Jaffin: Our company mission is to enable financial transfers between people anywhere and everywhere; we had a responsibility to continue to deliver on that. The Baupost Group is a $31 billion Boston-based investment firm. Automation reduces development toil, were more productive, so we dont need so many developers, and we dont end up with orphaned code when developers leave. . Business Unit Represents Approximately 7% of Company Revenue Divestiture Will Support Western Union's Strategic Focus on its Global Cross-Border Payments Platform and Digital Capabilities The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU), a global leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement and payments, together with Goldfinch Partners, LLC ("Goldfinch"), a private equity firm investing in . We continue to experiment with the technology and time will tell if it offers a better alternative to traditional rails.. Safety starts with understanding how developers collect and share your data. It is far more stable than that and can be used for near instant settlements across the board, while providing liquidity to Reserve Banks. ", Tom adds, In fast-moving customer-facing scenarios, development is never build-once-and-doneyoure always iterating to refine the customer experience. Not satisfied with the idea of incremental change, the company took a start-from-scratch approach, assembling an experienced team and transforming its infrastructure. [5]. In 2011, Western Union opened an office in San Francisco to ramp up its digital operation. The culture change has to be driven across teams to show how technology has enabled different and better outcomes. [8]. Team members were drawn from different continents and operating on different time zones. Mazzaferro: Snowflake is enabling quite a bit around analytics, reporting, event triggers, and settlement across our card providers. With a history of more than 170 years, the company has a presence in more than 200 countries and territories, connecting more than 120m people to one another and to the global economy, through cross-border money transfers in approximately 130 currencies. Western Union and Beforepay Offer 'Send Now, Pay Later' Service to Consumers for International Money Transfers [9]Clayton M. Christensen & Michael E. Raynor,The Innovators Solution: Creating and Sustaining Successful Growth (Boston, MA: Harvard Business Review Press, 2003), Ch. Whats really nice about that is that its so visually obvious. When we started the transformation project, we came at it from the perspective of this being a cultural transformation just as much as a process transformation. On May 17, 2018, at the Digital Assembly in Sofia, Bulgaria, the European Commission launched the Digital Agenda for the Western Balkans. Western Union's digital transformation efforts may fail to drive earnings growth, but they may be enough to keep earnings steady going forward. Sub-Saharan Africa 3G and 4G mobile broadband coverage stands at 86% and 57% of the population, respectively. At its core is a migration from on-prem to a cloud-based infrastructure, which it believes is key to allowing the organisation to scale and evolve into a company with the clout of an established financial institution combined with the agility and flexibility of a modern FinTech. The relationship with Talend has enabled Western Union to help its global customer base in times of real need. Western Union International Banks CEO Peter Bucher firmly believes you can drive successful, innovative business while creating a better world for the community you live in. Teams that may not previously have interacted with each other are now doing floor walks with each other. Seven months after Goldfinch Partners and The Baupost Group announced they were purchasing Western . Some changes that used to take a month, we now deliver in around 48 hours.. Were there tools or technology that were particularly helpful in your transformation? Thats the high performancewe rely on with OutSystems., Low-Code for Digital Financial Services Delivery. Western Union's investment in India is part of a broader fintech and innovation strategy that is driving the company's digital transformation. The partnership with Talend has evolved over the last few years and was originally established to provide our business and technology teams a fast and efficient way to build data pipelines. Specifically, how Data, Editors note: This is part of a series of blogs about the data economy. The transition from legacy systems to Oracle Solutions was critical to the strategy's success. Western Union launched its digital banking app in Germany and Romania in Spring 2022, following 11 months of iterative development. Leading fintech, Mambu, provides the platform and engine that drives the core of Western Union's new digital bank. From the earliest days of the pandemic, innovating the companys services to meet new patterns of consumer demand was an urgent matter. Markets are perpetually shifting and change is unavoidable, but to keep up with those shifting tides companies need to stay focused on digital transformation. Jay Jaffin was just starting his role as Western Unions chief marketing officer when the pandemic arrived. NICE have announced Western Union, a global leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement, has advanced customer experience through improved . I want to see those same results in my organization. I think thats an indication of how well its really working across the company. Head of Information Technology & Digital Transformation Econet Wireless Zimbabwe Oct 2015 - Present 7 years 6 months. Snowflake: What do you see changing now that your organization is better able to share data? However, Western Union would be wise to form a new, separate unit for exploring blockchain services. Digital Bulletin exists to tell the story. Dan Nordlander, senior vice president of Western Union Way Operations at Western Union, discusses his companys unique transformation journey with McKinseys Barr Seitz. Western Unions platform provides seamless cross-border flows and its leading global financial network bridges more than 200 countries and territories and over 130 currencies and 500K partner networks. Their bread and butter business is charging hefty fees on remittances and their core advantage was a network of retail outlets and agents across the US and partners around the world to get cash from one family member to another. Board of Directors. But its really all about allowing the manager to observe the way their employee works, whats easy about that job and whats hard about that job. Western Union could use existing retail outlets as nodes on a land register blockchain, which could bring in new sources of revenue to those retail stores. And the new business model may require a very different RPP (traditional money transfer process vs. transfer via blockchain). Cloud services such as cloud data platforms have become cost-efficient, high performance calling cards for any business that leverages big data. What are the biggest lessons you learned? Western Union has gained a comprehensive view of the customer while running the Data Cloud on AWS. The gap between access and use is growing, with 56% of people in . Divestiture Will Support Western Union's Strategic Focus on its Global Cross-Border Payments Platform and Digital Capabilities The primary reason we decided to go through with this transformation is that we saw an opportunity to positively impact revenue through our daily operations and behaviors. In 1861 it sent the first transcontinental telegraph. Infosys accelerated Western Union's digital transformation by harmonizing agent operations, implementing billing and collection standards, enabling modular growth, accelerating new product launches, enabling digital on-demand procedures, designing global accounting solutions based on one single template, supporting highly complex pricing and multiple business models, and massive management processes as a strategic technology partner. In the same way that they say it takes a whole village to raise a child, it takes an army of people with the right skillsets and approaches to undertake a challenge like this. All of that is dependent on people in the organization putting resources behind this kind of an agile transformation. Prior to implementing Snowflake in 2021, Western Unions data spanned 34 on-premises data warehouses, resulting in latency and operational burdens. The Data Cloud is increasingly becoming a facilitator for digital transformation initiatives, and while there are many facets to that story, our customers often tell us how three critical elements play a central role: being able to access and share live data; being able to share data without having to move it; and the ability to securely access third-party data. Profiles, Infosys Knowledge
The reason for that is due to the huge increase in demand for our digital services as lockdowns were implemented across many different geographies. The resulting report, How to Win in the Data Economy, includes anecdotes from dozens of customers, analysts, and influencers about how to succeed, all in addition to the survey itself, based on feedback from 1,000 senior business, technology, and data managers across five industries and from all over the world. He shares his views on digital transformation and economic opportunities for all. The fusion of the digital and the physical, the irrepressible rise of new technologies. People who knew how a team or a group worked before can come in and see its night-and-day different. HELIX, Management
. How did you evolve for digital convenience and safety? Western Union. Over the last two years, Singh has been accelerating Western Union's tech plan. I also agree with you that the competitive advantage of Western Union is a broad network of retail footprint across the world. The digital transformation is helping Western Union emerge from a challenging two-year era. (2013) Comparing Media Systems beyond the Western World. InsurTech & Crypto projects as the world embraces CX, Business Transformation and Digital . Experience in leading digital products from either the financial services, payment, or fintech industries. Western Union reduced data warehousing costs by 50% and has saved millions through streamlined data engineering and administration after moving more than 30 data stores, including on-premises data, into Snowflake. Blockchain is technology that uses an open, distributed ledger to permanently verify and record transactions between two parties. Wingspan, Infosys
