Due to regulatory requirements and consumer demand in Germany and France, MoneyGram opened company stores in both countries. Despite the debt crisis in Europe and other shocks experienced by the world economy, the company MoneyGram International notes the increase in the money transfer market. AgentConnect continues to be an attractive alternative for businesses that choose to integrate their networks and point-of-sale platforms with the MoneyGram wired transfer. MoneyGram point-of-sale systems are continually upgraded to provide the latest new products and functionality. The Global Funds Transfer segment is the primary segment of MoneyGram, providing money transfer and bill payment services to consumers, who are often unbanked or underbanked. In March 2012, the company MoneyGram merged with the network of U.S. payment centers ZipZap.