CA Immigrant Groups Celebrate New Money Transfer Agreement
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May 6, 2008
Los Angeles, CA - California immigrant groups say an international boycott of Western Union has paid off. Since September 2007, a network of 200 organizations has used the boycott to protest what its members believe are unnecessarily high fees for money transfers. The group also has challenged Western Union to invest some of its profit in immigrant communities.
Now, members of the network have signed an agreement to do business with another money transfer company, Virtual Money Incorporated, which has promised to address both of those issues. Youssef Sawan, regional coordinator for the Transnational Institute for Grassroots Research and Action (TIGRA), says the deal will help the many migrants who regularly transfer money to their loved ones in other countries.
"Money transfer companies have been profiting from this for so long. We really look forward to developing new business standards in this industry, through this partnership and future partnerships, that can really benefit those communities and migrants around the world."
Last year, migrants sent $260 billion to developing nations, worldwide. Sawan explains many immigrants rely on money-transfer companies to send portions of their paychecks back home.
"This is about sending something to actually contribute, not only to the families back home, but to the communities back home that people have left in order to support them, to provide a better living for them."
According to Sawan, the Western Union boycott will continue, because network members have documented instances of the money transfer service giant charging as much as $50 to transfer $100. Western Union defends its fee structure, however, which it says is based on the logistics and financial risk involved in each transaction.
For more information, visit the TIGRA Web site, at www.transnationalaction.org.