Immigrants Pay Lower Fees to Send Money Home, Helping to Ease Poverty

Immigrants pay much lower fees now to send money home, helping the people here and also their family back home.    - - Donna Poisl

By NATALIE KITROEFF

The first time Carmen Gonzalez sent money back to her family in Mexico, in 1991, Western Union charged her a $12 fee to wire $100. She earned that $12 working for six hours in a clothing factory in midtown Manhattan, which paid her $2 an hour.

These days Ms. Gonzalez pays $5, which she earns in less than an hour, so she sends a bit more. The family is benefiting from a financial transformation propelled by new technology and increased competition that has driven down the average cost of sending money to Mexico by nearly 80 percent since 1999.
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