Mexican Issuers Leverages Canadian Gift Card Software

ePaynews.com

Jun 20 2008 : Mexico’s Mercadotecnia, Ideas y Tecnologia (MIT) is launching a gift card program using software developed by Toronto-based Smart Processing Solutions.

MIT will use the SmartIssuerPro system to provide gift cards which will be issued by its clients.SmartIssuerPro enables independent sales organizations (ISOs), financial institutions, retailers and processors to issue and manage prepaid, debit, gift, and loyalty card programs in-house.MIT provides transaction switching services for Mexican banks, retailers and payment networks.

Smart Processing Solutions provides processing and switching software for banks, ISOs, processors, acquirers and retailers. In Canada, its software is used to drive a network of around 11,000 non-bank ATMs.

ePaynews.com - the payment news and resource Center

Blogged with the Flock Browser

BBK makes remittance easy for NRIs

MANAMA: Bahrain-based BBK has signed an agreement with Bahrain Indian International Exchange Company (BIIECO) to provide all its non-resident Indians (NRI) banking customers the opportunity of seamless remittance.

Customers will now be able to remit funds from their BBK account in Bahrain to their BBK or any other bank account in India.

Present at the signing ceremony held at the BBK head office in Manama were BBK assistant general manager - international banking division Ashish Sarkar, NRI business head Mudit Mathur, BIIECO chairman and managing director Khalil Ebrahim Qamber and general manager Lakshmi Narasimhan.

"BBK is one of the leading retail banks in the kingdom and we have a strong base of NRI clients in Bahrain and Kuwait," Mr Sarkar said."With this tie-up we will now provide them with a service to remit money back home more efficiently. In contrast to the traditional remittance services available, this would be a more convenient and trustworthy method as the client is directly dealing with their bank instead of a third party."

Our commitment at BBK NRI business remains, to serve the Indian community, through our own branches via such alliances with the best-in-the-industry partners.

"Our endeavour is to offer a wide range of quality products and services to our clients to cater to their growing needs with the BBK quality of service," he said."This is a proud moment for us at BIIECO to partner with a leading bank like BBK. This tie-up will enable us to reach out to the vast NRI community and increase our volume of business," Mr Qamber said.

http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?Article=219257&Sn=BUSI&IssueID=31076

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Microfinance institutions can facilitate remittances

From: Manila Times web edition

Sunday, June 15, 2008

By Maricel E. Burgonio, Reporter 

Microfinance institutions can facilitate remittances Microfinance refers to the provision of financial services to low-income clients, including the self-employed. It also refers to a movement that envisions “a world in which as many poor and near-poor households as possible have permanent access to an appropriate range of high quality financial srvices, including not just credit, but also savings, insurance, and fund transfers.”

Microfinance institutions can take the form of cooperatives and other self-help groups, rural banks, and small economic formations. They are now emerging as remittance channels and can effectively play this role, as they are present in many rural areas and poor people’s enclaves.

Lately, money transfer agent PetNet Inc. has decided to tap microfinance institutions to expand its remittance market.

Lorenzo T. Ocampo, PetNet president, said PetNet has partnered with microfinance institution Alalay Sa Kaunlaran, Inc. (ASKI) to widen its market in Regions 1, 2 and 3 that ASKI covers.

“In the partnership, Aski’s clients can remit through PetNet. These areas are underserved,” Ocampo told reporters.

PetNet signed on Wednesday a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with ASKI. Under the partnership, ASKI’s clients may channel its remittances through PetNet.

ASKI has 21 branches in the three regions, all of which are areas with high demand for microfinance loans. PetNet, meanwhile, is a money transfer agent of Western Union, has 200 locations nationwide.

Rolando Victoria, ASKI’s executive director, said its loan portfolio increased by 20 percent year-on-year to P240 million as of May. It also has a capital base of P63 million.

ASKI provides P5,000 to P150,000 worth of micro loans with 3 percent monthly interest rate to its clients.

“There is strong demand for microloans such as in agricultural loans and for small businesses,” he said. It also provides microinsurance with only P20 paid every week in exchange for P120,000 insurance coverage.

ASKI also plans to use make use of ATM services in releasing loans to their clients.

Besides ASKI, PetNet also signed a MOA with GSIS Family Bank in April.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has been encouraging banks to engage in microfinance, a flagship program for poverty alleviation.Microfinance loans posted double-digit growth last year as more banks increased their participation in microfinance lending.

