Money transfer fees reduced by 50%
DENVER, CO -- Worldremit, a leading digital remittance company, today announced a historic reduction in transaction fees, lowering the prices of money transfers sent from the United States to Guatemala, Colombia, Colombia by an average of more than 50%. Dominican Republic and El Salvador.
The company announcement aligns with Worldremit's commitment to the 2030 Agenda
for Sustainable Development of the United Nations to combat economic inequality and promote financial inclusion in recipient countries. The objective of this sustainability goal is to reduce the transaction costs of migrant remittances to less than 3 percent and to eliminate remittance corridors with costs greater than 5 percent.
Remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean grew 9.3% last year, reaching a record $142 billion in 2022.
The region also experienced the largest increase in total average costs of remittances, from 5.6% to 6 %, twice the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) set by the United Nations.
By understanding the important role remittances play in the lives of millions of Latin American families, Worldremit is significantly lowering costs in the region's key markets. Senders located in the United States will see a reduction in total commission fees for transfers to the following countries:
“Our commitment goes beyond making money transfers fast, easy and secure. This substantial reduction in our commissions will not only help families in Latin America overcome the challenges of today's rising global inflation, but will also provide tangible long-term economic benefits,” said Jorge Godínez, director of the Americas and Global Network of Worldremit. “Lower remittance fees can help increase recipients' ability to save and invest their money, which promotes financial resilience, improves the economic well-being of their families, and creates a more sustainable future for their communities.”
The United Nations estimates that by reducing average costs to 3 percent globally, remittance-sending families would save an additional $20 billion a year. Of all the channels to send remittances, banks continue to be the most expensive, with an average cost of 11% during the second quarter of 2022. On the other hand, mobile operations remain the least expensive with 3.5% on average.
There are approximately 21,036,500 immigrants of Hispanic origin living in the United States, making the Uslatin American remittance corridor one of the busiest in the world.