MoneyGram 2009 Annual Report Download - page 8

Table of Contents
We have made enhancements to our MoneyGram Online service and will continue to make further enhancements to provide a better
consumer experience and efficiency in completing a transaction for our online customers, as well as more cost-effective transaction
processing. We also enhanced our MoneyGram rewards program and now offer members the ability to receive a text message on their
mobile phones informing them that the funds they transferred have been picked up by their receiver. We expanded our MoneyGram
Rewards program to Canada, Italy, France, Germany and Spain in 2009, and will continue its international expansion during 2010 and
beyond. Total MoneyGram Rewards membership grew 30 percent from 2008.
We continue to invest in our infrastructure to provide a better overall consumer and agent experience, reduce our costs and create
efficiencies. We have made important infrastructure enhancements to our settlement and commission processing, data management,
financial systems and regulatory and compliance reporting. We are continuing our efforts to enhance our agent on-boarding process,
improving our speed to market for new agents.
Sales and Marketing
We market our products and services through a number of dedicated sales and marketing teams, and we continually assess the
effectiveness of our sales and marketing efforts. In the United States, a dedicated sales and marketing team markets our money transfer,
money order and bill payment services. Dedicated sales and marketing teams also market our bill payment services directly to billers,
including those in key verticals, and market our official check and money order services to financial institutions. In addition, we have
sales and marketing teams that focus on strategic alliances and partnerships. Internationally, we have sales and marketing teams located
in or near the following regions: Western Europe; Eastern Europe; Asia; Australia; the Middle East; Africa; Canada; Mexico; and Latin
America.
Our sales and marketing efforts continue to be supported by a wide range of consumer advertising methods. A key component of our
advertising and marketing is our global branding. Our global branding is a result of significant research and differentiates MoneyGram
from other payment services providers. Signage continues to be a key method by which we build global awareness of our brand. We
strive to ensure that our signs are displayed prominently at our agent locations and that our signage displays our brand consistently across
the markets we serve. We also use traditional media methods to reach our consumers, including television, radio and print advertising, as
well as advertising our services at community and cultural events throughout the world.
Our MoneyGram Rewards program continues to build loyalty and repeat usage with consumers around the world. The program includes
features such as a discount structure based on a consumer's use of our services, e-mail and/or text message notifications to the sender
when the funds are picked up, and a more streamlined customer service experience.
Competition
While we are the second largest money transfer company in the world, the market for our money transfer and bill payment services
remains very competitive. The market consists of a small number of large competitors and a large number of small, niche competitors.
Our competitors include other large money transfer and electronic bill payment providers, banks and niche person-to-person money
transfer service providers that serve select regions. As new technologies for money transfer and bill payment services emerge that allow
consumers to send and receive money and to pay bills in a variety of ways, we face increasing competition. These emerging technologies
include online payment services, card-based services such as ATM cards and stored-value cards, bank-to-bank money transfers and
mobile telephone payment services.
We generally compete for money transfer agents on the basis of value, service, quality, technical and operational differences, price and
commission. We compete for money transfer consumers on the basis of number and location of outlets, price, convenience, technology
and brand recognition.
Regulation
Compliance with legal requirements and government regulations is a highly complex and integral part of our day-to-day operations. Our
operations are subject to a wide range of laws and regulations that include international,
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