Western Union 2013 Annual Report Download - page 133

2013 FORM 10-K
23
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
There are many factors that affect our business, financial condition and results of operations, some of which are beyond our
control. These risks include, but are not limited to, the risks described below. Such risks are grouped according to:
• Risks Relating to Our Business and Industry;
• Risks Related to Our Regulatory and Litigation Environment; and
• Risks Related to the Spin-Off.
You should carefully consider all of these risks.
Risks Relating to Our Business and Industry
If consumers' confidence in our business or in consumer money transfer and payment service providers generally deteriorates,
our business, financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.
Our business is built on consumers' confidence in our brands and our ability to provide fast, reliable money transfer and
payment services. Erosion in consumers' confidence in our business, or in consumer money transfer and payment service providers
as a means to transfer money, could adversely impact transaction volumes which would in turn adversely impact our business,
financial condition and results of operations.
A number of factors could adversely affect consumers' confidence in our business, or in consumer money transfer and payment
service providers generally, many of which are beyond our control, and could have an adverse impact on our results of operations.
These factors include:
• changes or proposed changes in laws or regulations or regulator or judicial interpretation thereof that have the effect of making
it more difficult or less desirable for consumers to transfer money using consumer money transfer and payment service
providers, including additional customer due diligence, identification, reporting, and recordkeeping requirements;
• the quality of our services and our customer experience, and our ability to meet evolving consumer needs and preferences,
including customer preferences related to our digital services;
• failure of our agents or their subagents to deliver services in accordance with our requirements;
• reputational concerns resulting from actual or perceived events, including those related to fraud or consumer protection;
• actions by federal, state or foreign regulators that interfere with our ability to transfer consumers' money reliably, for example,
attempts to seize money transfer funds, or limit our ability to or prohibit us from transferring money in certain corridors;
• federal, state or foreign legal requirements, including those that require us to provide consumer or transaction data pursuant
to our agreement and settlement with the State of Arizona and other requirements or to a greater extent than is currently
required;
• any significant interruption in our systems, including by fire, natural disaster, power loss, telecommunications failure, terrorism,
vendor failure, unauthorized entry and computer viruses or disruptions in our workforce; and
• any breach of our security policies or legal requirements resulting in a compromise of consumer privacy or data use and
security.
Many of our money transfer consumers are migrants. Consumer advocacy groups or governmental agencies could consider
migrants to be disadvantaged and entitled to protection, enhanced consumer disclosure, or other different treatment. If consumer
advocacy groups are able to generate widespread support for actions that are detrimental to our business, then our business, financial
condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.