Fast track for cash transfers
For as long as there have been Chinese working abroad, there have been creative ways to send money back to the mainland. But BBVA, Spain's second largest bank, is calculating that Chinese immigrants, at least in the US, will be happy to pay a modest charge for a less inventive but much more instantaneous solution.
ADVERTISEMENT
BBVA last week unveiled a money-transfer venture, one of the first of its kind for China, that will tie up its extensive US network with Bank of China, the country's second largest bank with some 11,600 branches.
The success of BBVA's latest venture will largely depend on the willingness of Chinese in the US to pay wiring fees for an instantaneous transaction that sends funds to family and friends back home.
China currently receives less than one-tenth of total global money transfers, and this is done almost entirely outside the international banking system, according to World Bank research.
"The vast majority of this activity is done through informal channels," says Moises Jaimes, president of BBVA Bancomer, the bank's money-transfer unit based in Houston, Texas.
Mr Jaimes says first-generation Chinese immigrants often deliver cheques or cash through the mail or with the help of travelling acquaintances, with the money often ending up in southern provinces such as Fujian and Guangdong.
He predicts that BBVA Bancomer should be able to control 5 to 10 per cent of remittances from Chinese working in the US in the first year of business.
BBVA Bancomer has a network of 35,000 wiring locations in the US, including the US Postal Service and regional banks such as Wells Fargo. "This is a ???-business of big networks," says Manuel Galatas, general manager for BBVA Asia.
The Spanish lender already dominates the US-Latin America remittance market, by its own estimate handling 40 per cent of the funds that Mexican workers in the US wire back home. Mr Galatas notes that while the US-Mexico remittance business was small a decade ago, it is booming today.
BBVA executives argue that there are similar possibilities for US-China remittances. The bank will initially target first-generation Chinese immigrants in New York, Illinois, California and Texas and may extend services to Europe starting next year.
The bank is also looking to establish similar remittance networks for overseas Filipinos and Indians.
Electronic money transferring is typically a simple process: a US-based wirer pays a fee, in BBVA's case an average of $15, and the receiver in China will immediately be able to collect the cash or have it deposited into a bank account.
Mr Jaimes says BBVA's venture will encourage Chinese cash receivers to open bank accounts with BoC, which has already attracted several billion dollars in foreign investment.
In addition to the Chinese aversion to paying fees for money transferring, BBVA Bancomer will face established competition within China.
The US-based Western Union Financial Services has a wire transfer partnership with China Post and Agricultural Bank involving some 25,000 locations. And MoneyGram International, another US company, has been seeking to expand services in China through arrangements with local banks.
华人海外汇款的“快速通道”
中
国人在国外打工的历史有多长，想方设法将资金汇回国内的历史就有多长。但据西班牙第二大银行BBVA认为，中国移民（至少在美国的中国移民）或许乐意支付适当的费用，使用一种不那么费心但更为迅捷的汇款方法。
BBVA上周宣布建立一家汇款公司，将其覆盖面广阔的美国网络，与拥有约1.16万家分支机构的中国第二大银行中国银行(Bank of China)联接在一起。这是专为中国成立的首批此类公司之一。
BBVA最新成立的这家公司能否成功，很大程度上将取决于在美华人是否愿意支付电汇费用，即时将资金汇给国内亲友。
来自世界银行(World Bank)的数据显示，目前，中国接收的汇款占全球全部汇款额的十分之一弱，而这些活动几乎完全在国际银行体系之外完成。
BBVA Bancomer总裁莫伊塞斯?海梅斯(Moises Jaimes)表示：“绝大部分华人汇款都是通过非正式渠道完成的。” BBVA Bancomer是BBVA的汇款部门，总部设在美国德克萨斯州的休斯顿。
海梅斯表示，第一代中国移民经常通过信件方式寄送支票或现金，或请求来往熟人帮助将资金捎回国内。这些钱通常汇往福建、广东等中国南部省份。
他预测，在新公司投入运营的第一年中，BBVA Bancomer应该能够占据在美工作华人5%至10%的汇款市场。
BBVA Bancomer在美国拥有一个3.5万个电汇网点组成的汇款网络，其中包括美国邮政(US Postal Service)和富国银行(Wells Fargo)等地区性银行的营业网点。BBVA亚洲总经理曼纽尔?加拉塔斯(Manuel Galatas)表示：“这是一个需要很大网络覆盖面的业务。”
这家西班牙银行已主宰了美国－拉丁美洲汇款市场，据其自己估计，在美工作的墨西哥人汇回国内的资金有40%经由该行。加拉塔斯指出，虽然10年前美国－墨西哥汇款业务的规模较小，但目前该业务正在蓬勃发展。
BBVA的高管人士认为，美国－中国汇款业务也会取得巨大发展。该银行将最初的目标客户锁定为在纽约州、伊利诺伊州、加州和德克萨斯州的第一代中国移民；明年起，可能将服务拓展到欧洲。
该银行也在寻求为海外菲律宾人和印度人建立类似的汇款网络。
电子汇款是一种典型的简单汇款程序：只要在美国的汇款人支付一笔手续费（在BBVA，平均每单手续费为15美元），在中国的收款人就能立即收取现金或将汇款存入银行账户。
海梅斯说，BBVA新成立的这家汇款公司将鼓励中国境内的现金收款人在中国银行开立账户。中国银行已经吸引了几十亿美元外国投资。
BBVA Bancomer也将面临诸多挑战，其中包括中国人不喜欢付费汇款。除此之外，BBVA Bancomer还要面对中国境内业已存在的竞争。
总部位于美国的西联金融服务公司(Western Union Financial Services)已经与中国邮政(China Post)和中国农业银行(Agricultural Bank)建立了电汇合作关系，后两者在中国拥有2.5万个网点。另一家美国公司速汇金国际(MoneyGram International)也一直寻求通过与当地银行合作，拓展其中国业务。
