Latest news with #AnthonySoohoo
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
MoneyGram CEO targets digital remake
This story was originally published on Payments Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Payments Dive newsletter. MoneyGram International CEO Anthony Soohoo, who landed in the company's top post last year, aims to digitally overhaul one of the oldest money transfer companies in the world. His résumé includes leadership posts at retail juggernaut Walmart and broadcast network CBS as well as an early manager position at tech titan Apple. Those posts would seem to equip him for the formidable task at MoneyGram, but there are other experiences, in addition to those, that he believes will aid him in the new role. When he was 6-years-old, his Chinese parents moved to San Francisco from Hong Kong, and continued to send money home to family members, including via MoneyGram. His parents migrated to the U.S. 'to sacrifice for future generations,' Soohoo said in an interview last month. 'That spirit of the immigrant mindset, of kind of doing good for the world, but really paying it forward, I think, still lives today.' Dallas-based MoneyGram, with corporate roots reaching back to 1940, allowed Soohoo's parents to share their newfound U.S. resources with relatives in countries all over the world, including Australia and Italy, he said. That story has held true for many migrants tapping MoneyGram services. Today, MoneyGram is seeking to transform itself after it was purchased in 2022 by a Chicago private equity firm, Madison Dearborn Partners, and taken private in a $1.8 billion deal. Getting MoneyGram technologically up-to-date won't be easy, given its extensive operations. The money transfer company services millions of customers in some 200 countries, delivering services in 135 currencies, including cryptocurrencies, at 480,000 retail locations, from U.S. drugstores to Latin America bodegas. The task to upgrade its operations became all the more important last year after the company suffered a severe service outage that took the business offline for days. Customers railed on social media about the negative impacts of not having access to the financial lifeline. 'I saw a massive opportunity to remake MoneyGram into a modern fintech company that was going to be a lot more competitive, and it was going to be a lot more safe,' Soohoo said. Cross-border payments sent by consumers, sometimes referred to as remittances, largely flow from the U.S., with the top recipient countries being India, Mexico and China, respectively, according to a World Bank blog post in December. In 2023, about $656 billion in such payments were sent, according to that global organization. MoneyGram and other legacy players have long catered to unbanked consumers, and those customers aren't going away anytime soon, explained Cliff Gray, an industry consultant based in Chicago. 'MoneyGram at the local bodega is their go-to solution,' Gray said. 'It's part of the reason why there's still so many of those little operations.' Even though MoneyGram is likely benefitting from attractive profit margins serving unbanked customers, that client set isn't growing so the company needs to create more of a digital presence, like a viable phone app, so it can expand in the digital arena, Gray said. 'If they really need to grow their volume, they've got to reach out to newer players, newer users, which means digital – it means wallets,' Gray said. Last October, Soohoo succeeded Alex Holmes, who left the company after leading it for nearly nine years and holding other top positions over seven years, including as chief financial officer and chief operating officer. Holmes attempted to digitize MoneyGram's business, but progress was slow. In the last year the company's financial results were public, the annual report for 2022 showed profits swung to $34.2 million, from a $37.9 million loss the prior year, on revenue of about $1.27 billion in both years. When Madison Dearborn investors appointed Soohoo last year, they were intent on speeding up the company's evolution. 'With the rate of digitization accelerating faster than ever, MoneyGram is at a pivotal moment in its journey to make secure and reliable financial services accessible for more customers across the globe, and Anthony is the right leader with the unique expertise needed to oversee the Company's next chapter of growth,' MDP Managing Director Brendan Barrett said in the release. The company has taken steps in that direction this year. Last month, MoneyGram rolled out an updated API to facilitate the movement of money between crypto and cash via the MoneyGram network. And in April, the company partnered with the fintech Plaid in an attempt to allow its customers to more easily authenticate their accounts for domestic as well as cross-border transactions. MoneyGram also expanded a partnership with Mastercard that month to let customers use that card network's credentials in certain markets. Nonetheless, MoneyGram isn't the only cross-border payments company trying to burnish its digital offering. It's got a lot of competition. Rivals include legacy peers like Western Union, but also digital stalwarts such as PayPal, with its Xoom service, and upstarts like Remitly. 'There's tons of competition,' Gray said. 'There's a lot of people doing it already and doing it well, in a lot of flavors.' Beyond that competition, cryptocurrencies present a rival business model to all players, especially as stablecoins make such payments with less volatility, Gray noted. While Soohoo's credentials focus on product development and customer experiences, he's recently made headway in filling out a team that adds to the company's management skill set. Soohoo hired Luke Tuttle in February as the company's chief technology officer. He pointed to Tuttle's experience at buy now, pay later company Klarna as an asset. He also just tapped Ammon Woods as the company's new chief revenue officer from outside the payments industry in April. MoneyGram is benefitting from Soohoo's work for retail behemoth Walmart, which has also been seeking to revamp payments, including by bypassing traditional card rails. He's also tapping knowledge from Apple, which offers one of the most used digital wallets. Soohoo understands some local economies won't be as digitally savvy as others. 'I think this is going to be a slow adoption for part of the world and really fast for others,' he said at a conference last month. 'We're going to have to make sure our services work for both.' Seven months into his tenure, Soohoo is stingy with specifics on his strategy, despite the need for speed. For instance, he won't say when MoneyGram's red phones will disappear from store counters, but he hinted that they'll be refashioned in some way. For now, he's keeping people guessing. When asked about the phones, Soohoo said: 'What I would say is that red is the new black, and it could be in the form of the phone that you've highlighted, or any other device that could be red.' Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Consumer Weakness Starting to Hit Travel, MoneyGram CEO Warns
