Western Union transfers $6.5 bn via India Post in 10 yrs

Western Union Money Transfer along with India's Department of Post has transfered $6.5 billion worth of remittances through 7,000 strong postal location network dotted across urban and rural India in the last decade.

"India Post is an integral of Western Union's India wide agent network and the largest Western Union in-country network," Western Union South & South-east Asia MD Anil Kapur told reporters here.

India Post is the world's largest postal network with over 1,55,000 post office, with a significant presence across rural India. Western Union has over 4,00,000 agent locations across 200 countries and territories.

"At India Post, we strive to exceed the expectations of our consumers and society," Department of Post Deputy Director General (Financial Service) A S Prasad said.

According to the World bank, India continued to be the largest recipient of remittances in 2010 to the tune of $55 billion, owing to the growing diaspora, strong investment opportunities in India and the growing needs of middle class.