Topic: Western Union considering using Bitcoin - page 4. (Read 7083 times)
this is exciting news!
Press press press! Ya think it's about time for people to start trading on news again? 
Colbert bump + Western Union/Moneygram bump + MetART bump + OKCupid bump = go bitcoin!!!
Colbert bump + Western Union/Moneygram bump + MetART bump + OKCupid bump = go bitcoin!!!
God, It's SO hard trying not to get excited !!!
Can you please cut and paste the article.
Press press press! Ya think it's about time for people to start trading on news again?
Colbert bump + Western Union/Moneygram bump + MetART bump + OKCupid bump = go bitcoin!!!
Colbert bump + Western Union/Moneygram bump + MetART bump + OKCupid bump = go bitcoin!!!
Quote
Western Union Co. and MoneyGram International Inc. are studying ways their customers could use their services to send and receive money transfers denominated in bitcoins, the companies' executives say.
Quote
"If Bitcoin continues to grow and the value is defined more internationally, we may find an opportunity for Bitcoin to be used to pay for commerce transactions through a Western Union business solution," said David Thompson, an executive vice president and chief information officer of Western Union.
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"We've been contacted by folks who are doing various things in this space to see if there's opportunities for us to help enable greater functionality for some of these [Bitcoin companies]," said Peter Ohser, MoneyGram's senior vice president of U.S. and Canada. "But we've not committed and don't have any imminent plans to announce anything."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324493704578431000719258048.html
Full article:
Quote
The fervor over the digital currency Bitcoin has drawn interest from two of the world's largest movers of money.
Western Union Co. and MoneyGram International Inc. are studying ways their customers could use their services to send and receive money transfers denominated in bitcoins, the companies' executives say.
Both companies run remittance networks commonly used by immigrants to send money to friends and family members in foreign countries. Western Union also operates a business-solutions unit that helps companies send payments to other businesses.
The firms have no immediate plans to add Bitcoin to the more-than-100 currencies in which each company processes transactions. But both say the increasing popularity of the virtual money has prompted them to consider whether they should make it available in the future.
"If Bitcoin continues to grow and the value is defined more internationally, we may find an opportunity for Bitcoin to be used to pay for commerce transactions through a Western Union business solution," said David Thompson, an executive vice president and chief information officer of Western Union.
The Englewood, Colo.-based company is primarily exploring ways its commercial customers may want to use bitcoins, Mr. Thompson said.
Bitcoin is the name for the peer-to-peer payments system that allows people to pay each other from virtual accounts accessed online and on mobile devices, as well as being the term used for units of the digital currency itself. Launched in 2009 by a developer whose identity remains undisclosed, the digital money isn't backed by any central governing body, such as the Federal Reserve, and allows users to remain mostly anonymous—save for their "Bitcoin address"—in transactions.
Buzz around Bitcoin has grown in recent weeks because of wild swings in the currency's value, driven by economic turmoil in the euro zone, outages at the largest Bitcoin trading exchange and U.S. Treasury Department guidance stating money-transmitter rules that apply to the likes of Western Union and MoneyGram also apply to exchanges and sellers dealing with the digital currency.
"We've been contacted by folks who are doing various things in this space to see if there's opportunities for us to help enable greater functionality for some of these [Bitcoin companies]," said Peter Ohser, MoneyGram's senior vice president of U.S. and Canada. "But we've not committed and don't have any imminent plans to announce anything."
While MoneyGram currently has no direct relationships with Bitcoin companies, its money-transfer agents can already help people complete the purchase of bitcoins if they have made arrangements in advance with a payment-processing company called BitInstant LLC.
BitInstant has a deal with a company called ZipZap Inc., which in turn has a relationship with MoneyGram to allow consumers to pay bills and purchase goods from online merchants with cash. That means a BitInstant customer can place an order for bitcoins on its website and then complete the transaction at a participating MoneyGram location with cash, the same way they would pay a bill.
The bitcoins purchased through such transactions can't be used to make a MoneyGram money transfer; rather, they are added to a person's BitInstant account, allowing the person to move the bitcoins to trading exchanges and other companies that accept the virtual currency.
