MAYBANK Singapore has teamed up with Western Union to offer a worldwide remittance service.

Launched yesterday, the collaboration between Maybank Singapore and money transfer giant Western Union means that anyone can walk into any of the 12 participating Maybank branches here to remit money overseas.

Maybank aims to increase its share of the local remittance market, given the number of foreigners living here.

'In Singapore alone, there are an estimated 1.2 million, of whom 400,000 are white-collar workers,' said Lim Kuo Siong, head of information technology and e-Business at Maybank.

Participating branches are in areas such as Jurong East, Ang Mo Kio and Tampines, where migrant workers live, Maybank said.

The Western Union remittance service utilises a cash-to-cash platform that does not require users to have a Maybank savings account. Maybank customers and non-customers can therefore use the service.

It is also two-way, so funds can be transferred into and out of Singapore.

'The 12 new Maybank locations will help us expand the Western Union network to 91 outlets in Singapore, allowing more consumers to access Western Union service,' said David Batubara, Western Union's country director for Singapore

Western Union has a significant presence in countries such as India, China, Indonesia and the Philippines - where a substantial proportion of Singapore's migrant workers come from.

This article was first published in The Business Times.