Many immigrants remit a portion of their earnings to family members that remain in their countries of origin. The dramatic growth of global labor markets and technological innovations have make remittances an increasingly important international economic phenomenon. A variety of methods are employed for remittance including checks, money orders, electronic money transfers, couriers and self-carry. The greatest flow of remittances from the United States goes to Mexico.
Money orders represent the most popular service.
However, electronic transfers generate the most revenue due to their substantially higher cost. Western Union and MoneyGram dominate the market of electronic money transfers. The Data Service Corporation, who owned MoneyGram, purchased Western Union, but the merger was blocked by federal law. Regardless of which service used to remit, some significant problems are presented to consumers. Additionally, there has been little consumer protection created through market competition since only a few major corporations dominate the industry.