Xpress Money, one of the world's leading money transfer organizations, has announced plans to expand its network in Brazil, Chile and Guatemala by virtue of strategic partnerships that are underway.

This development is in line with Xpress Money's focus to increase its network in Latin America to 40,000 locations by the end of 2017. Recent remittance trends in LATAM indicate that there is good potential for business growth in the region, a statement said.

According to the latest Migration and Development brief released by the World Bank, remittance flows into Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) increased by an estimated 6.9 per cent in 2016, reaching $73 billion. This growth is projected to continue, but moderate to around 3.3 and 3.6 per cent in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

It is estimated, Guatemala alone registered strong remittance inflows of $7.4 billion last year, an increase of 13 per cent. It is the second largest remittance receiving country in LATAM, following Mexico. Brazil's inward remittances stood at $2.7 billion in 2016, while Chile received an estimated $123 million in 2016.

One of the reasons attributed to the increase in remittances to the region is the reduced cost of remittances. The average cost of sending money to LAC was 6 per cent in 2017 Q1, below the global average of 7.32 per cent. Over the years, the cost of sending money to LAC has gradually declined due to a combination of high volumes and competitive market structure.

Sudhesh Giriyan, COO, Xpress Money said: "Our aim is to make money transfers convenient for expats residing across all geographies in the world. Markets such as Guatemala, Brazil and Chile continue to see their citizens migrating abroad for a better livelihood.”

“Soon enough, these expats start contributing to the economies of their respective countries in the form of remittances. It is therefore extremely vital for us to grow our network and offer convenient money transfer services to cater to the growing needs of customers. Our teams are actively exploring strategic partnerships, through which we aim to ensure a convenient and secure money transfer process, both for the sender abroad as well as the beneficiaries in the region,” he added.

Currently, Xpress Money has a strong network, consisting of 180,000 agent locations in 160 countries globally. - TradeArabia News Service