What Does The Extension Of A 35-Year Agreement With Western Union Mean For Kroger?

Western Union (WU) will continue to offer its electronic funds transfer services at Kroger (KR) grocery stores after a non-exclusive extension of an agreement between the two companies has been inked.

Western Union services have been offered at Kroger stores for the last 35 years, allowing customers to send money digitally, use Kroger Money Services online portal, or pay in-person. Customers will also be able to issue domestic and international money transfers, pay bills, and get money orders at more than 2,300 Kroger grocery stores nationwide.

“We are pleased to continue our long-standing, collaborative relationship with Western Union while offering our customers choice for money movement with global scale,” Kate Ward, president of Kroger Personal Finance, said in a statement.

She continued: “Western Union will continue offering convenience, speed, and reliability to serve the money transfer and payments needs of our customers as we advance our customer offerings to enable choice in-store or online.”

Western Union allows for money to be sent to bank accounts and wallets in more than 100 countries and more than half a million locations across 200 countries and territories. It also provides money pickup at more than 54,000 Western Union locations.

“We will continue to bring the best of our capabilities—expertise, scale and a sophisticated platform that moves currencies across borders—to serve Kroger’s customers in the manner that is most convenient to them,” Jean Claude Farah, President, Global Network at Western Union, said in a statement.

“Our relationship with Kroger has evolved consistent with Western Union’s strategy to enable our platform to serve a wider range of customers, businesses, and partners with the trust and flexibility they have come to expect,” he said.

Shares of Western Union were trading at $21.84 as of 11:27 a.m. EDT, down 2 cents of 0.07% while shares of Kroger were trading at $33.79, down 5 cents or 0.15% at the same time.