| Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies) | 12 Months Ended |
| Dec. 31, 2019 |
| Summary of Significant Accounting Policies | |
| Basis of Presentation | Basis of Presentation The financial statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are presented on a consolidated basis and include the accounts of the Company and its majority-owned subsidiaries. All significant intercompany transactions and accounts have been eliminated. Consistent with industry practice, the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets are unclassified due to the short-term nature of the Company’s settlement obligations contrasted with the Company’s ability to invest cash awaiting settlement in long-term investment securities. |
| Use of Estimates | Use of Estimates The preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“GAAP”) requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from these estimates. |
| Principles of Consolidation | Principles of Consolidation The Company consolidates financial results when it has a controlling financial interest in a subsidiary via voting rights or when it has both the power to direct the activities of an entity that most significantly impact the entity’s economic performance and the ability to absorb losses or the right to receive benefits of the entity that could potentially be significant to the entity. The Company utilizes the equity method of accounting when it is able to exercise significant influence over an entity’s operations, which generally occurs when the Company has an ownership interest between 20% and 50%. |
| Earnings/(Loss) Per Share | Earnings/(Loss) Per Share The calculation of basic earnings/(loss) per share is computed by dividing net income/(loss) available to common stockholders by the weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding for the period. Outstanding options to purchase Western Union stock and unvested shares of restricted stock are excluded from basic shares outstanding. Diluted earnings/(loss) per share reflects the potential dilution that could occur if outstanding stock options at the presented dates are exercised and shares of restricted stock have vested, using the treasury stock method. The treasury stock method assumes proceeds from the exercise price of stock options and the unamortized compensation expense of options and restricted stock are available to acquire shares at an average market price throughout the period, and therefore, reduce the dilutive effect. For the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017, there were 1.9 million, 2.6 million, and 2.8 million, respectively, of shares excluded from the diluted earnings/(loss) per share calculation under the treasury stock method, primarily due to outstanding options to purchase shares of Western Union stock, as their exercise prices were above the Company’s weighted-average share price during the periods and their effect was anti-dilutive. Due to the net loss for the year ended December 31, 2017, an additional 3.0 million shares have been excluded from diluted weighted-average shares outstanding, because the effect of including such shares would be anti-dilutive in the calculation of diluted loss per share. The following table provides the calculation of diluted weighted-average shares outstanding (in millions): Year Ended December 31, 2019 2018 2017 Basic weighted-average shares outstanding 427.6 451.8 467.9 Common stock equivalents 3.3 2.6 — Diluted weighted-average shares outstanding 430.9 454.4 467.9 |
| Fair Value Measurements | Fair Value Measurements The Company determines the fair values of its assets and liabilities that are recognized or disclosed at fair value in accordance with the hierarchy described below. The fair values of the assets and liabilities held in the Company’s defined benefit plan trust (“Trust”) are recognized or disclosed utilizing the same hierarchy. The following three levels of inputs may be used to measure fair value: ● Level 1 - Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities. ● Level 2 - Observable inputs other than Level 1 prices such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities, quoted prices in markets that are not active, or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities. For most of these assets, the Company utilizes pricing services that use multiple prices as inputs to determine daily market values. ● Level 3 - Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the fair value of the assets or liabilities. Level 3 assets and liabilities include items where the determination of fair value requires significant management judgment or estimation. The Company holds assets classified as Level 3 that are recognized and disclosed at fair value on a non-recurring basis related to the Company’s business combinations, where the values of the intangible assets and goodwill acquired in a purchase are derived utilizing one of the three recognized approaches: the market approach, the income approach, or the cost approach. In addition, the Trust has other investments that are valued at net asset value, which are not quoted on an active market; however, the unit price is based on underlying investments which are traded on an active market. Carrying amounts for many of the Company’s financial instruments, including cash and cash equivalents, settlement cash and cash equivalents, and settlement receivables and settlement obligations approximate fair value due to their short maturities. Available-for-sale investment securities and derivative financial instruments are carried at fair value and further discussed in Note 9. Fixed-rate notes are carried at their original issuance values and adjusted over time to accrete that value to par, except for portions of notes hedged by interest rate swap agreements as disclosed in Note 15. The fair values of fixed-rate notes are disclosed in Note 9 and are based on market quotations. The fair values of non-financial assets and liabilities related to the Company’s business combinations are disclosed in Note 5. The fair value of the assets in the Trust, which holds the assets for the Company’s defined benefit pension plan, is disclosed in Note 12. |
