Telecomunicaciones de México (Telecomm) and the Institute for Mexicans Abroad launched a debit card to send and receive remittances from the United States without paying fees for electronic transfers.
The new card is called Remesas Paisano and is part of an agreement between the Mexican Foreign Ministry and Telecomunicaciones de México .
Unlike transfer services, which top at hundreds of dollars per transfer, transfers to the card can be up to $7,499.
With the new card, Mexicans will be able to receive the remittances they send from the United States in a matter of minutes and, in addition, withdraw them at Telecomm branches throughout the country.
According to the Institute of Mexicans, more than half of 1,700 branches are in rural areas. The Mexican consulates in San Diego and the rest of the United States have information on the requirements to obtain the cards.
When a person makes a transfer from the United States, the money arrives as a deposit in the card account of the person who receives it in Mexico, who can use it as a debit card. The Mexican foreign minister, Marcelo Ebrard, said that "it is a card recognized in many establishments to be used for supplies, for each family's purchases."
Mexico reached a new record of remittances last year, for a total of $52 million.
Mexico has third place in the world for remittances from the United States after India with $87 billion and China with $53 billion. Ukraine is in the tenth position with $16.3 billion annually.
According to the Bank of Mexico, Mexicans in California are the ones who send the most remittances to their relatives in Mexico.
