Microfinance International (MFI) has entered a strategic partnership with Banco Industrial, a Guatemala-based commercial bank, to jointly serve transnational families in Guatemala.
According to MFI, the partnership will encompass a range of services to meet diverse financial needs of transnational families comprising remittance senders in the US and recipients in Guatemala.
The two parties will first build a remittance platform connecting Banco Industrial and ARIAS, MFI’s money transfer solution. Banco Industrial will pay out remittances sent through ARIAS that are originated by US depository institutions that use FEDGlobal, Federa Reserve Banks’ cross-border payment service. Originators also include Alante Financial, MFI’s wholly owned retail financial service centers targeted to immigrants.
Atsumasa Tochisako, president and CEO of MFI, said: “It is a great pleasure to partner with Banco Industrial, a reputable and trusted institution among the people in Central America. We hope that this partnership will enable us to extend more value-added services not only in Guatemala, but also in other Central American countries in near future, particularly to Hondurans and Salvadorans together with Banco Industrial.”
Since May 2010, MFI and Banco Industrial have offered transnational mortgage loan, which enables Guatemalans living in the US to finance their purchase of home in Guatemala.