Consulate-issued ID may help in sending money to Mexico

By RICARDO SANDOVAL and ANGELA SHAH / The Dallas Morning News

In the 18 months that Carlos has lived and worked in Dallas, he's relied on trusted friends to ferry money overland and across the border to his family in the state of
Nuevo Leon, just south of Laredo.

Now, though, the availability of identification cards issued by the Mexican consulate is prompting Mexican migrants like him to open bank accounts that offer a faster
and safer alternative.

Hundreds of thousands of migrants send payments known as remittances that sustain their families – indeed, whole villages – south of the border.

These Mexican nationals have long avoided banks: The documented residents are accustomed to a banking system that discourages small accounts, while
undocumented individuals fear discovery and deportation.

"It provides a feeling of security," said Carlos, a 28-year-old restaurant worker who declined to give his last name. "I haven't really thought about using [the consular
ID] to get a bank account, but maybe I will if I stay longer."

Consular cards provide a crucial second form of identification that immigrants must have to open U.S. bank accounts. Immigrants often have only one of the other
possible forms of identification: a driver's license, a passport or a voter registration card.

The consular IDs offer unprecedented legitimacy but have drawn criticism from some immigration experts for doing precisely that. They say the cards encourage
Mexican migrants to avoid pursuing legal residency.

Since May 2001, when Wells Fargo bank in Texas first started accepting the card – called a matricula in Spanish – to open an account, many competitors have
entered the fray.

Mexicans abroad shipped home $912 million in May 2002 – a single-month record. Government officials predict that migrants will send about $11 billion this year,
about 10 percent more than in 2001.

To be sure, not all of the gain can be credited to the consular ID. The Bank of Mexico, the nation's central bank, is better tracking migrants' money as it crosses the
border.

The Mexican Consulate in Dallas has issued about 72,000 identification cards since they debuted in March, said Silvana Sánchez, a spokeswoman for the consulate.

Critics say the demand points up a flaw in U.S. immigration policy – the lack of a comprehensive binational agreement that allows migrant workers greater freedom
to travel between the countries and greater protection under U.S. labor laws.

Last year's terrorist attacks stalled attempts to forge such a pact. Instead, the Mexican government has decided to proceed gradually toward improving the quality of
life of workers of Mexican origin and their families, said Mexican Foreign Minister Jorge Castañeda.

Outreach tool

U.S. financial institutions, eager to expand their customer base, see the consular IDs as the best way to reach this market.

"The word is spreading," said Dave Grace, financial services manager with the World Council of Credit Unions in Madison, Wis. "We are continuing to see more
and more Latinos – documented and undocumented – joining credit unions. We have a strong partnership with Mexican consulate officers."

Credit unions participating in a program known as IRnet allow accountholders to transfer up to $1,000 to related institutions in Mexico for a flat fee of $10. Every
month since December, the volume of money transferred has jumped by 30 percent.

"We thought we would have some growth, but it's well beyond what we had expected," Mr. Grace said.

Other bank executives tell similar stories. When Wells Fargo in Austin began offering its immigrant-banking program in May 2001, about 400 accounts were opened
in three months. Today, the program has expanded throughout Texas and to 22 other states.

In March, banks in those 23 states had opened more than 23,000 accounts. By June 30, that number had risen to 35,000 accounts. The accounts are most popular
in California, Arizona and Texas, according to Wells Fargo.

Important to growth

Remittances are one of the few solid economic growth sectors for the Mexican economy. Money sent to rural villages is greater than what the Mexican federal
government spends on rural anti-poverty programs, according to government statistics.

In fact, this revenue ranks as Mexico's third most important source of dollars, behind exported factory goods and oil.

Last year remittances outpaced tourism income of roughly $6 billion.

Most of the money, 51 percent, is invested in property, small businesses, and in education, according to a recent survey by MUND Americas in Mexico.

Remittances have grown while the number of Mexicans migrating north for jobs has declined. MUND Americas pollster Dan Lund said his research shows that
Mexican families are asking migrants to increase the amount of remittances to deal with a swooning economy in rural Mexico.

Latin American migrants send home an average of $200 a month, even though they generally earn less than $20,000 a year, according to a survey from Bendixen &
Associates.

Until recently, remittances were an expensive proposition with a few companies controlling the market.

On top of transaction fees of $12 to $15, wire transfer companies routinely gave families in Mexico poor exchange rates – as much as 10 percent worse than daily
bank rates.

That meant, for example, that a company often kept an additional $10 from every $100 sent to Mexico.

Migrant advocates had blasted the practice as unfair to the industry's biggest customer base, filing a lawsuit against Western Union and Money Gram.

It seems competition has more effectively wrought what a settlement requiring lower fees began. Exchange rates have improved and fees have fallen. Mexican
officials believe the average price for a transaction has dropped 30 percent since December 2000.

Remittances have shown themselves resilient against recession, growing in the face of a U.S. economic downturn.

Migrants such as Israel Barrera say relatives back home still need them.

In fact, Mr. Barrera is shooting an increased amount of money to Monterrey these days because his two daughters are headed to college. He and his wife send as
much as $1,700 a month – twice what they used to send.

The 47-year-old Mr. Barrera said he doesn't always use his bank to make the transfers.

A mechanic for Fruit of the Earth in Grand Prairie, he is shopping around for the best exchange rates, service fees and business hours that match his long workday.
He has a theory about why the consular identification cards have become so popular.

Mexican migrants "can trust that the money is in the bank and safe," he said. "Matricula is popular because now they have an ID, an identity here."