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Every year, Hispanic residents in the United States transmit billions of dollars to family and loved ones in their native countries—an estimated $20 billion to
Mexico alone. According to the Pew Hispanic Center, in 2005 nearly half of all adult Mexican immigrants living in the United States sent money to relatives in Mexico, often paying fees of up to 10 percent.
In September 2005, Bank of America changed the game completely by offering a free, secure
and easy alternative. Because we simplified and relaunched the SafeSend® service, any Bank of America customer with a checking account can send cash to anyone in Mexico—immediately and free of charge.
The SafeSend service provides cash in Mexican pesos, at competitive exchange rates, to recipients in Mexico through more than 3,600 locations. In 2006, the bank will add
900 more locations. No fees, cards or unfamiliar procedures are required, only proper identification. A patent is pending on this new remittance process.
This innovation allows Bank of America to attract many new customers who have never dealt with a bank. An estimated 50 percent of Hispanics have no banking
experience or relationship with a financial institution. The SafeSend service provides these customers with a compelling reason to do business with Bank of America.
With more than 40 million Hispanics in the United States, the SafeSend service plays an important part in growing our business in a segment that will account for 60 percent of the population growth in the bank’s markets over the next
decade. Hispanic purchasing power alone would rank among the top 10 economies of the world and is growing faster than that of the population as a whole, according to research cited by the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility.
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Business owners Juan and Maria Cuarenta, pictured here with some of their children and grandchildren, use SafeSend regularly to transfer funds to relatives in Mexico.
Video transcript
The SafeSend service is a strategic investment that
attracts and grows customer relationships, and therefore it is not a stand-alone product but rather a feature of the bank’s basic checking accounts. Checking accounts with these added features are free with direct deposit, and they are proven relationship starters. 
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