The Western Union Company launched a mobile app in Singapore, connecting customers to their families and loved ones around the world. Singapore is a major hub for money movement in Asia.

Activation of the app in Singapore has given Western Union a digital trifecta in Asia this year, as Singapore now joins Hong Kong and Malaysia in benefiting from Western Union’s digital acceleration of major regional economic centers across the world, the firm said in a media release on Tuesday. Western Union is one of the leaders in cross-border, cross-currency money movements.

Singapore is a major hub for money movement and is the fourth largest remitter in Asia after Hong Kong, Japan and Malaysia– remitting more than $6.1 billion last year, according to a report by IFAD titled RemitSCOPE – Remittance markets and opportunities – Asia and the Pacific. It is propelled largely by its international standing as a popular international labour market for professionals, offering both high and low skill employment opportunities.

Developing Talent

According to the Global Talent Competitiveness Index 20182 rankings by INSEAD, Singapore ranks first in the region and second globally, in attracting and developing talent. In addition, its citizens enjoy familial connections to nearly every country in the world. Last year Western Union moved money into 175 countries from Singapore.

«We are delighted to introduce online money transfers in Singapore. In addition to enjoying seamless digital money movement via the Western Union mobile app, we have also integrated the option for customers to commence their transaction within the app and pay for the transaction in person at retail,» said Molly Shea, Senior Vice President & General Manager, Global Money Transfer, Asia Pacific, Western Union.

Across the Country

According to the Singapore Economic Development Board, Singapore is already well on its way to attaining the benefits of digitization, thanks to the leadership of the Singapore government and the technological maturity of its citizens, which has enabled the nation to readily adopt new strategies for delivering more efficient and effective services.

With the initiation of the Smart Nation programme, Singapore plans to drive adoption of digital and smart technologies across the country.