Western Union Provides Hedging Service To Hong Kong SMEs

In an effort to better serve Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) of Hong Kong, Western Union Co. (NYSE:WU) has launched a new product – FX Options.

FX Option will help SMEs engaged in cross border trade to manage their exposure to currency volatility. Western Union already offers FX products like spot FX and forward FX contracts. FX Options has the unique feature of providing benefits of favorable currency movements and limiting risks in case of adverse foreign exchange movement.

Western Union is keen on serving the growing number of SMEs in the region. Its FX Option can also be customized to suit the particular needs of an SME. Per the Census and Statistics Department, as of Dec 2015, there were about 320 000 SMEs in Hong Kong. They accounted for over 98% of Hong Kong’s total business units and provided job opportunities to nearly 1.3 million people or about 46% of its total employment.

WESTERN UNION Price

Since SMEs have substantial exposure to currency fluctuations thanks to their international trade, FX Option should go a long way in making international payments smoother for them. Because of uncertainty in movements of foreign currencies, SMEs face difficulty in estimating the value of payments to be made. This in turn leads to difficulty in forecasting their cash flows.

The use of Western Union’s latest risk management tool will bring considerable respite to SMEs that are already reeling under the impact of a volatile global economy, a strong Hong Kong dollar and the economic slowdown in China.

Western Union also provides the FX Option service to SMEs in Czech Republic.

Western Union carries a Zacks Rank # 3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the space are Global Total System Services, Inc. (NYSE:TSS) , Vantiv, Inc. (NYSE:VNTV) and Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. (NYSE:FIS) . Each of these stocks carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).