Western Union Expands With First Concept Store in Africa

Western Union Expands Concept Store Model to Africa with New Location in Morocco
Western Union has launched its first "concept store" in Africa, establishing a new location in Morocco. This initiative is part of their "Evolve 2025" strategy, aimed at capitalizing on Africa and Morocco’s dynamic markets and significant remittance flows. Mohamed Touhami el Ouazzani, the regional vice president for Africa, highlighted Morocco’s importance as a major inbound market, receiving around $12 billion in remittances last year, contributing approximately 8% to the country’s GDP.
The concept store model, which has been successful in Europe with over 100 locations, focuses on providing a premium customer experience through well-trained agents often from diaspora communities, offering personalized service. This launch aligns with Western Union’s broader strategy to stabilize its retail business while expanding its digital and consumer services, as evidenced by a 13% increase in digital transactions and consistent growth in consumer money transfer transactions.
CEO Devin McGranahan emphasized the importance of retail settings for migrants starting their remittance journey and expressed confidence in the ongoing growth of both their retail and digital businesses.