Walgreens Adds Western Union Money-Transfer Services to More Than 7,650 Stores

Finding a kiosk to make money transfers via Western Union Co. has become easier if there is a Walgreens or Duane Reade store nearby. Western Union and Walgreens announced this week a deal that makes Western Union money transfers available at the existing photo kiosks inside more than 7,650 Walgreens and Duane Reade stores (Duane Reade is owned by Walgreen Co.).

Consumers will use the same kiosks they use to order prints of photos to send money to other individuals.

It works like this. At the kiosk, the consumer selects “Financial Transactions” on the services menu, and enters their information. New users register an account at this time. Existing users only need to sign in to make transactions. The system retains the sender’s and recipient’s information for access at any Walgreens location.

Once the transaction is readied, a step Western Union calls staging, the sender completes the transaction at the checkout lane. The cashier verifies the sender’s identification, and receives the payment—in cash or from a PIN-based debit card—from the sender. Recipients pick up their money at the checkout lane, too, says Carter Hunt, senior vice president and general manager for the United States at Western Union. The recipient retrieves the transaction record at a kiosk using a phone number or tracking number, and takes that information to the cashier for pay out.

“Transactions are finalized within minutes and can be completed on the same visit or, if it is more convenient, at another time on the same day,” Hunt says. The service is available in the stores from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. “The kiosks make money transfer a self-service transaction.” Fees are disclosed on the kiosk screen, and vary based on the amount sent.

The Walgreens deal puts Western Union’s U.S. agent count at more than 50,000 locations. Participating Walgreens locations are listed in Western Union’s mobile app’s agent locator function.

Western Union plans to take this “stage-and-pay” model to other distribution channels, Hunt says, including customer-service hotlines and smart-phone applications, but provided no further details on this. Bill pay will be available in early 2015.

The money-transfer service is another component of Walgreens’ Balance Financial suite of products the Deerfield, Ill.-based company announced last year. Other services include a MasterCard-branded prepaid card, bill payment, and check cashing.