MoneyGram International Inc. reported its digital business generated $57.4 million in the fourth quarter, up 79% year-over-year. Real-time transfers via Visa Direct transactions grew 650%. Meanwhile, Rising Bank, a division of Midwest BankCentre, has added Zelle, a person-to-person payments service, to its product roster.
Dallas-based MoneyGram said MoneyGram Online, its direct-to-consumer digital channel, chalked up 100% year-over-year transaction growth and 103% revenue growth. MoneyGram did not provide absolute numbers.
Its digital channel excelled, MoneyGram says. Cross-border online transactions and revenue increased 143% each in the 2020 fourth quarter. MoneyGram Online was its largest generator of money-transfer transactions. Within the United States, MoneyGram Online surpassed Walmart as the largest generator of money-transfer transactions in the quarter.
Financially, MoneyGram said it had $7.3 million in net income in the quarter, reversing an $11.9 million loss in 2019. For all of 2020, it narrowed its loss from $60.3 million in 2019 to $7.9 million.
In related news, St. Louis-based Rising Bank said Zelle is now part of its digital platform. Zelle is owned by Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Early Warning Services LLC. Zelle said it processed 1.2 billion transactions in 2020.