MoneyGram goes offline as it investigates cybersecurity problem

MoneyGram International is working to restore is financial transfer system after taking its operations offline several days ago because of a cybersecurity issue, the company said on Monday.

The Dallas-based company is working with cybersecurity experts and law enforcement as its works to resume normal business operations, it stated in a post on social media. 

“We recognize the importance and urgency of this matter to our customers and partners,” MoneyGram said.

A spokesperson for MoneyGram could not immediately be reached for further comment. 

In a post on Facebook, Massy Remittance Services alerted customers in the Caribbean that MoneyGram services were down as of Saturday. Hundreds of MoneyGram outages were being reported as of late Monday afternoon, according to Downdetector, which tracks user reports of outages. 

MoneyGram is widely used by immigrants across the U.S. to send payments to their home country and to pay bills. India and Mexico are the biggest receivers of such transfers, respectively, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. 

Remittances from the U.S. to Mexico rose to a record $55.9 billion in 2022, according to the regional Fed bank, which largely attributed the growth to strong employment in U.S. construction, with the industry a top employer of Mexican migrants. The average monthly money transfer from the U.S. to Mexico came to $390 in 2022, it found.  

A survey published by MoneyGram earlier this month found that nearly half of its customers send money across borders to help family members buy food, while more than a third wired money for emergency costs. 

MoneyGram serves more than 50 million people in more than 200 countries and territories each year, processing more than $200 billion annually, according to the company.