Walmart, MoneyGram team on global money transfer service

Walmart has partnered with MoneyGram International to launch Walmart2World, a low-cost international money transfer service.

The companies said Tuesday that Walmart2World enables customers to send money from any U.S. Walmart stores to any MoneyGram location in 200 countries. Plans call for the service to launch in all of the retailer’s 4,700 U.S. stores this month.

Walmart noted that, unlike other international money transfer services, fees for Walmart2World are the same regardless of where the sender and the recipient are located. For example, Walmart said, fees would be $4 to send up to $50, $8 to send $51 to $1,000, and $16 to send $1,001 to $2,500.

Walmart2World will deliver funds in 10 minutes or less, whether the recipient directs the money to a MoneyGram agent location, an international bank or a mobile wallet account. That compares with delivery of up to three days with other international wire services, according to Walmart. Walmart2World users also will receive a more competitive foreign exchange rate, the retailer added.

Consumers, too, can use Walmart2World via the Mobile Express Money Services tool in the Walmart app. After a one-time setup, customers initiate their transfer from the app and then, at the store, fast-track through the Mobile Express Lane to complete their transaction. Receipts and transaction details are saved digitally.

The international money transfer offering builds on Walmart2Walmart, a domestic money transfer service that Walmart launched in April 2014 with EuroNet subsidiary Ria Money Transfer. Walmart said that service — touted at the time as slashing domestic money transfer fees by up to 50% — has since saved consumers almost $700 million in fees.

“We think sending money should cost the same regardless of where you send it. That’s why we’ve designed a brand-new global wire service to send money to 200 countries with a consistently low fee,” Walmart Services vice president Kirsty Ward said in a statement. “There are millions of people sending money around the world to help loved ones with everyday needs or in times of emergency. Walmart2World, powered by Moneygram, helps customers get money to family and friends across the world in minutes, and the new low fees mean more of their hard-earned cash goes where it’s needed most.”

Walmart and Dallas-based MoneyGram also announced that they’ve renewed their long-term pact to offer all MoneyGram products and services at Walmart for two more years.   

"We are extremely pleased to once again renew our agreement with Walmart. For nearly two decades, MoneyGram and Walmart have successfully worked together to offer convenient and affordable financial services to our customers," said MoneyGram chief executive officer Alex Holmes. "The launch of this new product, along with the many other innovative initiatives MoneyGram and Walmart have built together, reflects our shared commitment to offer our customers high-quality financial services they can depend on at a great value."