Amando M. Tetangco Jr., governor of the BSP, earlier said microfinance loans grew 12 percent to P6 billion last year.About 229 banks are into microfinancing, with a total client base of 780,000.

The Manila Times Internet Edition | OFW TIMES > Microfinance institutions can facilitate remittances

Blogged with the Flock Browser

International Remittance Legal Guide for Banks

New Appleseed Guide Helps Banks Provide Fair and Efficient Services to Growing International Remittance Market
January 8, 2008

Appleseed, a network of public interest justice centers in the U.S. and Mexico, this morning released a first-of-its kind guide to assist banks and other financial institutions in better serving the growing remittance market. Immigrants living in the U.S. sent $45 billion to Mexico and Latin America in 2006, according to recent estimates from the Inter-American Development Bank.

In addition to providing a detailed market overview, “Banking in a Global Market” offers a comprehensive hands-on approach to setting up transparent and efficient remittance services, drawing on the experiences of large and small financial institutions throughout the U.S.
“Appleseed has found banks need guidance in starting remittance programs and serving the immigrant market. It’s win-win: by offering remittance services, financial institutions get new customers, and immigrants have more safe and convenient places to remit money, keep savings, build credit without paying high and unpredictable transaction fees,” said Betsy Cavendish, executive director of Appleseed. Over the past four years, Appleseed has educated immigrant communities about the U.S. financial services system and highlighted the market potential in immigrant communities to financial institutions. Appleseed has pressed for transparency in the remittance market, urged that a history of sending remittances be considered evidence of credit-worthiness, and fought taxation of remittances.

Approximately 100 banks and credit unions in the U.S. currently offer and actively market consumer remittance products. “That is a fraction of the number that could be providing remittance services to growing immigrant communities,” according to Ann Baddour, senior policy analyst for Texas Appleseed and lead author of the guide. Among Latin American immigrants, 70 percent of remittance senders use cash-to-cash transfer services through money transfer businesses such as Western Union and MoneyGram, while estimates of remittances sent through banks range from five percent to 19 percent.

Through detailed profiles of 11 financial institutions, Appleseed’s guide illustrates six approaches to setting up remittance programs. The profiled financial institutions are:BankCherokee , Central Bank of Kansas, Citizens State Bank, First Bank, Harris Bank, Latino Community Credit Union, Mitchell Bank, Pinnacle Bank, United Americas Bank, U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo.

###

Appleseed, a nonprofit network of 16 public interest justice centers in the United States and Mexico, uncovers and corrects social injustices through legal, legislative and market-based structural reform. Appleseed and Appleseed Centers bring together volunteers from the law, business and academic professions to devise long-term solutions to problems affecting the underprivileged and underrepresented in such areas as education and financial access. For more information, visit: www.appleseednetwork.org.

APPLESEED CONTACTS:
Patti RiippaCommunications Associate202-347-7960, ext. 104
Eric GutiérrezImmigration Policy Director202-347-7960, ext. 120(Available for Spanish-language media)
Ann BaddourSenior Policy Analyst and lead report authorAppleseed Financial Access Project512-473-2800, ext. 104512-203-3556 (cell)

CONTACTS FOR PROFILED FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS:
Latino Community Credit UnionAngel RomeroMedia Relations919-688-9270
United Americas BankJorge FormentPresident and CEO404-240-0101
Mitchell BankJames MaloneyPresident and CEO414-277-9080
Wells FargoLisa Westermann Assistant Vice President, Public Relations Wells Fargo Card Services415-222-6236 415-845-7759 (cell)
Pinnacle BankDaniel PadillaDirector of Latino Banking402-434-3134

MoneyBancard

We have secured the Internet domain www.moneybancard.com and are launching a new pre-paid, stored value card which will be called MoneyBancard.

We think that this will be a dominant brand in the money remittance and stored value transaction market. Be sure to listen to our podcasts via the control on the right column of this blog to hear more about our concept of where this exploding market is going.

Directo a Mexico program

Referrence: Directo a Mexico FAQ

Directo a MéxicoSM (Direct to Mexico) is a joint marketing effort between the Federal
Reserve Banks and the Banco de México, the central banks of the United States and
Mexico, respectively. This program is designed to help U.S. financial institutions increase
their share of the rapidly growing U.S. to Mexico remittance market by encouraging and
assisting their customers in using the Federal Reserve Banks’ FedACH International®
Mexico Service.

