Money Transfer

Vigo Money Transfer

2008-01-03T04:25:00.000-08:00

•HOME
VIGO Remittance Corp. is one of the largest electronic funds transfer companies in the US. We are a branded consumer financial services company with 20 years of experience in the most competitive US and international markets. We are a low-cost, high-value provider to the consumer with superior service levels and reach throughout the world. Vigo is capitalized for growth and we are expanding across the globe

Our Mission
Our Mission is to be recognized as the best international money transfer company in the world serving immigrant populations with a special focus on the Latin American and Caribbean regions by providing an efficient, value-added product at a competitive price.

The Making of a Company
At Vigo, our goal is to be a leading electronic funds transfer company with core business values and a great concern for the general well being and satisfaction of our customers. This philosophy has enabled our company to move money all over the world today. Our sophisticated network of agents in six continents makes every corner of the world accessible to Vigo customers. Vigo's financial and regulatory controls make us one of the most capable money transfer firms in the industry. A group of seasoned, experienced professionals make up our management team.

Past
Since our inception, Vigo has proudly achieved many milestones that have helped make us the company we are today.

1986
Vigo is founded in New Jersey and begins service to Brazil

1987
Offices move to New York City

1989
Service added to additional Central and South American countries
1991
Service begins to Mexico, Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Haiti

1994
Service begins to Spain and the United Kingdom

1998
Service begins to Poland and Nigeria

1999
Network expands further into Europe, adding Italy and Switzerland

2000
Service agreement entered with Bancomer/Mexico. Master agent alliance begins with
World Council of Credit Unions in the U.S. and worldwide.

2001
Credit Union correspondents added in El Salvador and Guatemala

2002
Service begins with 1,516 locations of Telecomm/Mexico. Credit Union in Honduras added. Vigo moves its Headquarters to Florida.

2003
Vigo is acquired in a management-led buyout.

2004
Vigo begins service to Panama and expands and improves service to Brazil, Chile, the Dominican Republic, the Philippines, Russia, Poland and Ukraine.

2005
Vigo is sold to First Data Corp. Vigo’s payment network is further expanded in Honduras, El Salvador, Brazil, Haiti, Ecuador, Russia and Poland.
Present
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Vigo is one of the largest money transmitters worldwide. Vigo holds one of the largest market shares in the U.S. to Latin America corridor.
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Over the years, Vigo has achieved promising, ongoing expansion and incredible success. In fact, over the last five years, Vigo has enjoyed a historical average annual growth rate of over 30%.
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Vigo provides affordable and efficient payment services to 47 countries.
•Our growing market coverage includes 45 states in the U.S. and a network of over 4,000 agents.
FutureIf there is one thing in Vigo's future it is growth.
•Our exceptional capitalization has Vigo well positioned for future growth
•Worldwide expansion
•Providing superior value to our customers, agents and correspondents through convenient locations and competitive prices
•Expanding agent base in US and worldwide.

In the future, we will not only reach new customers, we will reach new heights as a company

CUSTOMER SERVICE DEPARTMENT
At Vigo, we understand and value our customers. Every decision we make impacts our customers. That's why we continually strive to exceed our customers' expectations through each and every one of our business practices. We take very seriously our responsibility to provide worldwide support to our customers, agents and correspondent payers. Our state-of-the-art customer service department facilities have been designed to help us provide superior interaction with our customers. Our commitment is to keep our customers and their needs in the forefront so that we can continue to maintain and develop customer-friendly processes that address current needs.

Corporate Office:1300 Sawgrass Corporate Parkway, Suite 110Sunrise, Florida 33323USAPhone (800) 777-8784Fax (888) 220-8446
Customer Service Hours
Monday - Friday

8AM to 12AM (EST)
Saturday
9AM to 9PM (EST)
Sunday
9AM to 9PM (EST)

Consumer Claims
For consumer claims, contact:
Vigo Remittance Corp.Customer Relations10251 W. Oakland Park BlvdSunrise, Florida 33351
Phones:

(954) 625-6878
(800) 777-8784
Fax:
(888) 220-8446
Email:
customerservice@vigousa.com

Refunds and Cancellations
Customers may at any time cancel any remittance order processed through Vigo and receive a refund of any monies paid, minus any allowable and applicable transaction fees, so long as the money has not yet been delivered to the intended beneficiary and is not subject to retention pursuant to the laws of the United States or the country where payment is intended.

