MIAMI, FL – March 24, 2021 – (NOTICIAS NEWSWIRE) – Limón announced today the launch of a remittance comparison service, available on LimonFinancial.com. The free web-based application enables consumers to compare the exchange rate and fees of the largest money transfer companies to identify the most cost-effective option. The comparison tool currently includes coverage for remittances from the United States to Mexico, with plans to expand to other Latin American countries in the second quarter of 2021.
“Limón was created to empower the U.S. Hispanic community with information and tools to save on costs when supporting their loved ones abroad,” says Limón founder Antonio Talledo. “Millions of families in Latin America rely on remittances for their daily needs, and they are more important today than they’ve ever been given the economic downturn caused by the pandemic. Every dollar that gets lost in fees makes a difference, and we’re making it simple for people to identify the best option in seconds.”
The launch comes as the amount of remittances from the United States to Latin America reaches new records. In 2020 it amounted to almost 4% of Mexico’s GDP in 2020 and to more than 10% of GDP of countries such as Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
Limón aims to educate consumers of the tangible benefits of sending money digitally, which had a significant increase in adoption in 2020 in part due to pandemic concerns. Digital transactions involve less fees on average than transfers through physical storefronts. Lowering the costs of remittances has become of national interest for governments in Latin America, given how significant remittances are to their economies. The government of México announced an initiative to digitize remittance transactions coming from the United States to improve the exchange rate consumers pay, while the Guatemalan government announced similar initiatives.
How Limón works
Users of LimonFinancial.com select the amount of dollars they want to send. They also confirm how they want to pay for the transaction – either with debit card or bank transfer – and whether they prefer the money to be received in cash at a retail location or into a bank account. Limón displays a list of money transfer companies with their current exchange rate, fee, and approximate time that will take for the money to arrive. Limón objectively ranks each company based on how many pesos the recipient would receive, taking into account both the exchange rate and fee.
“It’s common for consumers to only focus on the exchange rate when comparing between options, as that is the number companies show in their advertising,” said Antonio Talledo. “But the fee, usually a fixed dollar amount, tends to represent a larger part of the total cost. We do the math in the background to show options displaying their true cost”.
About Limón:
Limón is a financial comparison site that seeks to become the most trusted and reliable source for unbiased financial services information for the Hispanic community in the United States. The company was founded by Antonio Talledo, who previously held roles in Wall Street firm Goldman Sachs and Silicon Valley based Aura, a Community Development Financial Institution that provided more than $700MM in credit building loans to underserved families.