Closed Borders Killing Western Union, Earnings Call Transcripts Reveal
Western Union CFO Matt Cagwin quietly acknowledged in yesterday’s earnings call that fewer border crossings under the Trump admin are chipping away at the remittance behemoth’s profits:
“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.
WU has long been the dominant vampire skimming absurd fees off international remittances while providing no technological convenience that Venmo hasn’t already surpassed. It’s instead maintained its now-dwindling market share through lobbying, which is why it can charge a 40% for a South Africa-to-Botswana cash transfer:
Western Union charges as high as 40,11% for a ~$84 USD remittance from South Africa to Botswana. Data from the World Bank, Q2 2021.
The firm’s decline is continuing a trend since President Trump took office for his second term, during which he’s been markedly more hawkish on immigration, with the United States seeing net negative migration last year for the first time in over half a century.
For 2025, it was reported that remittances from the U.S. to Mexico declined almost 5% for the year. Last year’s trend appears to be accelerating.
On yesterday’s earnings call, Western Union CEO Devin McGranahan said that remittances from “U.S. to Mexico declined a little over 3% on a transaction basis in the quarter [Q2, 2026].”
WU’s stock was down 15% on the day, following the news. CEO McGranahan also acknowledged that immigration policy was the core driver behind the revenue loss:
“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…”
Tyler Durden
Sat, 08/01/2026 – 09:55