•If you desire a refund, you must mail or deliver your written request to Vigo Remittance Corp. at 10251 W. Oakland Park Blvd., Sunrise, FL 33351. If you do not receive your refund, you may be entitled to your money back plus a penalty of up to $1,000 and attorney's fees pursuant to section 1810.5 of the California Financial Code.

•Additional Terms for Remitters in New York
Vigo Remittance Corp. is a transmitter of money abroad. It is licensed and regulated by the New York State Banking Department, No. 2 Rector Street, New York, New York 10006. Any unresolved complaints may be mailed to the New York State Banking Department, No. 2 Rector Street, New York, New York 10006, Attention Customer Services Division.

•Additional Terms for Remitters in California
Vigo Remittance Corp. is licensed and regulated as a transmitter of money abroad by the Department of Financial Institutions of the State of California.

•Additional Terms for Remitters in Illinois

Unresolved consumer claims can be addressed by contacting the Illinois Department of Financial Institutions at 888/298-8089.

•Additional Terms for Remitters in Texas
Vigo Remittance Corp. is a transmitter of money abroad. It is licensed and regulated by the Texas Department of Banking. Complaints should be directed to the Texas Department of Banking, 2601 North Lamar Boulevard, Austin, Texas 78705. 877/276-5554 (toll free)

•CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

Vigo Remittance Corp. - Join Us and Succeed!

As Vigo evolves, our work environment and atmosphere is increasingly fast-paced, dynamic and creative. Our focus remains on attracting a highly qualified workforce and seeking candidates that reflect our customer-oriented environment. Vigo provides many opportunities for personal and professional growth and our workplace assures employees that they have a place to develop to their full potential. Whether in customer service, legal and compliance, agent support, marketing, sales or other departments, we are very aware that the contribution of our staff is what gives us a competitive advantage. We want to work with people who will make a positive impact and contribution to our business.

From a human capital perspective, we at Vigo, strive to be recognized as the best company to work for in the electronic payment industry.

At Vigo we offer generous compensation packages that include: competitive salaries with vacation, sick and holiday pay. For qualified positions, we also offer commission plans and bonus opportunities as well as comprehensive health benefits, including medical, dental and life insurance. Workforce diversity is a commitment at Vigo Remittance Corp. Qualified applicants will be considered without regard to age, race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or national origin.

To apply for positions with Vigo, please e-mail your résumé to: careers@vigousa.com

Vigo Remittance Corp. complies with all applicable state and local laws governing non-discrimination.

•AGENT NETWORK
With an aggressive worldwide distribution and expansion strategy, there has never been a better time to partner with Vigo. Our distribution and expansion includes the U.S. and many countries overseas.

Our Plan Includes
•Payment service with worldwide coverage
•U.S. Market coverage with a network of over 4,000 agents
•Worldwide coverage
Mexico
Central America: Costa Rica, El Salvador Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama
South America: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela
Caribbean: Dominican Republic, Haiti and Jamaica
Europe: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhastan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Moldova, Russia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan
Africa: Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Sierra Leone
Asia: Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Philippines

•Over 9,000 payment locations in Mexico

For more detailed information about our agents, please call: 1-800-777-8784

Global-Money-Transfer

2008-01-03T03:23:00.000-08:00

About Us
Global-money-transfer.com is an online info center that provides comprehensive tips and advice to people who are interested in sending or receiving money abroad. Launched in 2006, Global-money-transfer.com has already helped hundreds of individuals to make an informed decision on online money transfers using the site's unique content and outbound resource links. Today, Global-money-transfer.com is a growing web destination with over 1,000 visitors per day who have unleashed their consumer knowledge to facilitate the exchange and distribution of funds around the globe.

Welcome to global-money-transfer
Do you want to send cash or part of your income to your family and friends back home? Transferring money abroad can be done in a number of ways and there are services like money transfer companies that can do this for you. Such services do not own their own locations. Money transfer is done through different agencies in retail locations, check cashing services, and convenience stores. The larger the amount of money sent usually raises the charge for the transfer. The purpose of this website is to provide useful and resourceful information to those interested in alternative and cost-effective ways of sending money to friends and family. Our website will help you to learn everything you need to know about sending money abroad.