[11]See generally Rebecca M. Henderson & Kim B. Clark, Architectural Innovation: The Reconfiguration of Existing Product Technologies and the Failure of Established Firms, Administrative Science Quarterly Vol. Western Union must adapt to an increasingly mobile world: if Western Union doesn't develop low-cost mobile money transfers, Western Union won't be able to compete . Youre starting to see that happen culturally. To explore this content and receive communications from Google, please sign in with an existing Google account. As mobile payments and blockchain tech challenge the status quo of cross-border money transfers, Western Union must digitally transform itself at the right pace or risk going the way of the telegraph. Western Union has innovated before. Western Union has gained a comprehensive view of the customer while running the Data Cloud on AWS. Western Union Digital Banking is offered by Western Union International Bank GmbH. Western Union also opened franchise stores, which offer money transfer services as well as onsite currency exchanges. Business Unit Represents Approximately 7% of Company Revenue . Africa's largest payment gateway, MFS Africa, has partnered with Western Union to enable individuals and businesses across the continent to receive money Best practices were also key. Western Union launched its digital banking app in Germany and Romania in Spring 2022, following 11 months of iterative development. Western Union's digital services align with the UAE government's policy to create an economy driven by innovation and technology," said Salma Massoud, head of digital, Middle East and Africa . Africa, South
He also praises Snowflakes adaptability when it came to dealing with huge capacity increases. 8 (Managing the Strategy Development Process). Western Union's stock price continued to climb the week of April 12 reaching $25.89, compared to a low of $21.66 in January. Now that these pilots are winding down, its been easy to get the support across the organization to find the resources necessary to establish teams that can scale it out in different areas across the company. First, for continuity of services. There are 13 of these practices, and thats really how were assessing success with the transformation across the organization. And still others want to do it all online.. So well go from maybe four pilot teams to a plan to scale out across 400 people and maybe 30 teams next year. OutSystems High-Performance Low-Code Platform Powers Western Union Digital Banking Solution 2 min. That helps us refocus on the particular market-shaper practices that we need to double down on in order to continue improving during our transformation journey. We caught up with Mazzaferro to dive deeper into how the Data Cloud enables ongoing digital . Dan Nordlander is senior vice president of Western Union Way Operations at Western Union, and Barr Seitz is senior manager of editorial and digital communications in McKinseys New York office. For more details about how Western Union went from 34 on-prem data warehouses to pursuing a multi-cloud strategy based on Snowflake, read our case study. Policy . Second, we increased our use of digital media to reach customers and build a feedback loop. However, Western Union doesnt view its established retail business as totally separate from the digital world. This is a powerful tool for our business and one of the key capabilities of our new infrastructure.. Guide for Suppliers, Select
. The CDO needs to drive digital transformation by enabling data to power product development and the company. Consumers are less aware that we have transformed ourselves into one of the largest digital money transfer firms in the world, with our digital activity generating well over $400 million revenues in 2017. For example, De Beers is trying to create a diamond blockchain for registration and authentication, to prevent the spread of conflict diamonds. Security, Infosys
Rica, Hong
(2017) Monitoring Media Pluralism in Europe: Application of the Media Pluralism Monitor 2016 in the European Union, Montenegro and Turkey. your next, Infosys
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Singh estimates that the project has reduced how much it spends on talking to its customers by a quarter, while markedly improving this critical function. Hiring experienced developers was already hard, and the skills drought got even worse with the great resignation. As consumer expectations continue to evolve, digital will play an ongoing role in helping financial services brands deliver value to their customers and drive business growth. In the past five years, theres been a leveling across applications and data. Mazzaferro: In the past, the thinking in the industry has often been that applications are king, and that data flows through the applications. Its important to understand that business stakeholders are customers of our data. There was a need to accelerate the process we wanted to undertake, I have that experience of transformation projects happening on a massive scale. [1] The first transcontinental telegraph was sent on October 24, 1861, from the Chief Justice of California to President Abraham Lincoln. Zealand, South
Cortex, Infosys
