MADISON, Wis. -
In the past six years, IRnet has distributed more than $1.4 billion in transactions through about 900 points of service in Bolivia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico and Nicaragua. In 2006, IRnet and its strategic partner, Vigo Remittance Corp, entered the African market for the first time with the creation of IRnet Coop Kenya, which offers remittances through SACCOs (credit unions) in Kenya. This year, IRnet will also expand to Colombia.
In addition to international expansion, 141 credit unions are registered as IRnet agents in the US.
The World Bank reports that since the formation of IRnet in 2000 by World Council, the annual amount of international remittances has doubled from $132 billion to an estimated $268 billion. Including unrecorded and informal exchanges, the amount of remittances worldwide is estimated to exceed the GDP of many developing countries.
In Guatemala alone, credit unions distribute more than 40,000 remittances every month. A vast majority of the distribution points of service are in rural areas, and nearly three of every four recipients are women. Forty percent of Guatemalans surveyed in 2004 said the reason they joined their credit unions was because of IRnet.
Recent legislative proposals to tax remittances are threatening credit unions and their membership at the state level. World Council is currently coordinating with several money transfer organizations, the National Money Transfer Association and National Credit Union Administration to help US leagues address the issue and connect with local organizations to mobilize efforts against it.
