You can be sure that the banking industry will be opposed to halting illegal immigration. Several, Wa. Mutual, Wells Fargo, Bankof America and more contribute to MALDEF.
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Lou Dobbs Show/CNN/Aired 12/28/04
And Visa targets immigrant workers in a new ad campaign. But some say the program pose poses a security risk to this country.
PILGRIM: Visa International is launching an aggressive campaign to convince Latin American migrant workers to use plastic to send money back home. Now, Visa hopes to take over some of the money transfer business from companies like Western Union and Moneygram. Critics say using debit cards to transfer money raises new security concerns. Lisa Sylvester has the story.
LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT : Visa, it's everywhere you want to be, and in some places, you may not expect it to be. Visa International is targeting migrant and other workers from Latin America as its new favorite customer. The company is marketing its smart card that works as a prepaid debit card. Workers in the United States can easily transfer money to relatives abroad at a low cost. The banking industry hopes to tap into the remittance payment market that has been growing at an astronomical pace.
MANUEL OROZCO, INTER-AMERICAN DIALOGUE: In 2001, it is total volume of remittances to Latin American was $18 billion, and it grew to $38 billion three years later.
SYLVESTER: Wire services, including Western Union and Moneygram so far have dominated the $38 billion money-transfer market. A recent study found that 86 percent of remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean were cash transfers, 4 percent home delivery, 4 percent bank or credit union deposit, and 1 percent debit or smart card. Not everyone agrees that banking institutions make it easier to send money out of the country. Critics say nearly $40 billion a year exiting the United States is not small change, and leaves less money for some of the poorest U.S. communities. And there's also a potential security risk.
MARK KRIKORIAN, CENTER FOR IMMIGRATION STUDIES: Immigrant remittances are one of the ways bad guys can transfer money across borders because even though most of that money is completely innocent, people working jobs and sending money home, it can serve as cover for terrorists, other kinds of criminals to move money.
SYLVESTER: But Visa and other credit card companies are charging forward, reaching into one of the few untapped markets.
SYLVESTER: The banking industry is convinced it can capture more of the market because its costs tend to be lower than traditional wire transfers. The bank costs as little as $8 a transfer, using the smart cards, and on the other hand, wire services can cost up to $25 a transfer. Kitty?
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0412/28/ldt.01.html