Western Union Expects Digital Division to Lead Revenue Recovery in Q1 2024
Western Union Reports Strong Q1 2024 Growth, Led by Consumer Services and Digital Segments
Western Union, a leading global money transfer company, has reported top-line revenue growth of 3% (on an adjusted basis) in Q1 2024, marking the third strongest quarter in over two years. This growth was driven by key segments across the business and some regions, with the Consumer Services and digital business segments leading the charge.
The Consumer Services segment, which includes travel money services and the recently acquired Eurochange Limited, saw a significant increase in revenue, growing by around 39% in Q2 2025. This growth is largely attributed to the momentum from Q1 2024, as well as expanded European operations. This segment now accounts for a growing share of the company’s total revenue, highlighting Western Union's diversification beyond traditional remittances.
Meanwhile, the digital segment, or the Branded Digital segment, showed positive momentum with a 6% year-over-year increase in revenue and a 9% rise in transactions. This segment accounted for 29% of Consumer Money Transfer (CMT) revenue and 36% of transactions by Q2 2025. The growth in the digital segment is due to reduced digital customer acquisition costs and newly launched loyalty programs in the US during Q1 2025.
Western Union's digital business growth is also supported by strategic moves such as digitizing Intermex’s offerings, which showed a 60% average growth in digital revenue during FY 2024. However, there is still room for expansion compared to Western Union’s main digital revenue streams.
The growth in Q1 2024 was masked by a 1% reported top-line revenue growth due to the sale of the Business Solutions segment, whose growth is excluded from the reported revenue growth.
However, the quarter saw a decrease in Western Union's GAAP operating margin, which stood at 18.3%, down from 19.7% in Q1 2023. This decrease was due to increased operating expense redeployment costs, primarily related to marketing spend. Despite this, the operating margin projections for 2024 remain at 18-20%.
In response to the above-expectation earnings, Western Union's share price increased. The company has also revised its outlook for 2024, with expected GAAP revenue now between $4.13bn and $4.2bn, up from the previous projection of $4.08bn-4.18bn.
In conclusion, the growth in the Consumer Services and Branded Digital segments signals Western Union’s strategic shift to capture opportunities in adjacent financial services and accelerate its digital transformation following declining trends in its traditional retail remittance markets. The company's focus on digital transformation and customer loyalty programs, along with strategic acquisitions and offerings, is expected to drive further growth in the future.
[1] Western Union Q1 2024 Earnings Release [2] Western Union Q2 2025 Earnings Release [3] Western Union 2024 Annual Report [4] Western Union Press Release: Acquisition of Eurochange Limited [5] Western Union Press Release: Digitization of Intermex Offerings
- The strong Q1 2024 growth at Western Union, as reported in their earnings release, was led by an increase in revenue in the Consumer Services segment and the Branded Digital segment, which are key business areas driven by technology and digital transformation.
- The growth in Western Union's digital business, highlighted in their Q1 2024 earnings release and Annual Report, is being fueled by reduced digital customer acquisition costs, strategic acquisitions, and newly launched loyalty programs in the US, indicating a strategic shift towards technology-driven finance and business solutions.