| Business Combinations | Business Combinations The Company accounts for all business combinations where control over another entity is obtained using the acquisition method of accounting, which requires that most assets (both tangible and intangible), liabilities (including contingent consideration), and remaining noncontrolling interests be recognized at fair value at the date of acquisition. The excess of the purchase price over the fair value of assets less liabilities and noncontrolling interests is recognized as goodwill. Certain adjustments to the assessed fair values of the assets, liabilities, or noncontrolling interests made subsequent to the acquisition date, but within the measurement period, which is one year or less, are recorded as adjustments to goodwill. Any adjustments subsequent to the measurement period are recorded within Net income. Any cost or equity method interest that the Company holds in the acquired company prior to the acquisition is remeasured to fair value at acquisition with a resulting gain or loss recognized within Other income, net for the difference between fair value and existing book value. Results of operations of the acquired company are included in the Company’s results from the date of the acquisition forward and include amortization expense arising from acquired intangible assets. The Company expenses all costs as incurred related to or involved with an acquisition in Selling, general, and administrative expenses. |
| Cash and Cash Equivalents | Cash and Cash Equivalents Highly liquid investments (other than those included in settlement assets) with maturities of three months or less at the date of purchase (that are readily convertible to cash) are considered to be cash equivalents and are stated at cost, which approximates fair value. The Company maintains cash and cash equivalent balances, including a portion in money market funds, with a group of globally diversified banks and financial institutions. The Company limits the concentration of its cash and cash equivalents with any one institution and regularly reviews investment concentrations and credit worthiness of these institutions. |
| Allowance for Doubtful Accounts | Allowance for Doubtful Accounts The Company records an allowance for doubtful accounts when it is probable that the related receivable balance will not be collected based on its history of collection experience, known collection issues, such as agent suspensions and bankruptcies, consumer chargebacks and insufficient funds, and other matters the Company identifies in its routine collection monitoring. The allowance for doubtful accounts was $42.2 million and $47.7 million as of December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively, and is recorded in the same balance sheet captions as the related receivable. During the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017, the provision for doubtful accounts (bad debt expense) reflected in the Consolidated Statements of Income/(Loss) was $47.1 million, $43.9 million, and $60.6 million, respectively. |
| Settlement Assets and Obligations | Settlement Assets and Obligations Settlement assets represent funds received or to be received from agents for unsettled money transfers, money orders, and consumer payments. The Company records corresponding settlement obligations relating to amounts payable under money transfers, money orders, and consumer payment service arrangements. Settlement assets and obligations also include amounts receivable from, and payable to, customers for the value of their cross-currency payment transactions related to the Business Solutions segment. Settlement assets consist of cash and cash equivalents, receivables from selling agents and Business Solutions customers, and investment securities. Cash received by Western Union agents generally becomes available to the Company within one week after initial receipt by the agent. Cash equivalents consist of short-term time deposits, commercial paper, and other highly liquid investments. Receivables from selling agents represent funds collected by such agents, but in transit to the Company. Western Union has a large and diverse agent base, thereby reducing the credit risk of the Company from any one agent. In addition, the Company performs ongoing credit evaluations of its agents’ financial condition and credit worthiness. See Note 8 for information concerning the Company’s investment securities. Receivables from Business Solutions customers arise from cross-currency payment transactions in the Business Solutions segment. Receivables occur when funds have been paid out to a beneficiary but not yet received from the customer. Aside from these receivables, the credit risk associated with spot foreign currency exchange contracts is largely mitigated, as in most cases the Company requires the receipt of funds from customers before releasing the associated cross-currency payment. Settlement obligations consist of money transfer, money order and payment service payables, and payables to agents. Money transfer payables represent amounts to be paid to transferees when they request their funds. Most agents typically settle with transferees first and then obtain reimbursement from the Company. Money order payables represent amounts not yet presented for payment. Payment service payables represent amounts to be paid to utility companies, auto finance companies, mortgage servicers, financial service providers, government agencies, and others. Due to the agent funding and settlement process, payables to agents represent amounts due to agents for money transfers that have been settled with transferees. Settlement assets and obligations consisted of the following (in millions): December 31, 2019 2018 Settlement assets: Cash and cash equivalents $ 368.2 $ 1,247.8 Receivables from selling agents and Business Solutions customers 1,230.1 1,355.4 Investment securities 1,698.4 1,210.6 Total settlement assets $ 3,296.7 $ 3,813.8 Settlement obligations: Money transfer, money order, and payment service payables $ 2,571.5 $ 2,793.6 Payables to agents 725.2 1,020.2 Total settlement obligations $ 3,296.7 $ 3,813.8 |
| Property and Equipment | Property and Equipment Property and equipment are stated at cost. Depreciation is computed using the straight-line method over the lesser of the estimated life of the related assets (generally three furniture fixtures Property and equipment consisted of the following (in millions): December 31, 2019 2018 Equipment $ 591.4 $ 656.8 Leasehold improvements 159.2 158.6 Buildings 0.4 88.6 Furniture and fixtures 49.4 51.6 Land and improvements — 17.0 Projects in process 3.0 0.2 Total property and equipment, gross 803.4 972.8 Less accumulated depreciation (616.5) (702.4) Property and equipment, net (a) $ 186.9 $ 270.4 (a) At December 31, 2019, Property and equipment, net, excludes assets held for sale of $49.3 million, which primarily consists of the Company’s former headquarters, which was sold in January 2020, and land. These assets are included in Other assets in the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets. Amounts charged to expense for depreciation of property and equipment were $79.6 million, $76.9 million, and $77.1 million during the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively. |
| Goodwill | Goodwill Goodwill represents the excess of purchase price over the fair value of tangible and other intangible assets acquired, less liabilities assumed arising from business combinations. In the event a reporting unit’s carrying amount exceeds its fair value, the Company recognizes an impairment charge for the amount by which the carrying amount of the reporting unit exceeds its fair value. The Company’s annual impairment assessment did not identify any goodwill impairment during the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018. For the year ended December 31, 2017, the Company recognized a goodwill impairment charge of $464.0 million related to its Business Solutions reporting unit, as disclosed in Note 5. |
| Other Intangible Assets | Other Intangible Assets Other intangible assets primarily consist of contract costs (primarily amounts paid to agents in connection with establishing and renewing long-term contracts), acquired contracts, and software. Other intangible assets are amortized on a straight-line basis over the length of the contract or benefit periods. Included in the Consolidated Statements of Income/(Loss) is amortization expense of $178.1 million, $187.8 million, and $185.8 million for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively. The Company capitalizes initial payments for new and renewed agent contracts to the extent recoverable through future operations or penalties in the case of early termination. The Company’s accounting policy is to limit the amount of capitalized costs for a given contract to the lesser of the estimated future cash flows from the contract or the termination fees the Company would receive in the event of early termination of the contract. Acquired contracts include customer and contractual relationships and networks of subagents that are recognized in connection with the Company’s acquisitions. The Company purchases and develops software that is used in providing services and in performing administrative functions. Internal and external software development costs incurred that are directly related to the chosen design, development, and testing phases of the software are capitalized once the Company has completed all planning and analysis activities. Any other software development related costs are expensed as incurred. Capitalization of costs ceases when the product is available for general use. Software development costs and purchased software are generally amortized over a term of three The following table provides the components of other intangible assets (in millions): December 31, 2019 December 31, 2018 Weighted- Average Amortization Net of Net of Period Accumulated Accumulated (in years) Initial Cost Amortization Initial Cost Amortization Acquired contracts 11.5 $ 584.2 $ 124.1 $ 598.1 $ 171.2 Capitalized contract costs 6.2 510.3 271.7 536.5 318.9 Internal use software 3.8 281.2 54.7 447.3 80.6 Acquired trademarks 25.4 30.1 13.2 32.5 15.5 Other intangibles 4.3 19.4 — 19.4 — Projects in process (a) 31.2 31.2 12.0 12.0 Total other intangible assets 8.1 $ 1,456.4 $ 494.9 $ 1,645.8 $ 598.2 (a) Not applicable as the assets have not been placed in service. The estimated future aggregate amortization expense for existing other intangible assets as of December 31, 2019 is expected to be $146.6 million in 2020, $113.9 million in 2021, $75.9 million in 2022, $55.9 million in 2023, $38.6 million in 2024, and $32.8 million thereafter. Other intangible assets are reviewed for impairment on an annual basis or whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that their carrying amount may not be recoverable. In such reviews, estimated undiscounted cash flows associated with these assets or operations are compared with their carrying values to determine if a write-down to fair value (normally measured by the present value technique) is required. The Company recorded immaterial impairments related to other intangible assets during the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017. |
