MoneyGram boosts up transfer systems for Russia

MOSCOW: MoneyGram, a money transfer and payment services company, announced an agreement with MTS, one of the mobile phone retailers in Russia, to offer money transfer services in MTS stores throughout the country.

The relationship, as per the announcemnet, significantly boosts MoneyGram's presence in Russia. The agreement enables Russian and foreign citizens to transfer funds to friends and family at any of MoneyGram's more than 334,000 worldwide locations. Customers can easily and conveniently complete transactions in MTS retail offices without having to visit bank branches.

"MoneyGram's agreement with MTS is a very important step in expanding our footprint in Russia," says Evgeny Butyugin, regional director at MoneyGram Russia, CIS, Emerging Europe and Israel. "It also makes access to our services more convenient for our customers in Russia, enabling them to send and receive money from retail locations."

The signing is the result of collaboration between MoneyGram and the RNKO "Payment Center," a settlement non-banking credit organization. MoneyGram and RNKO have worked together since 2008 to develop relationships with Russian Federation financial institutions, as added. It is also mentioned that currently, many Russian banks provide money transfers via MoneyGram, working through the RNKO "Payment Center," but adding MTS as an agent significantly increases the number of locations at which MoneyGram's services will be offered.