SANTO DOMINGO.- Dominican Republic received more than US$3 billion in remittances in 2007 and the figure is expected to grow 5 percent this year, said Freddy Ortiz, head of the money-transfer agencies grouped in Aderedi.
He said more than RD$1.25 billion in remittances are distributed monthly in the country, with around 70 percent of that delivered straight to the beneficiary’s residence.
He said 30 percent of the remittances arrives in cities of the interior, where there’s more demand for home delivery, at a cost of two dollars each trip.
Ortiz, who denied that Aderedi is against the “bankarization,” or for the banks to also handle remittances, said the business is little understood here and abroad. "Simply the market is free, the customers are there and if they prefer to the money-transfers for their shipments, it’s mainly because they to take them at home to their places of origin here."
He said the money-transference industry is currently in one of its most difficult moments, mostly from the U.S. economic problems and the unemployment rate, which also affects Latinos
To send a remittance form New York costs one dollar if it’s to be paid in pesos, and not more than 2 percent if it’s for payment in dollars, Ortiz said. Source
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