Type Private Headquarters Victoria, Canada Number of employees 650 | Website www.customhouse.com Founded 1992, Victoria, Canada Parent organization Western Union | |
Industry Financial Services
Foreign Exchange | ||
Custom House was a Canadian foreign exchange and money transfers company based in Victoria, British Columbia. Providing small businesses and individuals with services that included wire transfers, foreign currency drafts, and forward exchange contracts. It was acquired by Western Union in 2009 and now forms part of that company's "Western Union Business Solutions" division.
In 2015, Custom House's founder, Peter Gustavson, incorporated a new foreign exchange and global payment company, EncoreFX.
History
The company was founded in 1992 as a small tourist currency exchange kiosk titled "Custom House Currency Exchange" in Victoria’s old waterfront customs house. In 1993, the company opened its first corporate foreign exchange office.
After expanding in Canada, it began a US operations in 1997 and an Australian operations in 2000. The company was later renamed "Custom House Global Foreign Exchange", then renamed again to "Custom House".
In 2009, Western Union bought the company for $370 million USD. The company was renamed "Custom House, A Western Union Company", and later re branded as a Western Union Business Solution.