Western Union to stop money transfers within Russia from April 1

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Western Union Co will stop internal money transfers within Russia from April 1, the world’s largest money transfer firm said on Monday, focusing instead on cross-border business at times of increased competition on the Russian market.

Western Union has been present in Russia for more than 30 years but the development of Russia’s inter-bank payments, which offer the option of free-of-charge and instant transactions, has made the need for the money transfer service less acute.

“From April 1, 2022, Western Union terminates internal money transfers in Russia,” the company said in an emailed response to Reuters.

“The company is focusing on developing the traditionally sought services of international money transfers,” it said.

Russia’s RBC daily first reported the change, citing a Western Union letter to banks that said the company was ceasing the operations due to low demand for internal Russian money transfers.

The decision comes amid the rising popularity of inter-bank transfers using a mobile phone number in Russia.

Last week, Russia’s largest lender Sberbank said it had launched money transfers to Alipay wallets in China using phone numbers, offering cross-border transfers to more than 30 countries. Other Russian banks, such as online-only Tinkoff also offer similar services.

(Reporting by Elena Fabrichnaya; Writing by Andrey Ostroukh; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel)