Western Union is looking to work with a new partner in Bermuda to undertake international money transfers.

The global financial-services giant told The Royal Gazette that its services on the island were unavailable now as its agent had “ceased money transfer operations”.

Paula Barifouse, regional global money transfer communications leader at Western Union, told The Royal Gazette: “Bermuda is an important market for the company, and Western Union has offered money-transfer services in alliance with our agent, Bermuda Financial Network (BFN), since 2008.

“At this time, our services are unavailable, as BFN has ceased money transfer operations.

“Western Union has been working to restore services with another agent as soon as practicable, in line with our commitment to provide our customers with reliable and efficient services.

“Our customers have trusted our services for many years and we apologise for the inconvenience caused by this service disruption.”

The Western Union service, has been down for several months. In September this year, Ms Barifouse said that BFN was “undergoing enhancements to ensure compliance with Western Union’s policies and procedures, as well as local regulations”.

BFN declined to comment on the matter.

Money-transfer services are popular among foreign workers looking to send cash home to their families overseas.

A spokesperson from the Filipino Association said: “As far as the Filipino community is concerned, they still send their money through Moneygram and through online banking.”