Because a large portion of Western Union's and MoneyGram's customers initiate or receive remittances in cash, new digital payments services are often viewed as threats to their business. But in its current state, Bitcoin doesn't pose much of a threat, executives and analysts say, noting that the currency isn't widely accepted as payment and its value is extremely volatile, limiting its appeal.
So far in April, the value of one Bitcoin unit has ranged from $50.01 to $266, according to bitcoincharts.com. The Bitcoin market is valued at $1.03 billion, according to the site.
MoneyGram's Mr. Ohser noted that bitcoins are of limited use to many of the company's customers. About 95% of consumer money transfers done through its agents involve senders and receivers using cash.
"Remittances go to pay for housing and for food and for maintaining your family," he said. "If you're sending to a rural part of Mexico, my guess is that the merchant is not going to be accepting bitcoins. They want pesos."
Western Union Co. and MoneyGram International Inc. are studying ways their customers could use their services to send and receive money transfers denominated in bitcoins, the companies' executives say.
Both companies run remittance networks commonly used by immigrants to send money to friends and family members in foreign countries. Western Union also operates a business-solutions unit that helps companies send payments to other businesses.
The firms have no immediate plans to add Bitcoin to the more-than-100 currencies in which each company processes transactions. But both say the increasing popularity of the virtual money has prompted them to consider whether they should make it available in the future.
"If Bitcoin continues to grow and the value is defined more internationally, we may find an opportunity for Bitcoin to be used to pay for commerce transactions through a Western Union business solution," said David Thompson, an executive vice president and chief information officer of Western Union.
The Englewood, Colo.-based company is primarily exploring ways its commercial customers may want to use bitcoins, Mr. Thompson said.
Bitcoin is the name for the peer-to-peer payments system that allows people to pay each other from virtual accounts accessed online and on mobile devices, as well as being the term used for units of the digital currency itself. Launched in 2009 by a developer whose identity remains undisclosed, the digital money isn't backed by any central governing body, such as the Federal Reserve, and allows users to remain mostly anonymous—save for their "Bitcoin address"—in transactions.
Buzz around Bitcoin has grown in recent weeks because of wild swings in the currency's value, driven by economic turmoil in the euro zone, outages at the largest Bitcoin trading exchange and U.S. Treasury Department guidance stating money-transmitter rules that apply to the likes of Western Union and MoneyGram also apply to exchanges and sellers dealing with the digital currency.
"We've been contacted by folks who are doing various things in this space to see if there's opportunities for us to help enable greater functionality for some of these [Bitcoin companies]," said Peter Ohser, MoneyGram's senior vice president of U.S. and Canada. "But we've not committed and don't have any imminent plans to announce anything."
While MoneyGram currently has no direct relationships with Bitcoin companies, its money-transfer agents can already help people complete the purchase of bitcoins if they have made arrangements in advance with a payment-processing company called BitInstant LLC.
BitInstant has a deal with a company called ZipZap Inc., which in turn has a relationship with MoneyGram to allow consumers to pay bills and purchase goods from online merchants with cash. That means a BitInstant customer can place an order for bitcoins on its website and then complete the transaction at a participating MoneyGram location with cash, the same way they would pay a bill.
The bitcoins purchased through such transactions can't be used to make a MoneyGram money transfer; rather, they are added to a person's BitInstant account, allowing the person to move the bitcoins to trading exchanges and other companies that accept the virtual currency.
Because a large portion of Western Union's and MoneyGram's customers initiate or receive remittances in cash, new digital payments services are often viewed as threats to their business. But in its current state, Bitcoin doesn't pose much of a threat, executives and analysts say, noting that the currency isn't widely accepted as payment and its value is extremely volatile, limiting its appeal.
So far in April, the value of one Bitcoin unit has ranged from $50.01 to $266, according to bitcoincharts.com. The Bitcoin market is valued at $1.03 billion, according to the site.
MoneyGram's Mr. Ohser noted that bitcoins are of limited use to many of the company's customers. About 95% of consumer money transfers done through its agents involve senders and receivers using cash.
"Remittances go to pay for housing and for food and for maintaining your family," he said. "If you're sending to a rural part of Mexico, my guess is that the merchant is not going to be accepting bitcoins. They want pesos."
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