4 ways to send money abroad

1. Money Transfer Services. There are various services for retail or online money transfers. Xoom is the best known, most secure and reliable online service. If you open an account with them, you can send or receive money within minutes to/from other people around the globe. You pay the lowest fees in the market for your transfer. Recipients do not require a bank account or Internet connection to receive funds.

2. Post Office. Wire transfers can also be offered by the U.S. Postal Service. Your recipients can receive their funds from various bank branches up to $2,000 per day. For transfers exceeding $1,000 proper identification is required. According to the amount you send a fee ranging from $10 to $20 will be charged for each transaction. Your recipient’s name on their documentation should match exactly the name on the money transfer. Multiple money orders are subject to a daily maximum of $10,000 where as each money order is restricted to a maximum of $700. Your recipients will get local currency upon cashing their money orders. Local or damaged money orders can be claimed with a valid receipt. The cost of $3.25 each applies to any International money order of a value up to $700. Money orders can also be purchased at banks at a slightly higher price.

3. Banks. There are programs serving foreigners send money home that are developed by major U.S. banks as well as local smaller banks. Recipients can claim their money from partner banks where the funds were wired. Certain banks may require you to have an active account with them, so research your local branches for such services. You can also send funds by purchasing stored value cards offered by major U.S. banks. These cards are similar to credit cards with the difference that the amount has to be deposited in advance. Recipients can name purchases at stores that accept major credit cards or withdraw money from various ATM locations. Several banks will issue a check card connected to your U.S. account for your family members abroad. Check cards withdraw funds directly from your checking account and look like common credit cards.

4. Credit Unions. IRnet is a service that electronically transfers funds between credit unions’ members. Several countries in Europe, Africa, Latin America, and Asia are served by IRnet including 3,000 locations nationwide.

resource links
Xoom: Provides secure, fast, and inexpensive means of sending money online to recipients around the globe.
XE.com: Use this free international currency converter to easily determine the exchange rate for your country.
The Federal Reserve is the central bank of the United States of America, which provides a flexible and stable monetary financial system.
The World Bank is the world's largest source of development assistance and promotes, stable, sustainable, and equitable growth in the fight against poverty.
Equifax: Enables global commerce through its information management and e-commerce businesses.

WESTERN UNION

2008-01-03T02:32:00.001-08:00

The Western Union Company is a financial services and communications company based in the United States. Its North American headquarters are in Greenwood Village, Colorado, and its international marketing and commercial services headquarters are in Montvale, New Jersey. Until it discontinued the service, this company was the best known US company in the business of exchanging telegrams.
Western Union has a number of divisions, with products such as person-to-person money transfer, money orders, and commercial services. As of June 9, 2006, the company has 270,000 Western Union agent locations in over 200 countries and territories. Reported revenues top $3 billion annually.

History
Western Union was founded in Rochester, New York, in 1851 as The New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company.

After a series of acquisitions of competing companies by Hiram Sibley & Don Alonzo Watson the company changed its name to Western Union Telegraph Company in 1856 at the insistence of Ezra Cornell, one of the founders of Cornell University [1], to signify the joining of telegraph lines from coast to coast.

Western Union completed the first transcontinental telegraph line in 1861. In 1865 it formed the Russian American Telegraph in an attempt to link America to Europe, via Alaska, into Siberia, to Moscow.

The telegraph was dominated by Western Union, an industrialized monopoly. They were the first communications empire and the beginning of what was to come for the future of communications as it is known today.

It introduced the first stock ticker in 1866, and a standardized time service in 1870. The next year, 1871, the company introduced its money transfer service, based on its extensive telegraph network. In 1879, Western Union left the telephone business, having lost a patent lawsuit with Bell. As the telephone replaced the telegraph, money transfer would become its primary business.

When the Dow Jones Transportation Average stock market index for the NYSE was created in 1884, Western Union was one of the original eleven companies tracked.
In 1914 Western Union offered the first charge card for consumers; in 1923 it introduced teletypewriters to join its branches. Singing telegrams followed in 1933, intercity fax in 1935, and commercial intercity microwave communications in 1943. In 1958 it began offering Telex to customers. Western Union introduced the 'Candygram' in the 1960s, a box of chocolates accompanying a telegram featured in a commercial with the rotund Don Wilson. In 1964, Western Union initiated a transcontinental microwave beam to replace land lines.
Western Union became the first American telecommunications corporation to maintain its own fleet of geosynchronous communication satellites, starting in 1974. The fleet of satellites, called Westar, carried communications within the Western Union company for telegram and mailgram message data to Western Union bureaus nationwide. It also handled traffic for its Telex and TWX (Telex II) services. The Westar satellites' transponders were also leased by other companies for relaying video, voice, data, and facsimile (fax) transmissions.