What is the FedACH International Mexico Service you ask? Well you came to the right place to find the answer. International Personnel Management, Inc. (IPM) can show banks in the United States and in Mexico how to take advatage of the Directo a Mexico program which will help banks and customers alike.

Further information about Directo a Mexico program can be found in an article in the Havana Journal.

"The Federal Reserve and the Central Bank of Mexico are promoting a joint
program called Directo a Mexico, under which participating U.S. banks charge low
fees to send money to Mexico by using the central banks as intermediaries.

People sending money to Mexico pay as much as $15 per transaction—known
as a remittance—to companies such as First Data Corp.’s Western Union Financial
Services Inc. and MoneyGram International Inc. Those companies handle most of
the estimated $20 billion a year sent between the United States and Mexico.
Banks account for only about 5 percent of that amount."

It Costs Money to be Poor

Predatory businesses such as pawnbrokers, pay-day lenders, rent-to-own stores, and used-car lots prey upon the poor and heavily indebted. There is a better way.

From Spero News
By John S. Rausch

A row of identical signs arranged like landing lights at an airport repeat the appealing offer: “Borrow $200, Repay $203.” This modern spider-to-fly invitation displayed in front of the office of payday lenders appeals to hard strapped workers who just need a boost till payday. What’s three bucks? Technically, since the loan spans only 14 days, three bucks in this case represents 39 percent interest (APR). After this introductory offer, the second $200 loan will demand a $230 repayment–or 390 percent APR!

Payday lenders, together with pawnshops, check-cashers, tax refund lenders, rent-to-own stores and “buy here/pay here” used car lots represent the fringe economy. The term “fringe economy” refers to those businesses that engage in financially predatory relationships with low-income or heavily indebted consumers by charging excessive interest rates or exorbitant fees and prices for goods and services. Other parts of the fringe economy include credit card companies charging sky-high late payments or over-the-credit-limit penalties, cell phone providers pushing excessive prepaid plans and subprime mortgage lenders hiding the real cost of the mortgage.

...

Around the world the poor have fought the money lenders through collective action with institutions like the Grameen Bank and credit unions. These are structures people of faith can explore as more middle class families slide into the ranks of the working poor. Universal health care would save countless families from bankruptcy, while a standard living wage would shrink the pool of the financially desperate. Add to this stricter and enforced usury laws and you create rungs on the ladder for moving up.
The vision: replace the spider-to-fly economy with one permitting a-place-at-the-table for everyone.

Click here to read the whole story.

Migrant Cash is World Economic Giant

"Immigration, Inc. - one of the biggest businesses on the planet."

From the Associated Press.
By WILLIAM J. KOLE
Associated Press Writer

TIRANA, Albania (AP) -- Josif Poro pats his new sofa, points with pride to his carpets and runs a wrinkled hand over a gleaming white refrigerator. He and his wife barely scrape by on their $220 monthly pension. They'd have to do without many of the items in their cramped apartment if their son, a factory worker in Greece, didn't faithfully send home part of his earnings.

"We call him our golden boy," said Poro, 83, a retired textile mill worker.
Around the world, millions of immigrants are sending billions of dollars back home.
One sweaty wad of bills or $200 Western Union moneygram at a time, they form what could be called Immigration, Inc. - one of the biggest businesses on the planet.

Experts tracking the phenomenon told The Associated Press they have gotten a much clearer picture since the 9/11 attacks, when authorities trying to cut the flow of cash to jihadists began taking a harder look at how immigrants move their money around.

Click here to read the rest.

Remittances, Free Trade and Cross-Border Banking

From AOL Money and Finance via PR Newswire.

DALLAS, Aug. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Remittances to Mexico, free trade and cross-border banking are the focus of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas' latest issue of Southwest Economy. Find the July/August issue online at http://www.dallasfed.org . Lower money-transfer costs and better measurement techniques likely explain the post-2000 growth in remittances from the United States to Mexico, according to Dallas Fed assistant economists Jesus Canas and Roberto Coronado and senior economist and policy adviser Pia Orrenius.

In "Explaining the Increase in Remittances to Mexico," the authors assert that the growth in the Mexican migrant population and their income alone can't account for the increase in remittances.

"Real remittances grew 170 percent from 2000 to 2005, but in the U.S., the Mexican-born population grew only 20 percent," they write.

