At Western Union, we have long advocated the importance of financial inclusion: bringing people everywhere into the global economy, offering them the ability to send money nearly anywhere, anytime. Real financial inclusion, however, also means offering everyone financial services and products that have historically only been available to the relatively affluent.
I’m proud to announce that, as of today, we have taken an important step toward the fulfillment of that goal as we launch our partnership with a worldwide insurance leader, the AXA Group. Through our collaboration, we are offering affordable life and disability insurance coverage to Western Union customers sending money via www.westernunion.com from France to 10 African countries.
This pilot program, which both AXA and Western Union hope to scale up over time, offers a free one-month EUR1,000 AXA life and disability insurance policy to customers in France sending money to Senegal, Morocco, Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Cameroon, Mali, Benin, Togo, Congo and Guinea via www.westernunion.com. Should a qualifying life or disability event occur during the policy period, the designated family member or loved one in those countries would receive a lump sum payment.
We at Western Union are excited about this: It is an easy way for our customers and their loved ones to enjoy the same kind of protection and peace of mind that many of us take for granted. But it also may serve as a first step into a world of financial products and services that bring them into the global economy and strengthen the financial future for themselves, their families and their communities.
This initiative also highlights the broader potential opportunities of Western Union’s strategy to leverage our unmatched global reach to power an ecosystem providing additional services to the 150 million customers who use our retail and digital platforms. We already have successfully partnered with other global companies to offer money transfer and payments capabilities. This pilot marks another important step toward offering adjacent financial services to our existing customers.
Western Union has always innovated to offer customers what they want—often, even before they realize they want it. AXA is another company committed to innovation as a way to combine business and social goals. Together, we are excited to offer this opportunity to our customers in France and their loved ones in Africa, and look forward to soon bringing these benefits to a wider audience.
