As a humanitarian gesture to provide relief to civilians who are being displaced in areas of Pakistan, the Western Union Foundation and the Western Union Company are donating $50,000 to Mercy Corps, a global relief and development organization. This donation is part of Western Union’s Our World, Our Family® program, a five year, $50 million commitment to reaching people at every rung of the economic ladder
Western Union is also launching a “No Transfer Fee” Pricing Action for any donations sent to Mercy Corps from the United States, Middle East, or Europe for the Pakistan relief efforts until July 31, 2009.1 Donations will be vital in offering emergency support to supplement the relief efforts of the Government of Pakistan, UN agencies and various NGOs for the displaced civilians in Pakistan.
Jean Claude Farah, Senior Vice President MEPA (Middle East, Pakistan and Afghanistan) at Western Union said, “We recognize the dire circumstances of the displaced Pakistani civilians in parts of the country. By providing funds to Mercy Corps and encouraging donations from others concerned about the plight of these individuals and communities, we hope to support the relief efforts to improve the situation for thousands of people. Western Union has been providing money transfer services in Pakistan since 1996; we want to play our part to help the community.”
He added that the Quick Collect “no transfer fee” process for donations in the past has provided contributions from $5 to thousands of dollars to NGOs helping thousands of people.
“We have worked with Mercy Corps many times in the past in relief efforts around the world. Mercy Corps can provide relief almost immediately due to their global presence, “said Luella Chavez D’Angelo, President, The Western Union Foundation.
Here is how you can make a donation through Western Union to Mercy Corps for the Pakistan relief efforts without paying any transfer fees:
Senders can take their funds2 in cash to the closest Western Union agent to send a donation via Quick Collect (also known as “Quick Pay” in some areas).3 Senders then complete the blue Send a PAYMENT via Quick Collect form.
Enter Dollar Amount: $XX
Pay to: MERCY CORPS
Code city: MERCYCORPS, OR
Reference/attention: PAKISTAN RELIEF
The Western Union agent enters the Quick Collect information into the Western Union Money Transfer System, allowing funds to be transferred directly to Mercy Corps’ office. Quick Collect form completion requires:
(a) Sender’s name, address, phone number
(b) The reference (Pakistan Relief) to which the funds are to be credited
(c) The Quick Collect code city and state, which is: MERCYCORPS, OR and
(d) Cash equal to the amount of the donation
Western Union’s Quick Collect standard fee is waived. Senders will be issued a written receipt at the conclusion of the transaction.
QUICK PAY – International Sender locations
Same process as above for consumers – use the following Code Cities depending upon local currency being used.
Currency type used at Agent location and Pay to Name QuickPay Code City
1. EURO Mercy Corps-EURO Mercycorpseur, UK
2. GBP Mercy Corps-GBP Mercycorpsgbp, UK
3. USD Mercy Corps-USA Mercycorpsusa, UK
1 Sending “no fee” donations is only available at participating Western Union Agent locations in the United States, the Middle East or Europe which provide the Quick Collect or QuickPay service.
2Funds must be made in US$, Euros or Sterling to avoid any transfer fees for donations to Mercy Corps until July 31st, 2009.
3Countries which currently offer Quick Pay services include:
In Europe – United Kingdom, Norway, Denmark and Italy.
In MEPA – Afghanistan, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Yemen