Meanwhile, new fintech players like Transferwise are able to offer cash transfer services for a fraction of the price since their operations are 100% online. [8]David Thomas, Beyond the Hype: What Blockchain could mean for Africa, African Business Magazine, Feb. 26, 2018. Technology or Operations transformation . COVID-19 has brought countless challenges, but its also caused us to focus all of our efforts around customers and reground ourselves in our mission. And its not something you can achieve really quickly, its a multiple-year process. 9-30 (describing four types of innovations incremental, modular, architectural and radical classified by their impact on a business core components and the relationships between those core components). In the past several years, the Englewood, Colo.-based company has made a point to develop and [] The organisation was looking for somebody with a fresh perspective who could challenge the norms, bring people together to show them the value of what were doing and basically create an environment thats a little bit different to your usual corporate set-up. As the transformation gets embedded into the organization, the businesses start to run their own agile deployments. Poland followed later in 2022, while plans are at hand to launch Italy by the end of the year. Western Union (NYSE: WU), a global leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement and payments and Zain Cash, the award-winning mobile financia . We embrace the white canvas and first principles design, breaking away from legacy systems to create smart . His career span includes working with organizations like FIS, Western Union, HCL Technologies, CGI, Mahindra Satyam and iGate Global Solutions. Some want to go to a retail store and pay cash. A large proportion of Western Unions infrastructure has been migrated to the cloud, and Singh reveals a timeline to complete the programme of work. Furthermore, a chain of retail outlets is expensive. People are enthusiastic about the results of the pilot, and they want to see that in their own area. I have successfully directed virtual teams working on Mastercard integrations, Western Union and MoneyGram. Hearing from customers helped us focus our messaging on two key ideas: digital convenience and staying safe through contactless funds transfer. Digital transformation can refer to anything from IT modernization (for example, cloud computing), to digital optimization, to the invention of new digital business models. They essentially sponsor a team and loan the resources that are necessary. The Western Union Foundation is a separate charitable corporation that is tax-exempt under 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, contributions to which are tax-deductible for US income tax purposes. As we get the pilots completed, the idea is to turn the WU Way team into more of a center of excellence. Professors from HEC, ESCP business school, and leading carriers shared insights on . Analytics, API Economy &
We know there are certain systems that we cannot just move to the cloud straight away such as the AS400 IBM mainframe, but weve managed to take the ecosystem that surrounds our legacy technology and move it to the cloud and we think we can get everything to the cloud before the end of the year. We use OutSystems in multiple layers of our tech stack, says Tom. Hospitality, Waste
Deloitte announces multi-year collaboration with AWS to co-innovate and engineer solutions that help institutions expedite the launch of digital banking services and modernize their legacy core banking stacks. New-found agility delivers growth and improved Customer Experience for partners and customers. As the centerpiece of Western Unions omnichannel vision, the Western Union App is increasingly the primary touchpoint for customers: today more than 65% of Western Unions digital transactions originate on a mobile device globally. Here is Swamy Sivasubramaniyan, Head of Financial Services and Settlement Platform for Western Union, discussing the digital transformation experience with Infosys and Oracle. Having got the right people in place, Singh and his team set about building a partner network to supercharge Western Unions technology evolution. Digital Transformation. . The center of excellence keeps things on track and makes sure we follow a framework and are tracking the results, so that we can measure the impact of the transformation across the whole organization. Product Director, United States Money Transfer. January 25, 2019 | Video. Western Union is a global leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement and payments. Meanwhile, innovators like Ant Financial(China) and M-Pesa(Kenya) are leveraging high mobile penetration rates in emerging markets, and are beginning to experiment with cross-border money transfers. Looking ahead, the Sales Cloud will be connected to the Marketing Cloud, which in turn is connected to our Care Cloud, so that whenever something happens across any of those products we are able to react in a way that suits that customer. The EU is helping to boost Europe's digital capacities and create new opportunities for businesses and consumers while safeguarding basic rights. Join us to learn how your organization can become a leader in the Data Economy and