JPMorgan Chase & Co. has been late to the game of developing a Mexican remittance program, but on Wednesday it said it has completed the expansion of a pilot test to all its markets.
New York, the $1.3 trillion-asset company's hometown and one of its largest markets, was the last to get the program, called Rapid Cash, which was rolled out in Texas in September. It allows checking account holders to send up to $1,500 each account statement cycle to Mexico without a wire service fee.
Helping foreigners and immigrants send money to their home countries has been an attractive growth market, and banking companies large and small have tried for some time to lure customers away from remittance companies like Western Union Co.
JPMorgan Chase said that Mexicans living in the United States sent about $20 billion home last year, mostly to family members, who will now be able to pick up transfers at branches and automated teller machines of Grupo Financiero Banorte.
A spokesman for JPMorgan Chase said it had been mulling a remittance program for some time but had to find the right bank partners in Mexico.
Banorte also is one of several Mexican banking companies that have a remittance relationship with Bank of America Corp.
Citigroup Inc. has long offered free transfers between its accounts worldwide.
In March it said it had signed a deal with Ecuador's Banco Solidario allowing customers to transfer up to $3,000 a day for a $5 fee.
B of A's SafeSend program started in 2002 as a preloaded debit card that could be cashed in Mexico without charge. But the company swapped that program in 2005 for free transfers tied to B of A checking accounts. Customers can send up to $1,500 in a single transaction and up to $3,000 every 30 days under SafeSend.
Like JPMorgan Chase, B of A charges its regular wire transfer fee for higher-amount transfers.
A spokeswoman for the Charlotte company said it changed its program because of customer feedback and because it wanted to help unbanked immigrants find a way into the financial system and build a credit history.
The JPMorgan Chase spokesman said that Rapid Cash aims to provide better service for existing customers, and that remittance services are a key product for many customers. Rapid Cash could help attract unbanked customers, he said, though he would not say how successful the test has been in Texas.
