MoneyGram is upgrading its digital capabilities beyond international cash pickup services with FastSend, a new feature that allows customers to send money to recipients’ accounts via mobile phone numbers instead of account numbers. The feature rolled out earlier this month. 

“We’re trying to address [pain points] with a fintech startup mentality and a very convenient service,” said Youri Bebic, global head of product and innovation at MoneyGram.  

FastSend is an upgrade to the account-to-account digital money-transfer tool the company launched in September. In an effort to retain customers, the feature aims to create a customer experience resembling that of money transfer startups Remitly and TransferWise. 

Customers can use FastSend by logging into MoneyGram through the desktop or the mobile app. Once they input a recipient’s phone number and name, MoneyGram sends recipients a text alerting them the funds are available. The service costs $1.99 per transaction, which Bebic said is also cheaper than MoneyGram alternatives. Sending $100 to Spain to a bank account, for example, costs $4.99, according to the company’s website.  

MoneyGram, based in Dallas, has historically offered traditional cross-border money-transfer services, allowing customers to send funds to a MoneyGram storefront at another location for near-instant pickup.  

See also: MoneyGram takes aim at startups with peer-to-peer international payments

The company has been innovating the customer experience to accommodate digital-first customers, and in December partnered with the Visa Direct payment system on account-to-account transfers, which now take minutes instead of a full business day. 

For now, customers can use FastSend to mobile numbers within the U.S. and from the U.S. to Spain. Bebic said the company plans to expand the service to around 10 to 15 countries soon, including markets in Europe and Asia. 

Despite these enhancements, startups still present a threat to legacy money transfer providers like MoneyGram. An Aite Group study released in August stated that MoneyGram had experienced a 5% decline in transaction volume from 2015-2018. Talie Baker, the author of the study and senior analyst at Aite, told Bank Innovation in December the company might face challenges scaling its services to new markets, particularly those with high populations of unbanked or underbanked citizens. 

MoneyGram, however, said it will strategically launch its new feature in countries with high debit card adoption, and the digital platform reverts to cash pickup if recipients don’t have a debit card.  

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