The CEO of the international money transfer firm MoneyGram says the consumer is starting to feel stressed, especially when it comes to travel spending. Bloomberg's Sonali Basak caught up with Anthony Soohoo, the CEO of the company at the Goldman Sachs Leveraged Finance Conference in California. They talked about the impact of tariffs and when MoneyGram might go public again. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Bloomberg
29-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Consumer Weakness Starting to Hit Travel, MoneyGram CEO Warns
The CEO of the international money transfer firm MoneyGram says the consumer is starting to feel stressed, especially when it comes to travel spending. Bloomberg's Sonali Basak caught up with Anthony Soohoo, the CEO of the company at the Goldman Sachs Leveraged Finance Conference in California. They talked about the impact of tariffs and when MoneyGram might go public again. (Source: Bloomberg)
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
MoneyGram introduces API to bridge cash and crypto with ease
Payments network MoneyGram has unveiled MoneyGram Ramps, an API aimed to facilitate cash-to-crypto and crypto-to-cash services via a single integration. This initiative is designed to connect digital wallets, exchanges, and fintech applications with MoneyGram's worldwide cash network, allowing for the incorporation of crypto on/off-ramp functionality on a global scale. With this API, developers can enable cash deposits in over 30 countries and cash withdrawals in more than 170 countries via MoneyGram's network. MoneyGram Ramps aims to streamline integration processes, lowering deployment time from months to minutes. The setup for a sandbox environment, which previously took up to 15 days, can now be completed in approximately five minutes, the company press release stated. The API offers immediate credentials, sandbox access, and thorough documentation, alongside software development kits (SDKs), all accessible via Leveraging the Stellar blockchain and Circle's USDC, alongside MoneyGram's international network, MoneyGram Ramps acts as a conduit between physical and digital currencies. MoneyGram CEO Anthony Soohoo "With this launch, MoneyGram is quickly becoming the connective tissue between traditional finance and the digital economy. We've taken the complexity out of integration, opening the door to seamless connection with the world's largest cash on/off-ramp for digital wallets." "Our vision is a world without financial borders. That's why we focus on building simple, powerful tools that remove barriers to the global economy and level the playing field for all." This development comes on the heels of MoneyGram's collaboration with Mastercard to implement Mastercard Move, which is focused on enhancing the digital movement of money both within the US and across borders. "MoneyGram introduces API to bridge cash and crypto with ease " was originally created and published by Electronic Payments International, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
MoneyGram, Plaid team up on pay-by-bank service in US
Global payments network MoneyGram has picked fintech firm Plaid as its pay-by-bank provider in the US. This collaboration allows MoneyGram customers in the US to authenticate their bank accounts using Plaid's technology, which is said to facilitate quicker and more secure funding for both domestic and international transactions. The integration, designed to enhance the MoneyGram Online (MGO) platform, will expand into additional markets later this year. The pay-by-bank feature connects to Plaid's extensive network, which includes thousands of banks and credit unions. MoneyGram said its customers will benefit from enhanced security through its anti-fraud measures, combined with Plaid's instant account verification. Plaid payments and financial management head Brian Dammeir said: 'Plaid provides the most widely used and trusted network across digital financial services, covering thousands of financial institutions across the United States, Canada, Europe and the UK. 'Now, MoneyGram can leverage the power of the Plaid network to quickly and securely drive conversion, reduce bank returns and proactively prevent fraud.' Research indicates that consumers are increasingly seeking 'connected' financial services, highlighted MoneyGram. Over 75% of individuals in the US consider it important to link their bank accounts with financial applications, according to the company. Furthermore, more than 85% of users of financial technology prefer pay-by-bank options due to their convenience, speed, and security. MoneyGram CEO Anthony Soohoo said: 'The MoneyGram network moves money for over 50 million customers each year, across nearly every country in the world. 'This partnership with Plaid expands our global capabilities to deliver faster, more secure payments for our customers.' MoneyGram's network covers more than 200 countries and territories, with approximately 450,000 retail locations and five billion digital endpoints. Earlier this month, Plaid raised $575m in a funding round led by Franklin Templeton, with participation from Fidelity Management and existing investors NEA and Ribbit Capital. "MoneyGram, Plaid team up on pay-by-bank service in US" was originally created and published by Retail Banker International, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