| Revenue Recognition | The Company’s revenues are primarily derived from consideration paid by customers to transfer money. These revenues vary by transaction based upon factors such as channel, send and receive locations, the principal amount sent, whether the money transfer involves different send and receive currencies, the difference between the exchange rate set by the Company to the customer and the rate available in the wholesale foreign exchange market, and speed of service, as applicable. The Company also offers several other services, including foreign exchange and payment services and other bill payment services, for which revenue is impacted by similar factors. For the substantial majority of the Company’s revenues, the Company acts as the principal in transactions and reports revenue on a gross basis, as the Company controls the service at all times prior to transfer to the customer, is primarily responsible for fulfilling the customer contracts, has the risk of loss, and has the ability to establish transaction prices. Revenue is recognized net of any taxes collected from customers, which are subsequently remitted to governmental authorities. |
| Cost of Services | Cost of Services Cost of services primarily consists of agent commissions and expenses for call centers, settlement operations, and related information technology costs. Expenses within these functions include personnel, software, equipment, telecommunications, bank fees, depreciation, amortization, and other expenses incurred in connection with providing money transfer and other payment services. |
| Advertising Costs | Advertising Costs Advertising costs are charged to operating expenses as incurred. Advertising costs for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017 were $209.1 million, $180.9 million, and $168.3 million, respectively. |
| Income Taxes | Income Taxes The Company accounts for income taxes under the liability method, which requires that deferred tax assets and liabilities be determined based on the expected future income tax consequences of events that have been recognized in the consolidated financial statements. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized based on temporary differences between the financial statement carrying amounts and tax bases of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates in effect in the years in which the temporary differences are expected to reverse. The Company assesses the realizability of its deferred tax assets. A valuation allowance must be established when, based upon available evidence, it is more likely than not that all or a portion of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The Company recognizes the tax benefits from uncertain tax positions only when it is more likely than not, based on the technical merits of the position, the tax position will be sustained upon examination, including the resolution of any related appeals or litigation. The tax benefits recognized in the consolidated financial statements from such a position are measured as the largest benefit that has a greater than fifty percent likelihood of being realized upon ultimate resolution. The Company accounts for the tax effects of global intangible low-taxed income as a component of income tax expense in the period the tax arises. |
| Foreign Currency Translation | Foreign Currency Translation The United States dollar is the functional currency for substantially all of the Company’s businesses. Revenues and expenses are translated at average exchange rates prevailing during the period. Foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities for those businesses for which the local currency is the functional currency are translated into United States dollars based on exchange rates at the end of the year. The effects of foreign exchange gains and losses arising from the translation of assets and liabilities of these businesses are included as a component of Accumulated other comprehensive loss (“AOCL”) in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets. Foreign currency denominated monetary assets and liabilities of businesses for which the United States dollar is the functional currency are remeasured based on exchange rates at the end of the period, and the resulting remeasurement gains and losses are recognized in Net income/(loss). Non-monetary assets and liabilities of these operations are remeasured at historical rates in effect when the asset was recognized or the liability was incurred. |
| Derivatives | Derivatives The Company uses derivatives to (i) minimize its exposures related to changes in foreign currency exchange rates and interest rates and (ii) facilitate cross-currency Business Solutions payments by writing derivatives to customers. The Company recognizes all derivatives in the Other assets and Other liabilities captions in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets at their fair value. All cash flows associated with derivatives are included in Cash flows from operating activities in the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. Certain of the Company’s derivative arrangements are designated as either cash flow hedges or fair value hedges at the time of inception, and others are not designated as accounting hedges. ● Cash flow hedges – Cash flow hedges consist of foreign currency hedging of forecasted revenues, as well as hedges of the forecasted issuance of fixed-rate debt. Derivative fair value changes that are captured in AOCL are reclassified to earnings in the same period the hedged item affects earnings when the instrument is effective in offsetting the change in cash flows attributable to the risk being hedged. On January 1, 2018, the Company early adopted an accounting pronouncement related to hedging activities. As a result of the new accounting pronouncement, for foreign currency cash flow hedges entered into on or after January 1, 2018, the Company excludes time value from the assessment