MoneyGram, ICBC expand remittance programme to include transfers from Japan
Global money transfer company MoneyGram has expanded its new direct-to-account (or cash-to-account) money transfer service with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), to MoneyGram customers sending money from Japan to China. As a result, once the sent funds are deposited, ICBC account holders will be able to withdraw the cash from ICBC locations across China or exchange the funds into local currency and take cash from more than 40,000 ATMs in China. According to ICBC, cited by media agency businesswire.com, the company’s partnership with MoneyGram boosts ICBC efforts to reach more of the Chinese living abroad, especially in Japan.
A study released by the World Bank has indicated that China has received more than USD 57 billion in remittances in 2011, making it the world’s second-largest receiver of money transfers. Japan is among the top 20 remittance sending countries.
ICBC has been a MoneyGram agent since 1995 and has more than 1,500 locations offering MoneyGram service in about 400 cities.
