The Market for International Remittances is Hot

(This article first appeared in the May-June 2017 issue of The American Postal Worker magazine.)

The market for international remittances – sending money abroad – is rapidly expanding. Between 2010 and 2014, money transfers worldwide increased between three percent and 11 percent annually, according to the USPS Office of Inspector General (OIG). The United States ranks first worldwide for this service, with 22 percent of the global market.

Postal systems offer international remittance services in more than 60 percent of countries around the world. This is by far the most widespread postal financial product, according to the Universal Postal Union (UPU). Posts have been exchanging paper-based money orders since 1878, when the first UPU international treaty on postal payment services was adopted.

What is Sure Money/DineroSeguro?

Your post office may already offer an electronic money order service. The program, called Sure Money or DineroSeguro, offers international remittances from the United States to nine countries. Although the program started with 4,500 retail locations, by 2014 only about 800 locations processed Sure Money transactions.

In 2014, more than $130 billion in remittances were sent from the United States to more than 140 countries. The USPS processed only 0.01% of those transactions, according to the USPS OIG. Of the ten countries receiving the most remittances from the United States (Mexico, China and India are the top three), the USPS wire service serves only four (and only one of the top five), see chart.

Task Force on Enhanced and Expanded Services

For consumers, an expansion of international remittance services will provide a needed service at reasonable rates by a trusted public institution. For the USPS, improving and expanding the service could generate needed revenue. The USPS OIG estimated that the U.S. Postal Service could increase its market share to three percent over a five year period, generating on average annual revenue of $89.2 million.

The 2015 Collective Bargaining Agreement between the APWU and the U.S. Postal Service calls for a joint “Service Enhancement and Innovation” Task Force. Authorized to discuss, research and consult with experts in various fields, the task force will cooperate on identifying and developing potential opportunities to increase revenue. International remittance is one of the programs that APWU will raise with the task force.

In support of the APWU/USPS Task Force, the Campaign for Postal Banking is seeking clerks who process Sure Money/DineroSeguro transactions at their post office window. Please contact the Campaign at info@campaignforpostalbanking.org.