of effectiveness, and the initial value of the excluded components is amortized into Revenues within the Consolidated Statements of Income/(Loss). For foreign currency cash flow hedges entered into before January 1, 2018, all changes in the fair value of the excluded components are recognized immediately in Revenues for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018. For the year ended December 31, 2017, the changes in fair value of the excluded components were recognized immediately within the Consolidated Statements of Income/(Loss) and are included in Other income, net. ● Fair value hedges - Fair value hedges consist of hedges of fixed-rate debt, through interest rate swaps. Changes in the fair value of derivatives that are designated as fair value hedges of fixed-rate debt are recorded in Interest expense. The offsetting change in value of the related debt instrument attributable to changes in the benchmark interest rate is also recorded in Interest expense. At December 31, 2019, there were no fair value hedges outstanding. ● Undesignated - Derivative contracts entered into to reduce the foreign exchange variability related to (i) money transfer settlement assets and obligations, generally with maturities from a few days up to one month , and (ii) certain foreign currency denominated cash and other asset and liability positions, typically with maturities of less than one year at inception, are not designated as hedges for accounting purposes and changes in their fair value are included in Selling, general, and administrative. The Company is also exposed to risk from derivative contracts written to its customers arising from its cross-currency Business Solutions payments operations. The duration of these derivative contracts at inception is generally less than one year . The Company aggregates its Business Solutions payments foreign currency exposures arising from customer contracts, including the derivative contracts described above, and hedges the resulting net currency risks by entering into offsetting contracts with established financial institution counterparties (economic hedge contracts) as part of a broader foreign currency portfolio, including significant spot exchanges of currency in addition to forwards and options. The changes in fair value related to these contracts are recorded in Revenues. The fair value of the Company’s derivatives is derived from standardized models that use market-based inputs (e.g., forward prices for foreign currency). The details of each designated hedging relationship are formally documented at the inception of the arrangement, including the risk management objective, hedging strategy, hedged item, specific risks being hedged, the derivative instrument, and how effectiveness is being assessed. The derivative must be highly effective in offsetting the changes in cash flows or fair value of the hedged item, and effectiveness is evaluated quarterly on a retrospective and prospective basis. |
| Legal Contingencies | Legal Contingencies The Company is a party to certain legal and regulatory proceedings with respect to a variety of matters. The Company records an accrual for these contingencies to the extent that a loss is both probable and reasonably estimable. If some amount within a range of loss appears to be a better estimate than other amounts within the range, that amount is accrued. When no amount within a range of loss appears to be a better estimate than any other amount, the lowest amount in the range is accrued. |
| Stock-Based Compensation | Stock-Based Compensation The Company currently has a stock-based compensation plan that provides for grants of Western Union stock options, restricted stock awards, and restricted and unrestricted stock units to employees and non-employee directors of the Company. All stock-based compensation to employees is required to be measured at fair value and expensed over the requisite service period. The Company recognizes compensation expense on awards on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period for the entire award, with an estimate for forfeitures. Refer to Note 17 for additional discussion regarding details of the Company’s stock-based compensation plans. |
| Severance and Other Related Expenses | Severance and Other Related Expenses The Company records severance-related expenses once they are both probable and estimable in accordance with the provisions of the applicable accounting guidance for severance provided under an ongoing benefit arrangement. One-time involuntary benefit arrangements and other costs are generally recognized when the liability is incurred. The Company also evaluates impairment issues associated with restructuring and other activities when the carrying amount of the related assets may not be fully recoverable, in accordance with the appropriate accounting guidance. |
| Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements and Accounting Pronouncements Not Yet Adopted | Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements On January 1, 2019, the Company adopted a new accounting standard, as amended, that requires the Company to record assets and liabilities on the balance sheet for lease-related rights and obligations and disclose key information about its leasing arrangements. The Company elected the effective date method, utilized the modified retrospective On January 1, 2018, the Company adopted a new accounting standard, as amended, regarding revenue from contracts with customers using the modified retrospective approach. This standard provides guidance on recognizing revenue, including a five-step model to determine when revenue recognition is appropriate. The adoption of this standard did not have a material impact on the Company’s financial position and results of operations. Refer to Note 3 for the related additional disclosures. On January 1, 