Visa and Bancomer Transfer Services (BTS), a subsidiary of BBVA Bancomer, have launched a money transfer service to enable remittances from the US to Latin America and Asia.

Starting May 2010, consumers will be able to initiate a Visa money transfer transaction at any BTS location in the US. The initial deployment of the service will enable consumers to send funds from the US to select countries such as El Salvador, Brazil, China and Philippines, with plans to extend the program to allow remittances from BTS locations to any country within the Visa network.

Visa money transfers initiated at a BTS location in the US are processed through Visa’s network and will become available to Visa cardholders, who won’t need to go to a physical location to receive the money. Funds can be transferred to eligible Visa debit, credit or prepaid accounts.

The agreement with Visa provides BTS with access to Visa’s global network and has the potential for BTS to reach more consumers in more countries.

Jim McCarthy, global head of product at Visa, said: “The expansion of Visa money transfer to enable remittances from the US to eligible Visa accounts in Latin America is a significant milestone for Visa and our clients.”