Wells Fargo to unveil service for wiring money to Mexico

SAN FRANCISCO - Wells Fargo & Co. is poised to introduce a discount service for wiring money to Mexico, the latest move in the banking giant&#39;s courtship of the steadily growing Hispanic population in the United States. <br> <br> The new service will charge a $10 flat fee for wiring as much as $1,000 to Mexico. <br> <br> The price undercuts the rates charged by the dominant financial wire services, Western Union and Moneygram. The market leaders collect a $15 fee on a comparable wire transfer of up to $300 and charge as much as $50 for sending $1,000 to Mexico. In some cases, Moneygram charges a flat fee of $15 for any amount. <br> <br> Mexicans living in the United States wire an estimated $8 billion annually to friends and relatives back home. <br> <br> &#34;It&#39;s an extremely attractive market,&#34; said Bob Byrne, Wells&#39; director of divergent services. &#34;We want to stay close to it by tailoring products that fit the market&#39;s needs.&#34; <br> <br> Wells, the nation&#39;s fifth-largest bank, intends to test its new wire service in a Phoenix, Ariz., branch and seven Texas branches under a pilot program that will begin by April. <br> <br> The San Francisco-based bank eventually plans to offer the wire transfer service -- operated as a joint venture with Grupo Financiero Bancomer SA, Mexico&#39;s second-largest bank -- in all 3,000 of its branches located in 23 states. <br> <br> Wells also has been heavily promoting another long-running program, called Intercuenta, that lets customers send money to Mexico through account transfers completed on the Internet or automated teller machines. <br> <br> Western Union is closely watching Wells&#39; new wire service but has no immediate plans to change its prices, said spokesman Pete Ziverts. <br> <br>

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/1/200479