[dropcap]F[/dropcap]or Colombians residing in Bogotá, New Jersey, sending money to relatives in Bogotá, Colombia, just got faster and easier with the introduction of Sharemoney’s new money transfer service to Colombia.
The arrival of Sharemoney – a service of OmnexGroup Inc., and with more than 25 years experience in the financial transfer business, offers Colombians greater competition when it comes to remittances with value-added benefits such as receiving customer support either by email or phone, in English and Spanish.
Remittances to Colombia have grown steadily over the years as Colombians oversees benefit from well paying jobs and see their greenbacks going further back home against a weak and devalued Colombian peso. “Providing a secure, reliable money transfer services is our priority. We’re happy to serve the Colombian community by expanding our wire transfer services,” said Anastasia Rzhevskaya, Marketing Manager at Sharemoney.
Sharemoney offers flexible money transfer options to over 41,000 payout locations around the world including: Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, Philippines and Vietnam.
Sharemoney’s digital platform is tablet and cellphone-friendly, making the transfer of funds quick and hassle-free. Their link www.sharemoney.com/colombia/ has been personalized for the Colombian market and offers competitive exchange rates, low transfer fees starting a US$2,99.
While Western Union and MoneyGram have an established presence in Colombia, Sharemoney’s entrance into the competitive market comes with a simple website and the fact that a beneficiaries can track transfers while on the go.
According to a report on remittances to Colombia by the country’s central bank, Banco de la República, 10% of all nationals have relied at some point on a foreign transfer of funds.
According to the International Organization of Migration, at the beginning of this century, 2.1 million Colombians took up residence abroad and by 2012, this number reached 4.7 million. As the numbers of Colombians overseas continues to grow, so does a commitment to send money back to those who stayed behind and who depend on dollar payments to make end meet.
Hence, remittances not only benefit a household but also contribute to liquidity in the economy, injecting almost US$2 billion a year. According to the Chamber of Commerce of Cali, the department of Valle del Cauca receives annually US$400 million from overseas transfers. According to the Banco de la República, the regions which most benefit from remittances are Risaralda, Antioquia, Cundinamarca and Valle del Cauca.
