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Wells Fargo says its remittance transaction volume grew at a record pace of 27% in 2011 over the prior year, thanks in part to substantial growth on the East Coast where the bank has largely finalized conversions of former Wachovia branches.
February 16 -
Companies globally that provide such services will see some $55 billion in international remittances made through mobile devices by 2016, according to a December report from Juniper Research.
January 3
Remittances sent to Latin America from the U.S. in 2011 exceeded pre-recession levels and more money was remitted through banks than other methods, according to a new report from Inter-American Dialogue.
Remittances to Latin America increased 8%, to $69.3 billion, year over year with growth predominantly in Mexico, Colombia and Central America. This was higher than the $68.6 billion sent in 2007 and $69.2 billion sent in 2008 after remittances were lower in 2009 and 2010.
A 2% decline in unemployment among foreign-born workers may have led to the increase in remittances, according to the report released Monday.
People sent more money through banks than other methods such as money transfer operators or the Internet. On average, users sent $258 per transaction and $3,592 annually through banks. The Internet came in second with $2,685 sent annually and an average of $269 sent during each transaction.
The report said that Wells Fargo (WFC) was outperforming other banks as far as the volume of its remittances. The San Francisco company transferred $1.8 billion in 2011 globally, up 28% from a year earlier in total dollars remitted. More than half of Wells Fargo’s transfers came from bank accounts to cash, the report said.
Wells Fargo, which provided assistance in the production of the Inter-American Dialogue report, previously said that this increase was partly due to growth on the East Coast, where it has largely finalized its conversions
