Bitcoin is killing Western Union!

[solex]

Bitcoin is displacing the core business of Western Union, the international money transmitter.

Although the loss of WU business to BTC right now is a trickle the markets can see this becoming a flood in the near future.

Oct 30, 2013 equities.com
"Money transmitter Western Union (WU) posted its third quarter earnings after the bell on Tuesday, and while the company beat EPS forecasts they provided bleak guidance as a result of expected increased regulatory costs. Money transmitters across the board, including classic competitor Monerygram International (MGI) face a tough future, as more people needing to transfer money have been utilizing the popular virtual currency bitcoin.
However, bitcoin itself cannot be blamed for Western Union’s decline, and may not long last as a cheap, regulatory-free alternative to traditional money transmitters. The major digital cryptocurrency exchanges might soon be facing the same constraints as its traditional currency counterparts, severely undermining the appeal of bitcoin in America.
Western Union raised compliance-related cost guidance from 3.5 percent to 4.5 percent in 2013, up from 2.5 percent last year. Contrasted with bitcoin exchanges like Mt. Gox, Bitstamp, and Coinbase, who currently pay zero, Western Union is finding it harder and harder to compete.    
The bitcoin exchange’s status as a tax-free, regulatory-exempt money transfer apparatus might not last long in the States – that is, if regulators have their way. On Oct. 1 the New York Department of Financial Services subpoenaed several bitcoin startups, stating that “regulations need to be in place,” and if regulation killed bitcoin’s viability as a liquid value transfer vehicle, “so be it.”
At the same time, bitcoin has attracted mainstream interest from big players like the Winklevoss Twins of Facebook Inc. (FB) fame. The Winklevii are currently seeking to set up the first Bitcoin ETF, which would allow Wall Streeters to speculate on the digital currency with American dollars.
Whether bitcoin survives, dies, or thrives, the fact remains that Western Union is in trouble, and investors are spooked. Following the pessimistic guidance, the company’s shares shed over 12 percent amid exceedingly heavy trading."
http://www.equities.com/editors-desk/stocks/financials/western-union-tanks-on-poor-guidance-as-bitcoin-gains-prominence
(my emphasis)

WU is in the same position as the Kodak film business when it first faced digital technology. The only option for Kodak was to use its massive size to embrace the new tech, adapt and ride the change ahead of everyone else. They failed to do so and the rest is history. Perhaps WU could integrate bitcoin into its business model and become like localbitcoins.com (but leverage their branch network & install ATMs in them too), or use all its MSB licences in the US to set up a professional exchange. This is a real test of their management.

WU is the very first domino in a whole series with Paypal, Mastercard, VISA, retail banks, the fiat currencies and Central Banks lined up afterwards. It will be interesting to see which ones adapt best and which ones die hardest.

[1714002021]

1714002021

[BitAddict]

I totally agree.

Recently I had the bad luck to deal with western union... For limit reasons my friend couldn't pick they money but they still charged the fee (120€) when I picked back my money.... I also lost 2 hours for sending money and 2 hours for picking money.

I really want Western Union to go bankrupt because of bitcoin. Nothing will make me more happy 

[Carlton Banks]

Slightly extreme article, seems like a reaction piece to the WU stock oscillations. And even if the US authorities end up imposing the more extreme outcomes, Bitcoin will still survive in the US without a doubt, and it will continue to get used for remittance. It'll just be a huge advertisement for Bitcoin's international transfer advantages ("So dangerous to WU they tried to shut it down" etc). I think we all know that it's not disappearing from TCP/IP traffic anytime soon, whether or not it needs to be secreted in an encrypted sub-layer of the internet in the authoritarian US.

WU investors are right to be concerned long term though, it's dead in the water before the end of the 2010's.

[goxed]

Slightly extreme article, seems like a reaction piece to the WU stock oscillations. And even if the US authorities end up imposing the more extreme outcomes, Bitcoin will still survive in the US without a doubt, and it will continue to get used for remittance. It'll just be a huge advertisement for Bitcoin's international transfer advantages ("So dangerous to WU they tried to shut it down" etc). I think we all know that it's not disappearing from TCP/IP traffic anytime soon, whether or not it needs to be secreted in an encrypted sub-layer of the internet in the authoritarian US.

WU investors are right to be concerned long term though, it's dead in the water before the end of the 2010's.

The speed at which USD is getting irrelevant is no joke. The end to petrodollar is being invented right here in the US, thanks to Tesla

[ekiro]

Yeah... isn't that a great thing?

