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 Business News | February 2006 
Mexico City Jumps to Second Place
 El Universal
Mexico City has now climbed to second place nationwide in the amount of remittances its residents receive from the United States, according to a report published on Monday by Banco de México.
Analyzing figures from October to December of 2005, the report said the capital received US$479 million in wire transfers from migrants living north of the border. That number represents a 96 percent increase over the same period from the previous year.
Mexico City´s share made up 9 percent of the total amount of remittances sent during that period.
Ahead of the capital was Michoacán with 12.5 percent of the overall figure, while Zacatecas, Guanajuato and Jalisco also registered high rates of remittance money.
The Mexican-born population in the United States has grown 16 percent between 2000 and 2004, to 10.65 million in 2005. During the same period, the number of Mexican households receiving remittances rose about 15 percent, to almost 1.44 million at the end of last year
The central bank report said at the close of 2005 remittances totaled US$20.35 billion dollars.
WIRE TRANSFERS
Competition in the money transfer market has intensified in the past two years as top banks in the United States looked for expansion alternatives in a fast-growing sector that has been largely ignored in the past.
Since money transfer companies and banks stepped up efforts to attract more Hispanic customers, remittance fees have fallen by half and now cost between US$5 and US$10 per transfer.
About 85 percent of transfers made in 2005 were through electronic means. In the past, most Mexicans used relatives or townsfolk to deliver the money to relatives by hand. |
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