money transfer

Iran was largely cut off from global commerce on Thursday, when the company that handles financial transactions said it was severing ties with many Iranian banks %u2014 part of an international effort to discourage Tehran from developing nuclear weapons. The action is meant to enforce European Union sanctions, as global financial transactions are impossible without using SWIFT, and will go a long way toward isolating Iran financially.

In a joint effort with PayPal, Facebook launched a new app this week that could remake the money-transfer business. We test drove Send Money, a cheap -- sometimes free -- method for moving funds between you and members of your social network.

On Thursday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau officially opens for business. Even as the political fight continues over just how potent the agency will be, at root, its mission is to make clear the prices and risks of financial products and services. Here's where it will focus its early effort.

The global economic downturn has dampened the otherwise ebullient worldwide business of consumer money transfers. So when Western Union (WU) in early February forecast sales and earnings for 2010 that were below Wall Street's consensus estimates, its stock quickly took a tumble. Trading at nearly...