Seriously, screw WU and their fees!

[augustocroppo]

That is one of the main problems with Bitcoin at the moment. It attracted people which like to spread misinformation without any care for the consequences. As you can read from the article, Bitcoins has nothing to do with the issues Western Union is facing at the moment. However, solex is advertising that "Bitcoin is killing Western Union!". He begins the topic with a misleading title, but he do not stop there:

Bitcoin is displacing the core business of Western Union, the international money transmitter.

Another plain lie. As anyone can read the article, Bitcoin is not "displacing the core business of Western Union".

Then more follows:

Although the loss of WU business to BTC right now is a trickle the markets can see this becoming a flood in the near future.

First solex admits that "Bitcoin is displacing the core business of Western Union", but now it is just "a trickle the markets can see this becoming a flood in the near future".

But that it is not enough for solex, he needs to revolve his lies with more words to give the appearance of truth:

WU is in the same position as the Kodak film business when it first faced digital technology. The only option for Kodak was to use its massive size to embrace the new tech, adapt and ride the change ahead of everyone else. They failed to do so and the rest is history. Perhaps WU could integrate bitcoin into its business model and become like localbitcoins.com (but leverage their branch network & install ATMs in them too), or use all its MSB licences in the US to set up a professional exchange. This is a real test of their management.

Here solex compares Kodak with Western Union. This is like to compare apples and oranges...

Then, after the inappropriate comparison, he state that Western Union could solve their issues by "integrate bitcoin into its business model".

WU is the very first domino in a whole series with Paypal, Mastercard, VISA, retail banks, the fiat currencies and Central Banks lined up afterwards. It will be interesting to see which ones adapt best and which ones die hardest.

Finally, the grand finale used by scaremongers and sophists. Here solex try to give a hint of fear by transforming his lie in a prophecy. It is not just Western Union having issues caused by Bitcoins, but the whole financial system as we know.

Solex, tell us, why do you like to spread lies and misinformation about something you appear have no understanding?

[augustocroppo]

Bitcoin will be killing WU and the likes of it.
It might not be happening now as OP stated incorrectly, but it will happen one day.

Oh really? How that will happen? What information lead you to believe that will happen? Or this is just something you expect to happen, although there is no evidence which indicates that will happen?

[panck4beer]

They've been around a long time and survived a lot of changes, I'd put better odds on western union offices trading coins within the next few years.

I doubt WU will go Bitcoin way, they will stick with their business.

[augustocroppo]

They've been around a long time and survived a lot of changes, I'd put better odds on western union offices trading coins within the next few years.

I doubt WU will go Bitcoin way, they will stick with their business.

Well said. Short words with a great load of coherence.

"Stick with their business" is what really matter for Western Union.

Why would Western Union adopt one more complicated layer of money transmission if they already have a business model which does that?

[Liquid]

Nice to know 

[wachtwoord]

This has nothing to do with Bitcoin being competitive but with governments being increasingly retarded.

I think WU will survive and be the first big company to leverage Bitcoin. I own shares of WU since the beginning of this year. Yes shares have gone up 20% since then (even with the recent cliff).

Before the Bitcoin adoption though they cyclically remove all competitors by lowering their margin by as much needed to kill them. This year ty started another round and are strangling MoneyGram. When they are the only king on the hill again they'll up the fees again and rinse and repeat. Don't you guys love monopoly?

[balanghai]

And paypal too! Include it here please!!! 

[ElectricMucus]

Jacob Harper
About
Jacob Harper is the Senior Editor at Equities. Hailing from Springfield, Missouri, Jacob received his BA from the University of Missouri in 2005, and his MA in Writing from Missouri State in 2009. He's written for American Express, Wisebread, LA Foodie, and Fox Digital, and he served as a Writer & Editor for the 2013 Los Angeles edition of the guidebook series Not For Tourists. At various points in time Jacob has been a clothing store owner, an English teacher, and a chef that seemed to burn himself a lot. He enjoys travel, watching movies, and performing comedy. Jacob currently lives in Los Angeles.

LOL why are the people writing these articles always of THAT kind?

He's gonna burned pretty badly I guess.

[ElectricMucus]

That site is freakin hilarious.

