Western Union sees exciting opportunities in Lanka
While Sri Lankan expatriates annually remit around Rs. 2.8 billion
back to the country an equal amount is being channelled to the country
though informal methods, Country Director, Western Union, Southern and
Eastern, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Maldives, Ratheesh Kumar said.
|
Ratheesh Kumar |
He said that one of the main reasons for this is that rural banking
network is not widespread and they are not educated as to how money
should be sent through banking channels. “This is where we see an
opportunity to grow in Sri Lanka and makes doing business in Sri Lanka
more exciting,” he said.
Kumar said the company based in the USA is over 150 years old and
they are based in more than 200 countries and have 320,000 Agent
locations.
“This makes Western Union a strong player and a company with a longer
reach,” he said.
Western Union services in Sri Lanka are offered through 1,500 outlets
through banks and financial institutions.
He said globally they are in the process of educating expatriate
workers on the advantages of seeing money through official channels.
He said that foreign remittance is key to developing countries as the
money goes to the grass root.
The global money transfer market is a US$ 200 billion business and
Western Union has 17 per cent market share.
He said both Korea and Canada are emerging markets for Sri Lanka.
(SS) |
