The Details: Hunterbrook published a short report outlining what the firm sees as a triple threat of risks to the remittance companies:
- More affordable alternatives like peer-to-peer payment apps, card-to-card transfers, and cryptocurrency platforms.
- Intensified government oversight of international money transfers, particularly those potentially linked to cartel activities, following the U.S. designation of certain cartels as terrorist organizations in February.
- Slowing growth in critical markets.
Benzinga reached out to Western Union and Remitly Global for comment.
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Government Crackdown: Hunterbrook pointed to a comprehensive campaign initiated by the Trump administration to crack down on cartel activities, focusing on remittance companies. The report highlighted stricter mandatory reporting limits, which have been reduced from $10,000 to $200 in certain areas, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio's actions to limit remittances to Cuba.
Slower Growth: The remittance industry's growth has slowed from a 25.9% growth rate in 2021 to 2.3% in 2024, according to Hunterbrook. The report also pointed to Western Union's recently lowered guidance for the first quarter of 2025 due to “anxiety in the marketplace post-election" and comments from the CEO regarding a “slowdown in our Latin America business."
WU, RELY Price Action: According to data from Benzinga Pro, Western Union shares were up 1.57% at $10.71 and Remitly Global shares were up 0.1% at $19.79 amid a broad market rally on Friday.
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