2018, the Company retrospectively adopted an accounting pronouncement that requires restricted cash, which is recorded in Other assets in the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets, to be included with cash and cash equivalents when reconciling the beginning-of-period and end-of-period amounts shown on the statements of cash flows. The adoption of this standard had an immaterial impact on the Company’s historical operating cash flows within the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. In the first quarter of 2018, the Company adopted a new accounting pronouncement that provides entities the option to reclassify tax effects included within AOCL as a result of the United States tax reform legislation enacted in December 2017 (the “Tax Act”) to retained earnings. The adoption of this standard resulted in an increase to AOCL and a decrease to Accumulated deficit in the Consolidated Balance Sheets of $31.4 million, which represents the tax effects of the lower federal tax rate on unrealized gains/(losses) on investment securities, hedging activities, and adjustments related to the Company’s defined benefit pension plan, in addition to the release of deferred taxes accrued on undistributed earnings of one of the Company’s subsidiaries that are no longer owed under the Tax Act. The Company will continue to release tax effects remaining in AOCL into income as the individual units of account are sold or otherwise extinguished. Refer to Note 14 for additional information. Accounting Pronouncements Not Yet Adopted In June 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued a new accounting pronouncement regarding credit losses for financial instruments. The new standard requires entities to measure expected credit losses for certain financial assets held at the reporting date using a current expected credit loss model, which is based on historical experience, adjusted for current conditions and reasonable and supportable forecasts. Additionally, the standard requires certain credit losses relating to investment securities classified as available-for-sale to be recorded through an allowance for credit losses. The Company is required to adopt the new standard on January 1, 2020. The Company has completed its analysis of the standard and has concluded that the adoption of the standard will not have a material impact on the Company’s financial statements. |
| Investment Securities | Investment securities included in Settlement assets in the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets consist primarily of highly-rated state and municipal debt securities, including fixed-rate term notes and variable-rate demand notes. Variable-rate demand note securities can be put (sold at par), typically on a daily basis with settlement periods ranging from the same day to one week, but have varying maturities through 2051. These securities may be used by the Company for short-term liquidity needs and held for short periods of time. The Company is required to hold highly-rated, investment grade securities and such investments are restricted to satisfy outstanding settlement obligations in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements.Gains and losses on investment securities are calculated using the specific-identification method and are recognized in earnings during the period in which the investment is sold or when an investment experiences an other-than-temporary decline in value. Factors that could indicate an impairment exists include, but are not limited to: (i) earnings performance, (ii) changes in credit rating, or (iii) adverse changes in the regulatory or economic environment of the asset. If potential impairment exists, the Company assesses (i) whether it has the intent to sell the investment security, (ii) will more likely than not be required to sell the investment security before its anticipated recovery, or (iii) expects that some of the contractual cash flows will not be received. The Company had no material, other-than-temporary impairments during the periods presented. |
| Foreign Currency - Derivatives | Foreign Currency Derivatives The Company’s policy is to use long duration foreign currency forward contracts, with maturities of up to 36 months at inception and a targeted weighted-average maturity of approximately one year, to help mitigate some of the risk that changes in foreign currency exchange rates compared to the United States dollar could have on forecasted revenues denominated in other currencies related to its business. As of December 31, 2019, these foreign currency forward contracts had maturities of a maximum of 24 months with a weighted-average maturity of approximately one year. These contracts are accounted for as cash flow hedges of forecasted revenue, with effectiveness assessed based on changes in the spot rate of the affected currencies during the period of designation and thus time value is excluded from the assessment of effectiveness. As described in Note 2, foreign currency cash flow hedges entered into on or after January 1, 2018 exclude time value from the assessment of effectiveness, and the initial value of the excluded components is amortized into Revenues within the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Income/(Loss). For foreign currency cash flow hedges entered into before January 1, 2018, all changes in the fair value of the excluded components are recognized immediately in Revenues. The Company also uses short duration foreign currency forward contracts, generally with maturities ranging from a few days to one month, to offset foreign exchange rate fluctuations on settlement assets and obligations between initiation and settlement. In addition, forward contracts, typically with maturities of less than one year at inception, are utilized to offset foreign exchange rate fluctuations on certain foreign currency denominated cash and other asset and liability positions. None of these contracts are designated as accounting hedges. |
