MoneyGram-Visa Team Up for Remittances

February 22, 2011

U.S. customers of the money transfer service MoneyGram can now send funds directly to family and friend's Visa card accounts in Mexico, the two companies have announced.

Mexico is considered the top remittance market in Latin America, with $22.6 billion in remittances sent there in 2010. Worldwide, Mexico ranks third, behind India and China, respectively, according to the World Bank.

The U.S., not surprisingly, is the place where the most consumer remittances originate, with $48 billion sent in 2010.

The Visa-MoneyGram program is being modeled after a successful cash-to-Visa service in Guatamala. Remittances can be sent from any of MoneyGram's 35,000 U.S. locations directly to Visa accounts in Mexico, using the VisaNet transaction processing network. The money (Visa uses the phrase "digital currency") is posted to Mexican recipients' Visa credit, debit and prepaid cards, according them access to the funds wherever they can use Visa cards, including at ATMs.

"We believe that access to Visa digital currency can be a vital first step towards financial inclusion and a catalyst for economic growth," Jim McCarthy, chief of the global products division at Visa Inc., said in a statement announcement the new program.

7,000-plus microfinance institutions dot the globe today

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