GraceKennedy Money Services (GKMS) – agents of Western Union leaders of global money transfer – will now allow customers to have their money transfers sent directly to their bank accounts in Jamaica through their Direct to Bank service.
The service allows registered customers to have their money transfers sent directly to most commercial bank accounts in Jamaica. Customers will be required to register their bank account at any GKMS/Western Union location island wide. The process will also require the customer to provide their taxpayer registration number (TRN) and a valid government-issued photo I.D. Once registration is successfully completed, customers will then just give the sender their bank account information and their money transfer will be sent directly to that bank account.
Senders from the key sending markets, including the United States, will have the option of going in-store or using the digital channels of either the Western Union app or WesternUnion.com to send the money transfer to their Jamaican receiver’s bank account.
This new direct to bank is an enhancement to the already existing deposit direct service, which allowed registered Western Union customers to contact the GKMS customer service centre to have their money transfers sent to their bank account.
“According to the latest available Remittance report from the Bank of Jamaica, inflows into Jamaica continue to increase steadily with remittances accounting for over 16.5 % of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), demonstrating that we are primarily a receiver driven market. And as such this service is ideal for Jamaicans,” said President and CEO of GKMS Grace Burnett.
Mrs. Burnett further added, “For the past year we have been on a drive to strategically position our business in the new digital sphere by developing and rolling out products and services which play in this arena. We see this as a way of attracting a whole new customer segment who are digital savvy whilst providing an additional service channel for our existing customers.”
Meanwhile GKMS Jamaica Country Manager, Margaret Campbell is excited about this new service offering. “This opens up a world of convenience for our Western Union customers, and in particular those who are used to receiving larger sums of cash and were uncomfortable walking around with that money. Now, they can have the money sent directly to their bank account and then have the ability to use it as they see fit. We see this as a win-win for both our customers and for us here at GKMS” Ms. Campbell said.
This Direct to Bank service is just the latest customer centred development launched by GKMS and Western Union, last year we introduced WU.com which allows persons to send money transfers online, and earlier this year, we relaunched the Western Union Jamaica app which allows customers to start the process of sending a money transfer and then pay in store within 24 hours. The app which is available for both Android and iOS users, not only saves time but is cost-effective and so customers are being encouraged to download and use it often.
For more details on these or any other GKMS/Western Union service customers may call our Customer Service Centre at 876-926-2454 or visit us online at our website
In 2018, Jamaica recorded remittance inflows of over USD 2.4 billion, with the largest source coming from the United States, United Kingdom and Canada.
GKMS have been the sole agent of Western Union in Jamaica for the past 28 years.
