{"id":55793,"date":"2026-03-19T08:04:25","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T08:04:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/cash-losing-its-crown-in-the-worlds-biggest-money-corridor\/"},"modified":"2026-03-19T08:04:25","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T08:04:25","slug":"cash-losing-its-crown-in-the-worlds-biggest-money-corridor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diyhaven858.wasmer.app\/index.php\/cash-losing-its-crown-in-the-worlds-biggest-money-corridor\/","title":{"rendered":"Cash Losing Its Crown in the World\u2019s Biggest Money Corridor"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\"Photographer:<\/div>\n<\/div>
Photographer: Eva Marie Uzcategui\/AFP\/Getty Images <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

(Bloomberg) —<\/span><\/p>\n

After Maura Fonseca moved to Houston from Mexico in 2011, she often waited hours in line at Western Union to send money to her three children and her mother. The fees were so steep she sometimes had to borrow money to pay them.<\/p>\n

Most Read from Bloomberg<\/p>\n

These days, Fonseca sends money home using Felix Pago, a WhatsApp-based digital app.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so much better because it\u2019s cheaper, instantaneous and I don\u2019t have to leave my house,\u201d said the 60-year-old who operates rental properties in Houston and opened a bank account four years ago. \u201cNow I can send money from my bed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"Photographer:<\/div>\n<\/div>
Photographer: Danielle Villasana\/Bloomberg <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Fonseca is part of a broader transformation in how migrants in the US send money to Latin America. Policy changes and shifting demographics are accelerating the move to digital transfers, which overtook cash in the US-to-Mexico remittance corridor for the first time in 2025, according to Mexico\u2019s central bank.<\/p>\n

The move away from cash \u2014 where senders and recipients use physical pickup locations \u2014 is reshaping an industry long-dominated by traditional companies like The Western Union Co. and Moneygram International Inc. As migrants turn to apps or bank transfers to send money to Latin America and the Caribbean, fintech firms like Felix Pago, Remitly and Wise, along with cryptocurrency exchanges like Bitso, are trying to capture a bigger slice of a Latin American market worth more than $160 billion a year, roughly $62 billion of which goes to Mexico.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"\"<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re seeing a clear trend toward the digitalization of remittances, especially driven by younger generations,\u201d said Dalia Grinberg, corporate affairs manager at Mexican crypto exchange Bitso.<\/p>\n

Key to the fintechs\u2019 pitch to new users: while the average cost of sending remittances globally is about 6.4%, digital transactions can fall to around 4%, according to the World Bank, and are often processed instantly or within the same day.<\/p>\n

Remittances are critical to the economies of Latin America. In Mexico, money transfers from the US totaled about about 3.5% of gross domestic product. Economists have warned that a new US tax on remittances could dent Mexico\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n

Remittance flows to Mexico fell 4.6% last year, snapping an 11-year growth streak, according to estimates by Spanish bank BBVA. A stronger Mexican peso has lowered the value of US dollars payments, and changing migration patterns have also squeezed remittances.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n