- Poni partners with Ria Money Transfer to improve access to cash in Mexico
- Ria customers receiving American remittances will be able to access funds through ATMs
- An estimated 60% of Mexicans do not have banking access
Customers in Mexico who receive remittances from the US will now be able to access them at any ATM in the country thanks to an innovative partnership between two major providers.
Fintech firm Poni and major cross-border payments platform Ria Money Transfer have announced that they will work together to improve access to cash in Mexico.
Under the new plans, those customers of Ria who receive an American remittance will need to sign up to receive a Poni Cash Card.
This card will then allow them to access one of 50,000 or so ATMs in Mexico, adding an extra layer of convenience and ease to the transaction process.
Ria is owned by the firm Euronet, which maintains ATMs in a number of nations around the world.
Poni is based in New Jersey in the United States. One of its main selling points is that it allows customers to access cash even if they don’t have bank accounts, and that no fees are levied for using an ATM.
According to figures, more than three-fifths of people in Mexico do not have access to banking facilities.
Staff at both firms expressed their approval of the new venture.
Juan Bianchi, who is CEO of Ria Money Transfer, said that it would be especially useful for Hispanic people.
“For over 30 years, we have been innovative leaders in the industry, making the world a smaller place by reducing distances between families and their loved ones through world-class money transfers”, he said.
“We are one of the top-three global options for sending money, especially among the Hispanic community throughout the United States, where approximately 11.6 million Mexican immigrants reside, according to American Community Survey (ACS).
“Our partnership with Poni enables us to leverage their remittance payout technology which provides our customers’ beneficiaries the convenience of cashing out their remittances at any ATM in Mexico”, he added.
For Poni, Country Manager of Poni Mexico Gricha Raether said that the new solution looks to be “transforming the industry”.
“Our main goal is to bring to our clients an easier, more convenient way of accessing their money, especially for those families or beneficiaries whose livelihood heavily relies on family remittances”, he said.
“We are proud to offer this new option to the Hispanic community in the U.S. and their family members in Mexico; a solution that is transforming the industry: The Poni zero-fee ATM payout, a new way to use ATMs that doesn’t require that users already participate in traditional banking”, he added.
Poni is following in the footsteps of many other leading firms in this space. Find out what they’re up to by heading over to our magazine news pages.