Instead, they find that more migrants are turning to formal channels to send remittances due to reduced fees and that the Banco de Mexico has modernized procedures for collecting and recording remittance data.

"Spurred by declining costs for both senders and receivers, migrants increasingly have been transmitting remittances through formal channels rather than informal channels, such as carrying cash back home," according to the authors.

Many Americans get only the protectionist viewpoint on free trade, says Blake Hastings in this issue's "On the Record" conversation. "They rarely hear how protectionism distorts the economy, leads to higher prices, breeds mediocrity in service and product quality, and reduces variety," says Hastings, vice president in charge of the Dallas Fed's San Antonio Branch and former executive director of the Free Trade Alliance in San Antonio.

Hastings points out that South Texas cities, including San Antonio and McAllen, are reaching out to China, Brazil, Canada and Europe for trade opportunities. "All these communities are learning that you can't just wait for trade to come to you," he says.

In "Banking Industry Evolution Along the Texas-Mexico Border," economic analyst Joaquin Lopez and senior economist and policy adviser Keith Phillips review presentations from a recent Dallas Fed conference, "Cross-Border Banking." They report that as opportunities for banking increase along the border, the divide between U.S. and Mexican financial systems will continue to fade.

Speakers at the conference included Dallas Fed international financial analyst Edward Skelton, who said that explosive growth in the securitization and mortgage market in Mexico will boost the nation's economy by encouraging higher-quality housing, increased savings and greater wealth creation. SOURCE Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas

IPM partnered with UniCache

International Personnel Management, Inc. is partnered with UniCache, Inc. to bring to the market the best remittance and st0red value card based transaction technology to the international market.

Stored Value Remittance Card Systems

Reference the PR Newswire and the MiCash, Inc. website.

The MiCash Card is not by any means the only card system that performs stored value, purchase and remittance functions. The MiCash Card is an example of the types of capabilities that we at IPM are able to implement worldwide.

Through a partnership of existing providers and technologies a robust remittance, merchant and customer system can be beneficial to many populations in areas around the world. International Personnel Management LLC has the expertise to bring together the proper technologies with the decision makers and civil society to implement workable systems.

Remittance from Japan to Peru

There is a large population of Peruvians of Japanese decent (Nikkei people) who live in Japan. The number of Nikkei people in Japan has been growing since the late 1980's. Japanese banks have up to now not been in the business of facilitating the transfer of money from the Peruvian workers back to Peru.

An organization called Convenio Kyodai was formed to help Peruvians working in Japan to overcome language and cultural barriers. An informative narrative on a Peruvian experience in Japan can be found here.

There are growing numbers of Dekasegi entrepreneurs who return to Peru from Japan to start new businesses. Japan has an increasing linkage to Latin American countries especially Brazil, Peru and to a lesser extent Argentina.

There are many opportunities to create robust remittance networks beyond the United States and Latin America. We at IPM are uniquely positioned to facilitate remittance transactions worldwide because of our established long term relationships.

International Remittance Market Sparking Interest from Big Banks

The international remittance market has become so lucrative and beneficial that large international banks are taking an interest in "taking back" a market that has gone to money transfer companies.

Big banks (especially those based in the United States) faces some challenges in the international remittance market because of the many post-911 restrictions imposed upon them by the U.S. government. Despite these challenges the banking industry is exploring opportunities because the remittance market is expected to "grow 10.1% through 2008."

As can be seen in this article on CNN Money.com, the barriers both real and perceived faced by immigrants to use money transfer technology are being broken down by younger generations acceptance of being "plugged into tech."

We at IPM are poised to guide banks, money transfer companies, merchants and end users through this dynamic time in the international remittance market.

Recipients' Interest in Joining the Banking System

From the study conducted by Visa International found on the Payments News website there are listed benefits for remittance recipients to join the banking system. From the article (Thanks to Bankwatch for the source):

"Key findings highlight the recipients' interest in joining the banking system.

