• News
    • Latest news
    • News search
    • Health
    • Finance
    • Food
    • Career news
    • Content series
    • Try Devex Pro
  • Jobs
    • Job search
    • Post a job
    • Employer search
    • CV Writing
    • Upcoming career events
    • Try Career Account
  • Funding
    • Funding search
    • Funding news
  • Talent
    • Candidate search
    • Devex Talent Solutions
  • Events
    • Upcoming and past events
    • Partner on an event
  • Post a job
  • About
      • About us
      • Membership
      • Newsletters
      • Advertising partnerships
      • Devex Talent Solutions
      • Contact us
Join DevexSign in
Join DevexSign in

News

  • Latest news
  • News search
  • Health
  • Finance
  • Food
  • Career news
  • Content series
  • Try Devex Pro

Jobs

  • Job search
  • Post a job
  • Employer search
  • CV Writing
  • Upcoming career events
  • Try Career Account

Funding

  • Funding search
  • Funding news

Talent

  • Candidate search
  • Devex Talent Solutions

Events

  • Upcoming and past events
  • Partner on an event
Post a job

About

  • About us
  • Membership
  • Newsletters
  • Advertising partnerships
  • Devex Talent Solutions
  • Contact us
  • My Devex
  • Update my profile % complete
  • Account & privacy settings
  • My saved jobs
  • Manage newsletters
  • Support
  • Sign out
Latest newsNews searchHealthFinanceFoodCareer newsContent seriesTry Devex Pro
    • Devex Impact
    • News
    • VIDEO: NGO GlobalPay

    Western Union’s Brian Harris on solving last-mile financing for NGOs

    A year after Western Union launched its NGO GlobalPay system, Brian Harris, chief product officer of Western Union Business Solutions, tells Devex Impact what the company has learned and how the program will grow.

    By Adva Saldinger // 17 October 2013

    Just about a year ago Western Union, the global payment services company, committed to developing a product designed especially for NGOs that would enable these global organizations to deliver cash to partners or beneficiaries on the ground, thereby overcoming the challenges of the “last mile.”

    Now, a year later, Brian Harris, the chief product officer of Western Union Business Solutions explained how the company approached the NGO GlobalPay system.

    “Philosophically we took the NGO as our customer, and we needed to understand what their problems were, what their pain points were,” he said. “I think we started out with this perception that it was just about moving funds. Really what we started to understand were the very specific use cases.”

    The system was then designed around the two greatest priorities – getting money to field workers in times of crises and supplying larger funds to support the communities they serve, Harris said.

    Western Union worked with 36 organizations in the pilot year of NGO GlobalPay and has now expanded to 60 countries. Harris said the system will be operational in 189 countries by the end of the year.

    Explore related content:

    • Talking social enterprises and partnerships at CGI

    • How USAID’s partners are transitioning to e-payments

    • The ‘last mile’ challenge: What NGOs need

    Join Devex, the largest online community for international development, to network with peers, discover talent and forge new partnerships - it’s free! Then sign up for the Devex Impact newsletter to receive cutting-edge news and analysis every month on the intersection of business and development. 

      Printing articles to share with others is a breach of our terms and conditions and copyright policy. Please use the sharing options on the left side of the article. Devex Pro members may share up to 10 articles per month using the Pro share tool ( ).

      About the author

      • Adva Saldinger

        Adva Saldinger@AdvaSal

        Adva Saldinger is a Senior Reporter at Devex where she covers development finance, as well as U.S. foreign aid policy. Adva explores the role the private sector and private capital play in development and authors the weekly Devex Invested newsletter bringing the latest news on the role of business and finance in addressing global challenges. A journalist with more than 10 years of experience, she has worked at several newspapers in the U.S. and lived in both Ghana and South Africa.

      Search for articles

      Related Stories

      Devex DishDevex Dish: What WHA accomplished for nutrition — and the questions that remain

      Devex Dish: What WHA accomplished for nutrition — and the questions that remain

      The Trump EffectUS aid tracker: Following Trump’s cuts to international development

      US aid tracker: Following Trump’s cuts to international development

      Most Read

      • 1
        How low-emissions livestock are transforming dairy farming in Africa
      • 2
        Opinion: Mobile credit, savings, and insurance can drive financial health
      • 3
        Opinion: India’s bold leadership in turning the tide for TB
      • 4
        WHO names new directors in ongoing restructure
      • 5
        State Department employees in anxious limbo over massive staff cuts
      • News
      • Jobs
      • Funding
      • Talent
      • Events

      Devex is the media platform for the global development community.

      A social enterprise, we connect and inform over 1.3 million development, health, humanitarian, and sustainability professionals through news, business intelligence, and funding & career opportunities so you can do more good for more people. We invite you to join us.

      • About us
      • Membership
      • Newsletters
      • Advertising partnerships
      • Devex Talent Solutions
      • Post a job
      • Careers at Devex
      • Contact us
      © Copyright 2000 - 2025 Devex|User Agreement|Privacy Statement