Western Union closes Custom House acquisition, taps into B2B payments space
September 2 - The Western Union Company has completed the purchase of international B2B payments provider Custom House for USD 370 million in cash, according to Forbes.com.
As a result of the acquisition, Western Union will add account-to-account capabilities to its portfolio and enter the cross-border business-to-business market.
Custom House "enables small and medium-sized businesses to operate on a global scale, simplifying international payment transactions and managing the risks associated with foreign exchange", according to a Western Union Company representative. According to the company's estimates, the SME cross-border payments market revenues can at least equal those generated by the consumer-to-consumer money transfer market.