This was among the staff picks:

Mobile-gaming company Glu Mobile (GLUU) continued to rise on Tuesday, with shares spiking over 3.5 percent in early trading on heavy volume. This comes during a month that has been extremely kind to Glu, with shares rising over 40 percent in the last month and four different analysts coming in with upgrades over the same period. While many may be in the habit of seeing Zynga (ZNGA) as the only real player in the market, and it’s tempting given Zynga’s market cap is almost ten times what Glu’s is. But Glu is starting to make waves in a way that has investors taking note.
Deer Hunter 2014 and…Profit Hunter 2014?

Glu’s October has been bolstered by the release of Deer Hunter 2014, one of its most popular titles. Released on September 20, the game quickly rose to the top spot for free games for iPhones, iPads, Macs, and the Android platform. It had over 5 million downloads within its first week of release, it reached 1 million downloads in a single day, reached the #1 free app ranking in 19 countries and the #1 free game ranking in 78 countries. Now, the company expects to make over $250,000 a day from the game’s premium users, with nearly 280,000 new downloads a day.

The success of Deer Hunter 2014 appears to have helped analysts see a future for Glu, despite the fact that it’s still failing to turn a profit consistently. On October 14, B. Riley & Co. upgraded Glu from neutral to buy and increased its price target from $2.75 a share to $3.75. The day after that, Northland Capital reiterated its outperform rating and increased its price target from $3.50 a share to $4 a share (essentially reversing their August 7 cut to Glu’s price target). Then the day after that, it was Canaccord Genuity (CCORF) reiterating its buy with an increase in the price target from $3 a share to $4. The Benchmark Company (MHFI) opted to wait another week before jumping on the bandwagon on October 22 when it reiterated a buy rating and increased the price target from $2.42 to $3.07. Clearly, the belief from many on Wall Street is that Glu’s model of free mobile games with premium services means profits are in the company’s future.
Optimism for the Future

Glu’s rapid rise appears to have the potential for staying power as it may have landed on a way to monetize a popular model. As the growth of mobile devices continues unchecked, in the United States and abroad, Glu’s simple business plan could prove a valuable one in the long run. “We believe we are just scratching the surface of the organization's performance potential and look forward to launching a strong portfolio of titles in Q4 and beyond,” said CEO Niccolo De Masi in the company’s Q3 earnings report.

[augustocroppo]

And paypal too! Include it here please!!! 

It is more like the other way around: Bitcoin is being affected by Paypal.

Paypal has already a very stable application for mobile phones, while Bitcoin software developers are struggling to create a secure wallet for mobile phones.

If money transmitters like Western Union follow the same path, they will be one more step ahead of your "Bitcoin Dream".

[augustocroppo]

Simple: because Bitcoin is the future.

 

Ripple "is the future" as well and it is much more appropriate than Bitcoin to be used as protocol to transmit money.

[wachtwoord]

Simple: because Bitcoin is the future.

 

Ripple "is the future" as well and it is much more appropriate than Bitcoin to be used as protocol to transmit money.

No, Ripple is a scam.

[ElectricMucus]

Simple: because Bitcoin is the future.

 

Ripple "is the future" as well and it is much more appropriate than Bitcoin to be used as protocol to transmit money.

No, Ripple is a scam.

Its not. You parrot that because you are afraid your Bitcoin investment would fail.

[wachtwoord]

Simple: because Bitcoin is the future.

 

Ripple "is the future" as well and it is much more appropriate than Bitcoin to be used as protocol to transmit money.

No, Ripple is a scam.

Its not. You parrot that because you are afraid your Bitcoin investment would fail.

No, otherwise I would have kept the free Ripples (and/or bough more). XRP is a centralized scheme much like fiat only the central organization "distributing" the currency is even less trustworthy. Good luck with that.

I'll keep repeating it's a scam to at least inform new members sufficiently to do their own due diligence.

[augustocroppo]

Then instead of using gold, governments, utility etc. as a "what is it backed by?" argument it would be better to use trust as currency. Ripples stagnating because people don't trust it, Bitcoin keeps growing because no trust is required. How are Western Union's trust reserves doing?

Trust cannot be used as currency and people trust in Ripple, otherwise the Ripple ledger number would not keep growing.

By the way, you are confusing different meanings of trust. Trust is still required to use the Bitcoin protocol to transmit money. The only trust that the Bitcoin eliminates is the trust people grants to a third party to move money from one point to another. However, both parties participating in the transaction must trust each other.

I do not know how much trust Western Union have into a digital currency with high price variation in the exchange markets... I would guess not much.