An international community-based, low-income advocacy organization is calling on the Canadian government to regulate the “predatory” remittance industry.
The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) says the unregulated practise of charging up to 50 per cent for money transfers — a $400-billion industry according to the World Bank — is punishing migrant workers and immigrants, many of whom send money to their families back home.
“The remittance fee is killing us,” says Kay Bisnath, president of ACORN International. “Migrant workers’ and immigrants’ families depend on the money that their loved ones in Canada and around the world send to their homeland.”
Bisnath says banks and money transfer businesses can charge as much as 50 per cent in remittance fees. A migrant worker sending $100 to their family can be charged between $32 and $35 through the TD Bank, says Bisnath. “When you have to pay all these remittance fees, what are the loved ones left with?”
ACORN is calling for the Canadian government to limit the amount banks and financial institutions can charge to five per cent.
“We’re trying to end this predatory practise by the banks and financial agencies,” says Bisnath.
Comments: 3
Harju wrote:
on Mar 3rd, 2011 at 11:06am Report Abuse
Editor Drew Anderson wrote:
Limit means it can be lower than that, but that it can't be higher than that. So, that $100 would be a lot cheaper. Would that mean more for more sum? I hope not. I certainly don't see that as the intention here, but you never know how the banks will skew things to their own advantage.
on Mar 3rd, 2011 at 4:25pm Report Abuse
Agent666 wrote:
The funny thing is that many of these 'poor' foreign workers avoid legal money transfer companies, instead using hawalas which often charge MUCH more than 5%. Really, I don't know what point of ACORN--a foreign, criminally-charged organisation--is doing mucking about in Canada, or why media like FFWD is running their press releases.
on Mar 4th, 2011 at 1:43pm Report Abuse
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