ENGLEWOOD, Colo., Oct. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Western Union Commercial
Services, a leading provider of electronic payment services for businesses
seeking rapid payments from consumers, today introduced its Western Union(R)
SwiftPay(SM) service.
The Western Union SwiftPay service is a card-based payment solution that
facilitates consumer pre-payment for any services or products where
pre-payment is a requirement or an option. Examples of services that can be
paid using the SwiftPay service include local dial tone and cellular phone
service, insurance premiums, gas and electric utilities, and Internet
services.
The SwiftPay service will initially be offered to consumers at
7,853 Western Union agent locations in 10 states -- Arizona, California,
Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North and South Carolina, Tennessee
and Texas. It will be available at all 26,000 Western Union agent locations
nationwide by mid-2000.
In related news, Western Union recently announced its first client for the
SwiftPay service, Boston Communications Group Inc. (Nasdaq: BCGI), through an
agreement whereby Western Union will provide cash-based replenishment of
BCGI's prepaid wireless accounts at Western Union agent locations. Under the
agreement, BCGI customers will remit payments through Western Union SwiftPay
and BCGI will receive notification via the Internet.
Consumers using Western Union SwiftPay are issued a card, which can be
used to make a simple remittance for pre-paid services, when presented at any
of Western Union's U.S. agent locations with their cash payment of up to
200 dollars for a six-dollar fee. The Western Union SwiftPay system is fully
automated -- no forms to fill out -- and payments are credited real-time to
prevent any disruption in service.
"SwiftPay continues Western Union's longstanding tradition of excellence
in providing consumers with an across-the-board array of alternative payment
solutions for every remittance need they may have," said Keith Diveley, vice
president of product development, Western Union Commercial Services. "Our
SwiftPay service enables businesses to handle consumer-initiated recurring
cash payments more efficiently, while simplifying pre-paid transactions for
consumers. This service can be adapted for virtually any industry that offers
a pre-paid option to its customers."
Companies, associations or groups wishing to try out the Western Union
SwiftPay service should contact Keith Diveley at 720-332-3576.
Based in Englewood, Co., Western Union is a worldwide leader in money
transfer services. Famous for its pioneering telegraph services, the original
Western Union dates back to 1851 and introduced electronic money transfer
service in 1871. Western Union Commercial Services is a division of Western
Union Financial Services, which is a subsidiary of First Data Corp.
(NYSE: FDC). Atlanta-based First Data Corp. helps move the world's money. As
the leader in electronic commerce and payment services, First Data serves more
than two million merchant locations, 1,400 card issuers and millions of
consumers, making it easier, faster and more secure for people and businesses
to buy goods and services. For more information about First Data, please
visit the company's Web site at http://www.firstdatacorp.com .
SOURCE Western Union Commercial Services
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Related links:
http://www.firstdatacorp.com
CONTACT:
Pete Ziverts of Western Union Financial
Services, 303-488-8017, or Mark D. Harrop of Manning Selvage &
Lee, 212-213-7175, for Western Union
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