• Approximately 50 percent of the remittance volume to the region is distributed through financial institutions, but only 11 percent is received in bank accounts; the remainder is distributed in cash. This shows that despite the participation of financial institutions in the process, recipients are not yet receiving the benefits provided by banking.
• 56 percent of interviewees expressed an interest in establishing some type of formal relationship within the financial system. Similarly, 70 percent showed a favorable attitude toward banks.
• Remittances are not the only source of family income. Nearly half of the beneficiaries are employed part-time or full-time, and for 52 percent of them remittances represent supplemental income. Only one of eight beneficiaries considers remittances the only source of income.
• 15 percent of beneficiaries save or invest the money they receive because remittances increase their income by 50 percent.
• Most frequent uses include purchasing goods, developing a business, savings in foreign or local currency, paying debt, and certain luxuries such as traveling.
• The level of solvency, spending potential, savings and investment are higher among remittance recipients than among people of similar socioeconomic levels who do not receive remittances. Nearly half are economically active people.
• 24 percent of senders interviewed have been living abroad for 10 to 15 years and continue to send remittances periodically, showing the consistency of this business in the long term."

We at IPM are uniquely positioned to benefit provider companies, civil authorities and end users.

Banking Potential of Remittance Recipients

As shown in an article by Payments News:

"Visa International, Latin America and Caribbean Region, has conducted a study that "revealed the banking potential of remittance recipients, as well as their interest in establishing more productive relationships with financial institutions. The remittance market reached US$52 billion in 2005, marking a 15 percent increase over the previous year."

This idea goes against the conventional wisdom that most remittance participants don't trust banking institutions and will remain un-banked. This is of great interest to us here at IPM and to banking institutions.

The statistics keep showing a revolutionary change is occurring in cultural attitudes about banking and the transaction of money.

Hat Tip: Bank Watch

World Bank Estimates 2006 Remittances to Reach $199 Billion

The World Bank's Development Prospects Group, Migration and Remittances Team put together an interesting brief that is useful to us on the IPM team and everyone involved in the world remittance market.

An interesting observation from the brief is the following quote:

"Recorded remittances sent home by migrants from developing countries are expected to reach $199 billion in 2006, up from $188 billion in 2005, and more than double the level in 2001."

The gigantic sums involved in world remittances are of interest to developing countries who, with the correct systems in place, can harness the power of remittance transactions to fund development at all levels of the economy and empower the "Base of the Pyramid" (BOP) to self fund and rise into a viable and productive class bringing prosperity to the entire country.

Remittances - United States to Latin America

According to a study conducted in October 2006 by Monetary Investment Fund/Fondo Multilateral de Inversiones (MIF/FOMIN) reveals some interesting dynamics of the U.S. to Latin America remittance market.

[The MIF/FOMIN] study indicates that 12.6 million Latin American immigrants living in the United States will send about $45 billion to their families in 2006.

• The percentage of immigrants sending money on a regular basis to their relatives has increased from 61 percent in 2004 to 73 percent in 2006.
• The average amount of each remittance sent from the U.S. has increased from $240 in2004 to $300 in 2006.
• The percentage of immigrants that use a bank or credit union to send remittances has increased from 8 percent in 2004 to 19 percent in 2006.

The size of this market cannot be ignored.

The large numbers of transactions and funds indicated in this survey allow participating firms to vastly increase the standard of living in recipient countries by leveraging existing trends without having to further access funds from overburdened governmental and non-governmental (NGO) organizations.

IPM is positioned to enable companies to participate and benefit from this market while benefiting remittance senders and receivers.

The Growing Remittance Market

The remittance market is growing around the world. In the United States, the remittance market is usually associated with the southwestern border states with Mexico.

As seen in the article published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, four of the top ten U.S. states where remittances originate are in the southeastern United States.

Banks are interested in building infrastructure and knowhow but there are still many gaps which IPM (International Personnel Management, LLC) is here to fill.

International Personnel Management and Remittance

International Personnel Management, LLC (IPM) is here to implement remittance transactions and stored value card transactions in Latin America, the Caribbean (LAC) and around the world.

Contact IPM for the expertise, contacts and solutions to take your concept to reality.

Migration Phenomenon Beyond the United States

There are immigration trends throughout the Americas beyond the immigration of Mexicans to the United States.

According to a study* conducted by the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), "there are now significant communities of Bolivian migrants in Argentina, Nicaraguan migrants in Costa Rica, Guatemalans in Mexico, Peruvians in Chile, and Haitians in the Dominican Republic."

The MIF was formed to fund projects that stimulate the economies of Latin America and the Caribbean. There are numerous transactional opportunities beyond the United States/Mexico market.

*study titled Sending Money Home; Remittances as a Development Tool in Latin America and the Caribbean