Opportunity
Beyond Borders, a three-year and $15-million commitment to provide
vulnerable youth with the skills and training needed to succeed in
today’s global digital economy.
- As the impact of COVID-19 spread across the globe, Western
Union and the Western Union Foundation announced a global matching
challenge, with a total commitment of $1.3 million in customer,
corporate, employee, and agent donations towards the global fight
against the virus.
The Western Union 2019 ESG Report is available at:
http://ir.westernunion.com/investor-relations/ESG/default.aspx. It
is prepared in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative
(GRI) standards, and also includes responses to select relevant
metrics from the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB)
Standards.
WU-G
About Western Union
The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a global leader in
cross-border, cross-currency money movement and payments. Our
omnichannel platform connects the digital and physical worlds and
makes it possible for consumers and businesses to send and receive
money and make payments with speed, ease, and reliability. As of
March 31, 2020, our network included over 550,000 retail agent
locations offering our branded services in more than 200 countries
and territories, with the capability to send money to billions of
accounts. Additionally, westernunion.com, our fastest growing
channel in 2019, is available in over 75 countries, plus additional
territories, to move money around the world. With our global reach,
Western Union moves money for better, connecting family, friends,
and businesses to enable financial inclusion and support economic
growth. For more information, visit www.westernunion.com.
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Western Union Contacts
Investor Relations: Brendan Metrano;
Brendan.metrano@wu.com +1(720) 332-8089
Media Relations: Western Union Global
Communications Rachel Rogala; Rachel.Rogala@wu.com + 1 (303)
808-2674
Pia De Lima; Pia.DeLima@wu.com +1 (954) 260-5732
Western Union Americas Margaret Fogarty;
Margaret.Fogarty@wu.com
Western Union Middle East & Africa Mohamed El
Khalouki; Mohamed.ElKhalouki@wu.com
Western Union Asia-Pacific Karen Santos;
Karen.Santos2@wu.com
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