Western Union, a global leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement and payments, has announced the launch of its services with Bank Alfalah, one of the largest private banks in Pakistan.

Western Union’s strategic partnership with Bank Alfalah empowers customers in Pakistan to enjoy the added convenience of receiving their Western Union money transfers at more than 790 Bank Alfalah locations across the country. As of 2020, over 10 million Pakistani migrants have moved to the GCC region, accounting for nearly 18% of the overall GCC population. State Bank of Pakistan recently revealed that overseas Pakistanis in the GCC remitted approximately $9 billion during the first fiscal half, ending on December 31, 2021.

“At Western Union, we always look for ways to provide our consumers with more choices and convenience to cater to their money transfer needs,” said Hatem Sleiman, Head of Middle East, Pakistan and Afghanistan, Western Union. “We are delighted to strengthen our network in Pakistan with this strategic alliance with Bank Alfalah. This collaboration is a demonstration of how we are powering new partnerships to increase money transfer touchpoints for customers.”

Bank Alfalah joins Western Union’s growing global network of Agents for international money transfer payout. Today, the company offers seamless cross-border flows bridging more than 200 countries and territories and over 130 currencies.

“Our mission at Bank Alfalah is to empower our customers with advanced access to financial services,” said Saad Ur Rahman Khan, Group Head – Corporate, Investment Banking & International Business of Bank Alfalah. “Our collaboration with Western Union is key in our continual commitment to provide reliable and convenient money transfer services to customers. We look forward to leveraging our joint expertise to provide the greatest choice to our customers.”

According to the World Bank, Pakistan was the second-largest remittance-receiving country in South Asia in 2021, with remittances representing approximately 13 percent of GDP. Western Union serves customers from an extensive network of Agents. Currently, Western Union agent retail network in Pakistan has more than 12,000 locations.