Western Union and China’s JD Digits Join Forces for Global Digital Money Movement

DENVER & BEIJING–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Western
Union Company (NYSE: WU), a leader in cross-border, cross-currency
money movement, and JD Digits, a leading digital technology company in
China with 400 million individual customers, today entered into a
strategic agreement to join forces to advance digital cross-border money
movement and payments for global consumers and businesses in China.

Western Union and JD Digits are exploring new ways to combine the
convenience of online and mobile financial technology (fintech) services
to allow fast and convenient cross-border remittances and payments. In
the first phase, both companies will focus on moving remittances from
across the world into the mobile wallets and bank accounts of 400
million JD Digits individual customers.

Cross border money transfers between individuals play a significant role
in China. As the world’s second largest receiving country in the world,
China received USD63.8 billion and sent USD2.8 billion last year,
according to World Bank.

Announcing the collaboration at the headquarters of JD Digits in Beijing
today, Khalid Fellahi, Senior Vice President and General Manager Western
Union Digital, said, “It is exciting to be here in Beijing to formalize
the commencement of a powerful relationship to enhance digital money
movement and payments for one of the world’s largest economies.”

“Western Union’s money movement platform has set the standard for
international digital and physical money movement by connecting almost
every country and territory in the world. It allows us to effectively
span consumer money movement and business payments globally while
staying ahead of fintech advancement. It is this unrivalled capability
that is attracting new forms of collaboration, but the finer point is
our ability to uniquely connect the digital and physical worlds of money
in any configuration to suit the ultimate end user,” said Fellahi.

“We are delighted to be teaming up with JD Digits, one of China’s most
innovative digital technology companies to serve tech-savvy Chinese
customers. This agreement ushers in a new era for our more than
23-year-old relationship with China,” said Molly Shea, Senior Vice
President and General Manager Western Union Asia Pacific.

Western Union’s cross-border, cross-currency platform – technology
stack, APIs, foreign exchange and settlement engine, digital footprint,
compliance infrastructure and vast global account, wallet and retail
network – processed an average of 32 transactions every second and moved
$300 billion across 130 currencies in 2017.

More recently the company has attracted new forms of collaboration
including a recent engagement with Amazon which allows international
customers in select countries to pay in person, in local currency, for
their Amazon purchases. Western Union is also powering Kenya based
Safaricom wallet holders to move money from their mobile wallets to the
world.

“JD Digits is accelerating all efforts in developing digital technology
to make people’s lives better. The collaboration with Western Union, a
global leader in money movement, is another great example on how we
transform the way that customers can transfer money or make payments
quickly and easily, ” said Xu Ling, Head of Customers Service Unit, Vice
President of JD Digits.

JD Digits was formerly known as JD Finance until it was comprehensively
brand-upgraded in November 2018. Its operational purpose is to connect
finance and real industry by using digital technology, boosting the
influence of the Internet, enhancing the digital and intelligent
development of industries, fostering the development of the real economy
and creating greater social value. With its cutting-edge technologies
and expertise in data technology, AI, and IoT, JD Digits has been
involved in many fields, from digital finance, digital city, digital
agriculture, digital marketing and digital campus services. In the
future, JD Digits is going to further explore current business patterns
and will enter more real industrial sectors.

WU-G

About Western Union’s Cross-Border Platform

Western Union’s cross-border, cross-currency platform – including a
robust digital footprint, settlement, treasury and compliance
infrastructure, and a vast global network of over half a million
locations, and the ability to send money to billions of consumer
accounts and mobile wallets – sets the standard for international money
movement. With operations in more than 200 countries and territories,
Western Union’s platform processes an average of 32 transactions every
second and moves $300 billion a year across 130 currencies.

Connecting the digital and physical worlds of money, Western Union’s
technology stack, APIs, foreign exchange and settlement engine, agent
network, anti-money laundering and fraud detection capabilities make it
one of the largest digital and physical money movers for consumers
around the globe.

About Western Union

The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a global leader in cross-border,
cross-currency money movement. 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 September 30, 2018, our network included over
550,000 retail agent locations offering Western Union, Vigo or Orlandi
Valuta 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 2017, is available in
more than 50 countries and territories to move money around the world.
In 2017, we moved over $300 billion in principal in nearly 130
currencies and processed 32 transactions every second across all our
services. 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.

About JD Digits

JD Digits was formerly known as JD Finance until it was comprehensively
brand-upgraded in November 2018. Its operational purpose is to connect
finance and real industry by using digital technology, boosting the
influence of the Internet, enhancing the digital and intelligent
development of industries, fostering the development of the real economy
and creating greater social value. With its cutting-edge technologies
and expertise in data technology, AI, and IoT, JD Digits has been
involved in many fields, from digital finance, digital city, digital
agriculture, digital marketing and digital campus services, and
integrated its clients, in terms of the personal-end, corporate-end and
government-end, as one. In the future, JD Digits is going to further
explore current business patterns and will enter into more real
industrial sectors.

Contacts

JD Digits International PR:
Yishan Lu +86 010 8918
5860
luyishan@jd.com

Western Union Global Money Transfer:
Pia De Lima +1
9542605732
pia.delima@wu.com

Western Union Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific:
Ingrid
Sahu, +971 4 437-3656
ingrid.sahu@wu.com