Sending Money Home

Reading Neville's comment on my It's a bit obvious, but...blogs post, I decided that today I should focus on a trend more focused on Mexico.

In 2003, Mexico received $13.4 Billion US Dollars in Money Remittances from outside the country. Almost all of this money comes from relatives that have gone to the US to work, with the purpose of sending money home to help pay for food and other household expenses.

70% of this money is received in only 10 of the 33 states in Mexico. The top five states include: Michoacan, Jalisco, Guanajuato, Mexico, and the Distrito Federal (Mexico City). 18% of all adults in Mexico say that they are receiving money from relatives abroad.

The average deposit is $320 USD, and the cost to send is running around $13 USD for that transaction. Almost all of the money is sent electronically now, however 64% of the people receiving the money don't have bank accounts. They pick up the money at convinience stores, stores that specialize in money transfers, etc.

Mexico holds the #1 spot in the world for Amount ($$) received.

The people sending the money will typically have an education level varying from Elementary school to some High School. Their average income is $15K-25K USD, and they have plans to return to their country some day.

The sources for all of the stats that I am providing here can be found on the links on this page from the Instituto de los Mexicanos en el Exterior, and some of the documents are in English.

I once heard that the #2 income for Mexico comes from these remittances, only behind petroleum. Although I believe it would be difficult to break into the well-established market of "money sending", there are many opportunities that could be found through this trend...including helping these family members communicate with one another.

Any thoughts?