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Citigroup Inc. is hoping to attract more deposit customers by upgrading its remittance service to India and making it available to almost anyone, CardLine Global sister publication American Banker reports. Though global-remittance volume is slowing in response to the weak economy, the U.S.-based banking company's Online Remit service, announced Thursday, is aimed at a segment of the market that seems to buck that trend, making consumers who send funds to India a desirable group of prospective depositors. Suresh Bajpai, Citi's global head of digital banking and payments, says the banking company is targeting noncustomers in the United States and is offering the remittance service alongside its other banking products. "There is a large target population, a large set of customers, that may not be banking with Citi," Bajpai says. Citi has had a presence in India since 1902, and for two decades has offered a remittance service that enables Citi customers in the United States to send funds to Citi customers there. Anyone with a bank account can use Online Remit, which went live last week. Payments must be initiated online, either by debiting senders' Citi accounts or by charging the amount to their debit or credit cards. Cit send funds electronically to its Indian unit, which deposits them into recipients' bank accounts or creates a paper check that it delivers to their mailing address. Citi forwards payments consumers send to non-Citi accounts in India across the Indian version of the automated clearinghouse network to the receiving bank. Citi charges US$4 (3.10 euros) to use the service, though the banking company is waiving the fees as part of a promotional campaign. Citi also offers wire transfers, which are more expensive. Consumers sending funds to India typically send $300 to $1,000, a range that is comparable to transfers sent to other countries, Bajpai says. Online Remit permits transfers of up to $10,000.
