MoneyGram Offers No-Fee Service for Sending Donations to Red Cross for Hurricane and Peru Relief Programs

“MoneyGram announced today that its money transfer network in the U.S. will be available for sending donations to the American Red Cross to help victims of the recent hurricane and earthquake in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The company will waive its normal transaction fees for anyone sending these contributions for a limited time.

For contributions to the Red Cross earthquake relief program for Peru, fees will be waived through Sept. 30; transaction fees on donations to the Red Cross Latin American/Caribbean hurricane relief efforts will be waived until Nov. 1.

“Our deepest sympathies go out to everyone touched by these disasters,” said Phil Milne, president and chief executive officer of MoneyGram International. “We hope we can help by opening our network and expediting the flow of funds for relief to the Red Cross.”

“Hurricane Dean and the recent earthquake in Peru are reminders of the power of nature, but the resiliency of disaster survivors are reminders of the power of the human spirit,” said Kathleen Loehr, interim senior vice president of development for the American Red Cross. “We are thankful for MoneyGram’s support, providing their customers with a convenient donation channel to support the work of the Red Cross in response to these and other international disasters. Our humanitarian mission can only become a reality through the support and generosity of caring people and partners, such as MoneyGram and its customers.”

MoneyGram is also making a $20,000 corporate grant to the American Red Cross for disaster relief.

To make up to a $240 no-fee donation to the American Red Cross, go to a MoneyGram agent location in the U.S. and tell the agent that you wish to send a Red Cross donation for either Peru earthquake relief (receive code 2541) or Latin America/Caribbean hurricane relief (receive code 3727). To locate a MoneyGram agent, call 1-800-MONEYGRAM or go to the agent locator on the company’s Web site at www.moneygram.com. To make an on-line donation, go to the MoneyGram eMoney Transfer site at www.moneygram.com. Click on “Send Money On-line,” choose ExpressPayment then select the relief effort you wish to help. Save the receipt for proof of the charitable contribution.

MoneyGram is also working with the Spanish Red Cross on a special campaign to aid the Peru earthquake victims. For that campaign, MoneyGram will donate one Euro to the Spanish Red Cross for every MoneyGram money transfer sent from Spain to Peru for a limited time. That campaign began Aug. 24 and will run through Sept. 7. MoneyGram has a large agent network in Peru and agents in the affected regions have been able to continue providing services.

In the last few years, MoneyGram has helped raise about $300,000 to help disaster victims through the American Red Cross. The company responded to the Hurricane Katrina disaster in 2005 with a corporate donation of $125,000 to Red Cross.

MoneyGram International, Inc., (NYSE:MGI) is a leading global payment services company with 125,000 money transfer agent locations in 170 countries and territories. The company’s major products and services include global money transfers, money orders and payment processing solutions for financial institutions and retail customers.

MoneyGram is committed to giving back to the communities where it does business through its involvement with Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity International and the MoneyGram Global Giving Program. For more information about MoneyGram, visit the company’s website at www.moneygram.com. “

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