New Western Union service allows Internet purchases with cash

[September 6th 2000]

Western Union Financial Services Inc.has announced the introduction of its Western Union PayCash service, which allows consumers to pay for Internet purchases with cash at participating Western Union agent locations.

The Western Union PayCash service is a unique payment option for Internet purchases because it requires no credit card, bankcard or bank account. Consumers make their product selections on-line and bring their cash to a Western Union agent location, in many cases a nearby grocery store. Western Union will transmit the funds electronically to the merchant's bank account, meanwhile signalling the merchant that the payment has been made and prompting release of the merchandise. Initially, the service will be available in the U.S., with international capability being added incrementally within 30 days.

"PayCash opens up the convenience of Internet purchasing to a large portion of the population that either doesn't have a credit or debit card or isn't comfortable providing account information on-line," said Alan Silberstein, CEO, Western Union Financial Services, Inc. "We're one of very few companies that has the retail network to provide such a service that can legitimately address consumers' needs on such a broad scale."

How the service works

Western Union PayCash will appear as a payment option on a Web merchant's/auction site's "check out" function. When selected, the Western Union PayCash option will transfer the information entered by the consumer in the order input area -- name address, etc. After the information is submitted, the Western Union PayCash service will assign a transaction number. (The consumer can print the receipt page for reference).

In the U.S., the consumer can visit any participating Western Union agent location within three days, provide the transaction number and pay in cash for the item and the $2.00 transaction fee. The agent accesses the transaction via Western Union's proprietary network and logs the payment electronically, which signals the Web merchant to release the merchandise. Western Union will forward the funds to the merchant electronically. Any additional cash the consumer wants to keep available for future purchases will be loaded on a stored value card that can be used at selected merchants.

Research on Internet payments conducted by Western Union suggests a strong market for its new service. Western Union research results indicated 70 percent of adults without credit cards surveyed said they haven't made Web purchases because they lack a payment method.

Links
PayCash		http://www.westernunionpaycash.com