US-based money transfer giant MoneyGram has expressed shock and disappointment following the UK Post Office’s decision to terminate their long-standing relationship after a cybersecurity incident disrupted operations.
As reported by Computer Weekly, the two companies were negotiating a new contract that would have extended their partnership starting from October 2024. However, after a cyber attack affected MoneyGram’s operations for several days, the UK Post Office offered shortened contract terms, which MoneyGram rejected.
MoneyGram voiced its dissatisfaction with how the UK Post Office handled the situation, including the way it communicated the incident to customers. “We are shocked and disappointed by the message you received from the Post Office, which was both misleading and a breach of the current agreement’s confidentiality,” MoneyGram stated.
The letter further noted that MoneyGram had believed they had a binding agreement for a 12-month extension of the contract. However, the Post Office used the unforeseen cyber incident to change the contract’s terms in a way that MoneyGram felt was detrimental to their interests.
MoneyGram’s cybersecurity experts confirmed that the incident did not affect any of its agents’ systems, and operations have resumed globally except for in the UK. The company also expressed hope that they could resume dialogue with the Post Office to salvage their 25-year partnership.
This is not the first time the UK Post Office has been involved in controversy related to technology. It previously faced a long-running dispute over its Horizon accounting system supplied by Fujitsu, which resulted in what has been described as the biggest miscarriage of justice in British corporate history.