the business benefits that result. Reliable for over 170 years. Western Union is the worlds first P2P company. The scale of change this represents for a business like Western Union is not to be underestimated; the company employs around 11,000 people and has more than 550,000 retail agents locations within . As such, when Western Union embarked on its technology transformation, it was keen to recruit personnel who could help achieve its vision. Digital is all about how we reach the customer. Recently I talked to him about the companys rapid pivot to digital this past year, his biggest learnings, and what the future holds. And being with the people that are actually doing the work really helps the management get a better sense of where they can use their leadership and influence to make that process easier for the employee and better for the customer. . Western Union is a partner of the World Economic Forum (WEF) and is a leading voice in the conversation of how to build a global payments ecosystem, which is stable and where remittances can be made much faster. Leaders across many industries and companies of all sizes report that one of their biggest challenges is siloed data. Our research identified 10 attributes of an organizations data infrastructure that enable it to take full advantage of the data economy, the global supply and, Editors note: This is part of a series about the data economy. Snowflake enables us to centralize our data and enable application and business processes to leverage it across the organization. So we had to figure out how to continue to show up for customers while also ensuring everyones health and safely. Our leadership team remains true to our vision and values, putting customers' evolving needs at the center of our innovation and holding up trust and convenience as the hallmarks of our business. [10]Jeff John Roberts, Western Union is Testing Ripple and XRP for Money Transfers, Fortune, Feb. 14, 2018. Western Union's digital banking platform is a complex ecosystem of partnerships from across the technology and fintech landscape. We scored ourselves as an organization on these market-shaper practices when we started the transformation in 2016. Does it offer a more seamless customer experience? Western Union International Bank's CEO Peter Bucher firmly believes you can drive successful, innovative business while creating a better world for the community you live in. The company considers local preferences, as well, accepting about 10 payment methods, such as Apple Pay in the U.S. The Transformation Story of Western Digital. The role of CDO needs to encompass more than data management and data governance, more than even enabling the pipeline and managing the environments. From the CEO down through his executive team, you see a real commitment to this transformation exercise and a real commitment to finding ways to optimize our processes, to get efficiencies, and to fund those investments that will drive topline revenue growth. Mohua is a marketing leader with over 15 years of experience in building and leading brands across industries. This seems to be a typical BSSE case in which it is hard for the incumbent to disrupt its business, since the innovation may threaten the current profitable business. Transformation, Cyber
During its February 2018 earnings call, CEO Hikmet Ersek announced that Western Union is experimenting with Ripple for settling transactions and for capital optimization, and is also testing Ripples native currency (XRP).[10]. ene. Secure, touchless, digital money transfers were a safe, reliable way for people to send funds where they needed to, so we leaned in there. Others prefer to prepare a transaction online and then go to a retail location to pay cash. Talend is our backbone for that work and have really evolved their product to meet our needs.. They tend to be younger, they live online and they prefer to do everything there, at the touch of a button, Fellahi observes. If Western Union tries to grow its blockchain capabilities within current operations, internal resistors may directly or indirectly sabotage the initiatives. To ensure those approaches were safe and secure, we partnered with governmental organizations to find new and secure ways to verify customers. Data quality is so important to us, we need to know who we are marketing to and that means our data has to be of the highest quality.. arrow_forward. He reveals that Western Union was using multiple companies for each of its email, in-app and SMS communication channels. Goldfinch Partners is a private equity firm investing in businesses specialising in digital transformation. Strategic partnerships working with platforms like Google is a critical piece of that. On March 1, Huawei held a "Digital Leadership Seminar" during Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2023 in Barcelona, Spain, attended by more than 60 high-level customers from global carriers, government enterprises, and KOL. A lot of our big data environment is still on-prem and the mission is to move that completely to the cloud by the end of the year. Technology powers the data economy. Reframe blockchain from a threat to an opportunity, by creating a new autonomous unit.
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