| Foreign Currency - Business Solutions | Business Solutions Operations The Company writes derivatives, primarily foreign currency forward contracts and option contracts, mostly with small and medium size enterprises and derives a currency spread from this activity as part of its Business Solutions operations. The Company aggregates its Business Solutions foreign currency exposures arising from customer contracts, including the derivative contracts described above, and hedges the resulting net currency risks by entering into offsetting contracts with established financial institution counterparties (economic hedge contracts). The derivatives written are part of the broader portfolio of foreign currency positions arising from the Company’s cross-currency payments operations, which primarily include spot exchanges of currency in addition to forwards and options. Foreign exchange revenues from the total portfolio of positions were $343.1 million, $342.3 million, and $341.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018, and 2017, respectively, and were included in Revenues in the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Income/(Loss). None of the derivative contracts used in Business Solutions operations are designated as accounting hedges and the duration of these derivative contracts at inception is generally less than one year. The aggregate equivalent United States dollar notional amount of derivative customer contracts held by the Company in its Business Solutions operations as of December 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018 was approximately $7.5 billion and $6.0 billion, respectively. The significant majority of customer contracts are written in the following currencies: the United States dollar, euro, and the Canadian dollar. |
| Interest Rate Hedging | Interest Rate Hedging From time to time, the Company utilizes interest rate swaps to effectively change the interest rate payments on a portion of its notes from fixed-rate payments to short-term, LIBOR-based, variable rate payments in order to manage its overall exposure to interest rate fluctuations. The Company designates these derivatives as fair value hedges. The change in fair value of the interest rate swaps is offset by a change in the carrying value of the debt being hedged within Borrowings in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Interest expense in the Consolidated Statements of Income/(Loss) has been adjusted to include the effects of interest accrued on the swaps. |
| Segments | The Company’s segments are reviewed separately below because each segment represents a strategic business unit that offers different products and serves different markets. The business segment measurements provided to, and evaluated by, the Company’s CODM are computed in accordance with the following principles: ● The accounting policies of the segments are the same as those described in the summary of significant accounting policies. ● Corporate costs, including stock-based compensation and other overhead, are allocated to the segments primarily based on a percentage of the segments’ revenue compared to total revenue. ● As described in Note 4, on August 1, 2019, the Company’s Board of Directors approved an overall plan to change the Company’s operating model and improve its business processes and cost structure by reducing its headcount and consolidating various facilities. For the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company incurred $115.5 million related to this plan. While certain of these expenses may be identifiable to the Company’s segments, primarily the Company’s Consumer-to-Consumer segment, the expenses are not included in the measurement of segment operating income provided to the CODM for purposes of assessing segment performance and decision making with respect to resource allocation. ● As described in Note 5, during the year ended December 31, 2017, the Company recognized a goodwill impairment charge of $464.0 million related to its Business Solutions reporting unit. While the impairment was identifiable to the Business Solutions segment, it was not allocated to the segment, as it was not included in the measurement of segment operating income provided to the CODM for purposes of assessing segment performance and decision making with respect to resource allocation. ● As described in Note 6, during the year ended December 31, 2017, the Company incurred $60.0 million of expenses related to the NYDFS Consent Order and $8.0 million of expenses related to the Joint Settlement Agreements. While these expenses were identifiable to the Company’s Consumer-to-Consumer segment, they were not allocated to the segment, as they were not included in the measurement of segment operating income provided to the CODM for purposes of assessing segment performance and decision making with respect to resource allocation. ● As of December 31, 2017, expenses associated with the WU Way initiative were effectively complete. The Company incurred expenses related to the WU Way of $94.4 million during the year ended December 31, 2017. While certain items related to the initiative were identifiable to the Company’s segments, they were not included in the measurement of segment operating income provided to the CODM for purposes of assessing segment performance and decision making with respect to resource allocation. For additional information on this business transformation initiative, see Note 4. ● The CODM does not review total assets by segment for purposes of assessing segment performance and allocating resources. As such, the disclosure of total assets by segment has not been included below. ● All items not included in operating income are excluded from the segments. |
