Concluding an active Mobile World Congress, where mobile payments has been a huge topic, venerable money transfer service Western Union stepped into the spotlight with an announcement on the company's growing mobile payment partnerships and capabilities.

According to the announcement from Western Union, the company now has mobile money transfer agreements with 26 mobile wallet providers in 22 countries.

"We are already a leader in the money-transfer category with our global network, with nearly half a million agent locations in 200 countries and territories," said Diane Scott, chief marketing officer and president, Western Union Ventures.  "And with our strategic alliances with the world’s leading mobile operators, platform providers and banks, we believe we are well-positioned to succeed in digital money transfer as well."

Western Union said 20 of its agreements are with mobile network operators reaching more than 285 million subscribers. The other six agreements are with banks and independents, the company said.

Additionally, Western Union said it has already launched mobile money transfer services in Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Canada, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, the Philippines, Tanzania and the U.S.

Among the many partnerships and announcements from mobile carriers and financial services companies, Western Union announced four agreements at the MWC this week:

• Strategic alliance with Ericsson – Ericsson will now integrate the Western Union Mobile Money Transfer network into its suite of mobile commerce solutions;
• WIND Italy agreement – WIND and Western Union will launch a mobile money transfer service aimed at WIND’s 21 million subscribers;
• Roshan agreement - Western Union Mobile Money Transfer will be available in Afghanistan through its largest mobile carrier, Roshan, the company behind the M-Paisa mobile money service in Afghanistan; and
• Millicom International Cellular S.A.alliance – Millicom and Western Union will introduce cross-border mobile money transfers in Latin America, starting in Paraguay, under the Giros Tigo brand soon.

The Mobile World Congress, the annual international conference for the wireless industry, ran from Feb. 27 through March 1 in Barcelona, Spain. 

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