This story was delivered to Business Insider Intelligence Payments Briefing subscribers hours before appearing on Business Insider To be the first to know please click here Visa is partnering with legacy remittance firm MoneyGram to launch real-time digital money transfers through Visa Direct Visas push payment service that enables near-instant domestic and cross-border payments BI Intelligence The partnership gives MoneyGram customers the option to send and receive funds via a bank account attached to their Visa debit card or load the cash onto a Visa prepaid card forgoing the need to go to a cash pickup location though that option remains The partnership will go into effect in October in two high priority corridors US to Mexico Remittances to Mexico reached 31 billion in 2017 making it one of the largest recipient countries The US-Mexico remittance corridor specifically is one of the largest in the world consumers sent 30 billion from the US to Mexico last year and its only poised to become more important as global remittance volume increases This partnership will allow both firms to solidify their positions in the market as volume grows US to the Philippines The Philippines received 33 billion in remittances in 2017 making it the third-largest remittance-receiving market Consumers in the US sent close to 12 billion to the Philippines last year making it a significant corridor to the US overall remittance volume Establishing a presence in another of the most active remittance markets will allow both firms to increase volume The addition of Visa Direct can help MoneyGram grow its revenue and remain at the forefront MoneyGrams revenue has been declining overall and the firm missed out on what could have been a huge opportunity when Ant Financials proposed 12 billion buyout was rejected But this partnership could facilitate more efficient transfers which could boost volume increase loyalty and help the firm remain competitive Real-time money transfers with flexible electronic receive options could help MoneyGram compete with digital upstarts which often undercut legacy firms on pricing and can be faster as well Additionally leveraging Visa Directs platform to give customers more disbursement options and make the process more convenient could be attractive to customers in turn bringing in users or growing engagement from customers who might have turned to other options thus improving MoneyGrams stature The partnership benefits Visa too as it marks the first cross-border initiative for Visa Direct in the US and the firms plan to expand the partnership to other markets as well Access to MoneyGrams 200-plus-corridor market could increase Visa Directs volume as the partnership scales bring the service to new regions and make customers more aware in turn benefiting the firm Subscribe to a Premium pass to Business Insider Intelligence and gain immediate access to Content like this delivered straight to your inbox daily Access to 250 expertly researched reports plus all future reports Forecasts of new and emerging technologies in your industry And more Learn More