Latino Community CU Sends TransfersStraight To Mexico

DURHAM, N.C. - (06/09/06) – Latino Community CU has becomethe first credit union in the country to offer discountedinternational money transfers under the Federal Reserve’s newDirecto de Mexico program, the community development credit unionannounced Thursday. The credit union officially unveiled theprogram Wednesday and will charge a flat fee of $3 pertransfer–a fraction of the regular costs of internationaltransfers–regardless of the amount. At least one other creditunion, FirstStar CU, in Houston, has launched a pilot of theDirector de Mexico program. The program is a joint project betweenthe Fed and the Central Bank of Mexico, which links the Latinocredit union and its five branches to BANSEFI, one ofMexico’s largest banks with 548 branches. The service cutsout the middleman, so there’s no additional step in whichanother provider–for a fee, of course–would transferthe funds for credit unions. To use the service a person must jointhe credit union, which costs $20, and create a savings accountwith BANSEFI. Members of Latino Community CU can open accounts withBANSEFI at any of the credit union’s five branches. Thelow-cost remittance program is being marketed especially to creditunions and banks in Mexican border states, like Texas, New Mexico,Arizona and California.