Western Union and Yandex Money, which claims to be the largest online payment service in Russia, Tuesday announced a partnership that will enable more than 22 million Yandex users to transfer funds overseas from the company's website, an e-wallet, or a card linked to an e-wallet account. 

Yandex said in a press release that the funds will be available to the recipient within "minutes" at Western Union agent locations at banks, grocery stores, pharmacies, and post offices. To collect the funds, recipients need to provide, among other things, the money transfer control number and a valid ID.

"The world is going digital and Western Union is introducing a new online channel in Russia to meet the needs and preferences of our Web-savvy customers," said Alexandru Badulescu, regional vice president for Eastern Europe, CIS and PAKAF at Western Union. "We are strongly committed to the Russian market and our agreement with the largest Russian online payment service, Yandex Money, enables us to make money transfers even more convenient and accessible for consumers. Additionally, the service allows the receiver to collect the money in cash, thus bridging the gap between banked and unbanked customers."

"International money transfers is a promising area of our future development," said Maria Gracheva, CEO at Yandex Money. "We expect to see significant growth in transfers as a result of our agreement with Western Union. Now this new feature will allow [users] to make transfers via Yandex Money even to a larger number of users who do not have an e-wallet."