Western Union executives said tighter immigration policies and fewer new migrants are weakening transaction growth in the Americas, including continued declines in money transfers from the United States to Mexico.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Western Union executives said reduced migration into the United States is creating sustained pressure on the company’s remittance business, making it more difficult to replace customers who return to their home countries or stop using retail money-transfer services.
Chief Financial Officer Matt Cagwin discussed the effect during Western Union’s latest earnings call, where the company reported second-quarter results that missed estimates.
“New migration is the lifeline of our retail business. With borders closed, it is difficult to offset natural attrition… as consumers return home to their native countries,” Cagwin said.
Western Union has long maintained a large international network for transferring money across borders, particularly for customers who rely on cash pickup locations. The company’s business has increasingly faced competition from lower-cost digital payment platforms, while fees on some international transfers remain high. A cash transfer from South Africa to Botswana, for example, can carry charges amounting to approximately 40%.
The latest results continue a broader pattern that became visible after President Donald Trump returned to office and pursued stricter immigration enforcement.
Western Union had previously reported fewer U.S. dollars being sent abroad by migrants as migration patterns began shifting.
The United States also recorded negative net migration last year for the first time in more than 50 years, meaning more people left the country than entered during the measured period.
That change has had a visible effect on transfers to Mexico, one of the largest remittance markets tied to the United States.
Remittances sent from the United States to Mexico fell by nearly 5% during 2025, marking the largest annual decline in 16 years.
Western Union Chief Executive Officer Devin McGranahan said the contraction continued during the second quarter of 2026.
“U.S. to Mexico declined a little over 3% on a transaction basis in the quarter [Q2, 2026],” McGranahan said.
Western Union shares fell 15% following the earnings release.
McGranahan directly connected the company’s difficulties in the Americas to changes in U.S. immigration policy, saying the business would struggle to return to sustained growth without a reversal in current migration trends.
“As you know, remittances in the Americas have faced meaningful pressure that began in late 2024, driven by the changes in immigration policy… It just means it will be difficult to get the business back to true growth without a meaningful change in immigration policy…” McGranahan said.
The comments indicate that Western Union’s retail transfer model remains closely tied to the arrival of new migrants who regularly send money to relatives and other recipients abroad.
As fewer people enter the United States and remittance transactions to countries such as Mexico decline, the company faces the challenge of replacing lost volume while competing with newer digital services that offer faster transfers and lower fees.
Original article
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