[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 96 (Thursday, June 26, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S8756]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. BOXER:
  S. 1359. A bill to allow credit unions to provide international money 
transfer services and to require disclosures in connection with 
international money transfers from all money transmitting service 
providers; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, today, I am introducing the International 
Remittances Services Enhancement and Protection Act of 2003.
  Remittances are the funds that immigrants send to their families 
abroad to help those relatives meet their basic needs. In the Latino 
community, 47 percent of all Latinos born outside the United States 
regularly send money to their country of origin. But since 43 percent 
to 58 percent of those who send remittances abroad regularly do not 
have a bank account, much of their hard earned money is lost in fees 
paid to check cashing agencies and wire transfer companies. They rely 
on check cashing services to cash their paychecks at hefty fees and 
then pay another fee to send some portion of that money through a wire 
service to their relatives in Latin America and elsewhere at varying 
exchange rates.
  This legislation will increase competition and transparency in the 
remittances market. It will provide immigrants with access to more 
choices for sending remittances by allowing credit unions to provide 
wire transfer and check cashing services to nonmembers. It will also 
provide immigrants with access to information in more than one language 
from all money transmitters about the fees and exchange rates that they 
pay. That information will make it easier for consumers to compare the 
value of the services they can receive from different service 
providers.
  The larger goal is to provide immigrants with more control over their 
finances. I believe this bill with encourage financial institutions to 
develop better services for immigrants and build stronger relationships 
with immigrant communities.
  According to the Multilateral Investment Fund, immigrants living in 
the United States sent $23 billion to Latin America in 2001. More than 
$3 billion of that total was consumed in fees paid to money transfer 
agencies. If current growth rates in remittance transfers are 
maintained, cumulative remittances to Latin America could reach $300 
billion for the 10-year period ending in 2010. We need to work to 
ensure that competition in the market and modern technology come 
together to lower the portion of those monies lost in fees and instead 
are used for productive purposes.
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