Digital transactions soar over the holidays as MoneyGram reports record online growth

MoneyGram International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MGI), a global leader in cross-border P2P payments and money transfers, today announced record online transactions during the holiday season. For December, MoneyGram Online (MGO) delivered 142% year-over-year cross-border transaction growth and reported the largest number of transactions ever in a given month. Driven by strong demand for the app and its real-time capabilities to send directly to bank accounts and mobile wallets, every country with MGO capabilities delivered a record number of transactions in the month.

Alex Holmes, MoneyGram Chairman and CEO

During these uncertain times, when reliability, speed and affordability, coupled with digital-first offerings have mattered more than ever, customers continue to choose the MoneyGram brand in record numbers. Our growth this holiday season is another important milestone in our consumer-centric digital transformation, and the entire company is incredibly excited about the skyrocketing momentum in our direct-to-consumer business.

MoneyGram previously announced strong consumer sentiment going into the 2020 holiday season, and the December growth in transactions once again highlights the resilience of money transfer consumers to support their loved ones abroad, despite economic hardships caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Consumers reported that increased needs of family and friends abroad was the largest factor impacting decisions to send money in 2020, above personal situations such as change in income. Sending money for food expenses topped the list with 70% of respondents reporting that those abroad needed more money to take care of their families. This was followed by expenses for housing (55%) and healthcare (52%).

In the survey, consumers also reported that the pandemic had led to an increase in family and friends requesting to receive money digitally, such as direct into a bank account or a mobile wallet instead of cash. Consistent with these findings, in the month of December, MoneyGram achieved its highest month ever for money transfers sent directly to accounts. Growth was driven by real-time transfers utilizing Visa Direct, which increased over 500% in December as compared to the prior year.