Western Union Grabs 15% Stake In Saudi Digital Payments Business

The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) has acquired a 15% stake in a Saudi Arabian digital payment business, Reuters reported.

What Happened: The $200 million stake is in a digital payment unit of Saudi Arabia’s STC Group, a telecom.

Why It Matters: Western Union is one of many companies vying for a lead in digital payments outside China, where Ant Financial's Alipay app and Tencent Holding's (OTCMKTS: TCEHY) WeChat app are already well-entrenched.

This week, Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) relaunched an expanded version of its Google Pay app in a bid to grab more of the market. Google and Western Union are up against competitors such as PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: PYPL), Square Inc (NYSE: SQ) and Zelle.

Photo by Usien via Wikimedia.