Western Union Company, a leader in money transfer and global payment service, and Bank Asia, one of the leading banks in Bangladesh introduced Western Union’s Direct-to-Bank (D2B) money transfer service for the first time in Bangladesh.

The new service will allow Bangladeshi expatriates send money to their family members in Bangladesh at any bank account connected to BEFTN (Bangladesh Electronic Funds Transfer Network) from any of Western Union’s participating agent locations across the world.

The service is currently available from Malaysia as a first step and will soon be offered from other countries across the globe, said a press release.

The service was launched at a function in Dhaka recently. Kiran Shetty, Western Union’s Regional Vice President for South Asia, and Md. Mehmood Husain, President and Managing Director of Bank Asia Ltd, were present.

“According to the Bangladesh Bank, remittances sent by Bangladeshis living and working abroad surpassed $14.4 billion during the period August 2012 - July 2013, and represent 10 percent of the country's GDP,” said Western Union’s Regional Vice President for South Asia, Kiran Shetty.

“In such a vibrant country, we at Western Union believe that our task is to extend our services to as many consumers and provide them with more choices in moving money in a reliable and convenient manner. The cooperation between Western Union and Bank Asia will help Non-Resident Bangladeshis send money directly to bank accounts in Bangladesh, facilitating greater access to financial services. We are very happy to join hands with Bank Asia and offer this new service D2B” Shetty continued.