Wells Fargo celebrates a decade in consumer remittances with fee waiver offer

SAN FRANCISCO – Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) is celebrating the 10 year anniversary of its Global Remittance Services unit by offering new Wells Fargo ExpressSend customers a fee waiver on their first transfer if they enroll in the service and make their first transfer from a Wells Fargo linked account between February 1 and June 30, 2013. Ten years ago, Wells Fargo revamped its legacy remittance service to the Philippines (service originated in 1994) by creating a new business unit in 2003 that focused on serving the needs of a growing diverse population.  Today, Wells Fargo offers remittance services to 14 countries, including Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, the Philippines, India, Vietnam, and China and has more than 39,500 payout locations.

“A decade ago, our leadership team recognized that with the changing demographics of our nation, there was a need to differentiate ourselves from  other major banking institutions by offering relevant and useful  financial services products to our diverse customers,” said Daniel Ayala, head of Wells Fargo Global Remittance Services. “Many of our competitors also entered this business in 2003, yet today we are one of the few major banks in the U.S. that remains focused on this business.  We are pleased with our success and the continued demand we’ve seen from our diverse communities who have benefited from the economical, convenient and dependable way to send money to their home countries in Latin America, the Caribbean and Asia with Wells Fargo.”

Wells Fargo remains committed to offering remittance services despite pending regulations that are causing some large banking institutions and traditional remittance companies to exit the business or reevaluate their strategy.

Concurrently, the Inter-American Dialogue named Wells Fargo a top ranking consumer remittance services provider. Wells Fargo tied for first place with two other companies, out of a field of 37.  This is the only industry study focused on evaluating remittance services providers based on price, foreign exchange rates, convenience, distribution and quality of service.

“Wells Fargo has demonstrated a strong commitment in the remittance market and in delivering affordable and inclusive products to migrants,” said Dr. Manuel Orozco, Remittances and Development Program, Inter-American Dialogue. “At ten years in the industry, it has demonstrated that offering financial services to migrants offers valuable returns.”

The Inter-American Dialogue is the leading U.S. center for policy analysis, communication and exchange on Western Hemisphere affairs. The study was prepared by Dr. Manuel Orozco, Remittances and Development Program, Inter-American Dialogue, and the research was conducted between April 2012 and October 2012.  Dr. Orozco is the senior associate and director of remittances and development at the Dialogue.

Wells Fargo ExpressSend customers can send funds to their beneficiaries in most countries through their choice of four remittance alternatives– account to account, account to cash, cash to cash, or cash to account.  The Wells Fargo ExpressSend service is available via most key customer channels including all Wells Fargo Bank store locations, https://www.wellsfargo.com/per/intl_remittance/and and the Wells Fargo Phone Bank^SM at 1-800-TO-WELLS (1-800-556-0605).