AP News, July 17th, 2007
Wells Fargo & Co. is introducing a new money transfer program designed to make it easier for customers to send money to family members living in Mexico, India and other foreign countries.
The service, Wells Fargo ExpressSend, which begins operation Tuesday, will provide people sending the money with more information on fees while making it easier for recipients to get the money that's transmitted.
Wells Fargo customers will be able to send the money account to account, account to cash, cash to cash and cash to account, the San Francisco-based bank said in a statement. The money can be picked up at the branches of specified overseas banks and at their automated teller machines, it said.
"Based on our tests and pilots, account to cash will be the preferred choice for our customers," Daniel Ayala, head of Wells Fargo's global remittance services, said in the statement. "This opens the service for use by a larger number of remitters whose friends and family overseas do not have bank accounts in their home country."
Customers who use the service will received detailed information on how and where the money is being sent, the fee, the foreign exchange rate and the so-called foreign exchange margin. The margin is the estimated revenue the bank earns on the conversion.
The program was applauded by Appleseed, a nonprofit legal advocacy group that operates offices in the United States and Mexico. The group has been urging more transparency in remittance transactions.
"We're happy to see any initiative to give more complete pricing," said Ann Baddour, a senior policy analyst with Appleseed. "Such information benefits the consumer and improves competition in the marketplace."
Wells Fargo is one of four financial institutions participating in a pilot program sponsored by Appleseed to improve transaction cost disclosure.
Wells Fargo said transaction fees will be discounted or even waived for customers sending money from eligible Wells Fargo checking and savings accounts. Money should arrive in Mexico, El Salvador and Guatemala on the same day it is sent, and on the next business day in China, India, Vietnam and the Philippines, the bank said.
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