Business World

Danny Ayala, head of global remittance at Wells Fargo & Co., has only to look at the numbers from Mother’s Day week to see improvement in the business of zipping money from country to country.

In a sign of an improving economy, the bank saw a 57 percent increase in volume during that week and an all-time daily high on May 10 — the day Mother’s Day is celebrated in Mexico.

"It shows that remitters have money to send," Ayala said in an interview Thursday. "Last year was a much different story."

Wells Fargo & Co. expects even bigger things from the remittance business, with the addition of eight new recipient countries at the end of last year and the gradual rollout of its "ExpressSend" service in Wachovia branches.

Wells started ramping up ExpressSend in 2003 and now offers service to 15 countries in Latin America and Asia. Customers can send money overseas from a branch, by phone or online. Wells is also looking to add mobile and ATM options.

In the first quarter, total transactions increased 36 percent to Mexico and 35 percent to all countries, compared with the same period a year earlier. The bank handles billions of dollars in remittance volume each year, but doesn’t provide specific volume or transaction figures.

With the business, Wells sees a way to help a growing immigrant population send money home — and an opportunity to sell them checking accounts and other banking products, Ayala said.

The remittance business is at the center of two hot issues lately: immigration and financial services. Many customers who use the product are in the U.S. legally, but Ayala acknowledges that some may not be. The company follows laws that require it to check customers’ identification, but not immigration status, he said.

"The immigration issue is an issue of public policy," he said. "We are here to provide financial services."

As part of financial reform legislation being debated in Congress, some lawmakers are pushing for more consumer protections for remittance customers. One proposal would require remittance providers to display fees in their storefronts and give the cost to customers upfront.

Ayala said the bank favored transparency but wasn’t comfortable with current proposals. The legislation could be difficult to implement because prices change frequently as exchange rates fluctuate, he said. According to World Bank figures, the remittance flow to developing countries fell 6 percent to $316 billion in 2009. As the world economy picks up, the World Bank expects remittances to increase by 6.2 percent in 2010.

Wells competes with money transfer giants such as Western Union Co. and MoneyGram International Inc., as well as other banks. Bank of America Corp. has a product that allows customers with checking accounts to send money to Mexico by phone. The bank also has an online wire transfer service.

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