Western Union Closes Money Transfers on WhatsApp, and the Channel Becomes One of Its Most Used

What happened

Western Union has turned WhatsApp into a channel for remittances and international money transfers. The feature debuted in Brazil this year: customers chat with an agent, arrange the transfer and complete the transaction by paying via Pix.

The results are striking. WhatsApp has become the company's fifth-largest channel by number of transactions, showing that even financial services, which are usually more bureaucratic, can work well inside a messaging app.

What this means for your business

The case reinforces a valuable lesson for small businesses: Brazilian customers like to handle everything through conversation, from first contact to payment.

Ideas to put into practice:

• Close the sale in the chat: instead of sending customers somewhere else, settle the order, price and delivery right in the conversation.
• Make Pix work for you: send your Pix key or a QR Code right after confirming the order to reduce drop-offs.
• Organize your customer service: with WhatsApp Business, use quick replies, labels and a catalog to speed up responses.
• Measure the channel: track how many sales come from WhatsApp to understand its weight in your revenue.

If a sensitive operation like an international remittance works through messaging, selling your business's products and services can also benefit from well-structured customer service.

Original news: canaltech.com.br.