Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
The Covid-19 pandemic has driven consumers and businesses to digital alternatives for payments, and money transfers are proving to be no exception. MoneyGram International Inc. reported Friday morning transactions online and through its app grew 106% year-over-year and accounted for 27% of all transactions in the June quarter, up from 18% in the first quarter. For the month of June alone, transactions just through the app grew 220% compared to the second month last year.
The Dallas-based remittance company, which has struggled in recent years as consumers began moving towards new digital services, also reported revenue began growing again in June. “This return to growth was driven by the rapid expansion of our digital business as well as the continued improvement of our walk-in business,” said MoneyGram chairman and chief executive Alex Holmes, in a statement.
With digital payments now exceeding a quarter of all transactions, they are now “providing a significant contribution” to profitability, Holmes said, without being more specific. “We’re excited about the underlying momentum in our business driven by our digital transformation,” he said in a statement. “The investments that we have made over the past few years have allowed us to build a fast-growth digital business which not only has higher customer retention and productivity rates, but also surpassed the walk-in business during the quarter, delivering higher margins on average.”
Still, total revenue for the quarter, at $280 million, was down 14% from 2019. Revenue for the first half of the year came to $571 million, an 11% drop. The company cut its net loss for the quarter to $4.6 million, compared to a $27.2 million loss a year ago.
