Unistream, a Moscow-based money transfer company, has applied to the Central Bank of Cyprus to obtain a license to operate a money transfer business on the island.
The new company, Unistream Cyprus, will be based in Nicosia and is expected to compete with Western Union and Moneygram, but with cheaper rates that is expected to attract both retail and business clients.
Souren Hayriyan, the director general of the international company that is expected to brach out to London and New York “very soon”, said that Unistream Cyprus is presently hiring personnel for the new office and plans to create its own network in the country, possibly through local partners.
“We are expanding as an international company and Cyprus is a very promising market for us. It is very popular among tourists, and many people who have established their business on the island,” Hayriyan said.
“This is also an important step for us in order to establish a foothold in the EU market.”
From 1% rate charge
In Unistream money transfers, the fee is paid by the sender only and varies for each country. For example, if money is sent from Russia to Great Britain the commission charge is as little is 1% of the amount. If money is sent to the US, the commission will be 2.5%.
“We never did business in Cyprus before but our commission is expected to be in the range of 2% to 3%,” Hayriyan said.
Unistream is a Moscow based international financial institution offering a wide range of money transfer services to individuals around the world since 2001. It was founded by Uniastrum Bank and has grown into an independent financial institution with over 12,000 customer service outlets in more than 80 countries.
Having established strong relationships with its business partners around the globe, the system features inexpensive, fast and reliable money transfer services, meeting all international business standards and demonstrating excellent financial results.
So far, the company has partnership agreements with over 120 financial institutions world wide to jointly develop smooth, efficient and secure money transfer.
Unistream has created its own state-of-the-art telecommunication system and computer software with a high degree of security in mind.
Currently the system boasts an annual turnover of about USD 750 million.