Due to declining profits and mounting debts, Western Union slowly began to divest itself of telecommunications-based assets starting in the early 1980s. Due to deregulation at the time, Western Union began sending money outside the country, re-inventing itself as "The fastest way to send money worldwideSM" and expanding its agent locations internationally.
In the 1980s Western Union organized its cable systems properties and its right-of-way rights of its telegraph lines into a subsidiary called Western Union International. In 1990 it sold this subsidiary to MCI Communications which renamed it to MCI International and moved its headquarters from New York City to Westchester County, New York.

In 1986, Western Union and GTE became owners of Airfone.

Western Union was bought by First Financial Management Corporation in 1994, which a year later merged with First Data Corporation. On January 26, 2006, First Data Corporation announced plans to spin Western Union off as an independent, publicly traded company. Western Union's focus will remain money transfers. The next day, Western Union announced that it would cease offering telegram transmission and delivery[2], the product most associated with the company throughout its history. This was, however, not the original Western Union telegram service, but a new service of First Data under the Western Union banner; the original telegram service was discontinued after Western Union Corp.'s bankruptcy.
The spinoff was completed in December and Western Union is now an independent, publicly traded company.

Western Union is also the name of a ship that worked for the same company laying telegraph cable in the Caribbean and South America. She is currently working in Key West, Florida, where she was built and launched. The Western Union is 130 feet long and weighs 91.91 tons and is currently configured as a passenger vessel.

On September 10, 2007, Los Angeles area immigrant and community organizations joined the Transnational Institute for Grassroots Research and Action (TIGRA) to launch a nationwide boycott against Western Union.[3] This boycott was scheduled two days before a general consumer boycott by immigrants. Groups accuse Western Union of charging exorbitant fees while failing to adequately reinvest in immigrant communities. The community organizations demand that Western Union abandon its "predatory financial practices" or face an ongoing boycott.

Immigrant advocates called for Western Union to adopt a Transnational Community Benefits Agreement (TCBA). According to the advocacy group, the agreement would "lower remittance fees, establish fairer exchange rates, and provide for community reinvestment." According to the advocacy group, Western Union and other money transfer agencies often function as the primary banking service in immigrant communities through check cashing services, yet they remain unregulated by the Community Reinvestment Act and are unaccountable to their primarily low-wage customer base.

Internet precursors
Western Union was involved in the Automatic Digital Network (AUTODIN) program. AUTODIN, a military application for communication, was first developed in the 1960s and became the precursor to the modern internet in the 1990s. The Defense Message System (DMS) replaced AUTODIN in 2000.

AUTODIN was an extremely primitive service that used mechanical card readers and tab machines to send and receive data over leased circuits. Western Union failed in its attempts to engineer a replacement (AUTODIN II), leading to the development of an acceptable packet-switched network by BBN (the developer of the ARPANET) which became the foundation of today's INTERNET. AUTODIN was of limited usefulness and obsolete decades before 2000. That is simply when the service was finally stopped.
A related innovation that came from AUTODIN was Western Union's computer based EasyLink service. This service was developed for business application. This system allowed for one of the first marketable electronic mail systems for non-government users. In addition, the system allowed the same message to be sent simultaneously to multiple recipients via email, fax, mailgram, or telex services; as well as receive messages from the integrated formats. With the service, users could also perform research utilizing its InfoLink application. EasyLink Services is now its own company.

BidPay
As the Internet became an arena for commerce at the turn of the millennium, Western Union started its online services. BidPay was renamed "Western Union Auction Payments" in 2004 before being renamed back to BidPay. BidPay ceased operations on 31 December 2005 and was purchased for USD$1.8 million in March 2006 by CyberSource Corp. who announced their intention to re-launch BidPay.

Western Union Mobile
In October of 2007 Western Union announced plans to introduce a mobile money transfer service with the GSM Association, a global trade association representing more than 700 mobile operators in 218 countries and covering 2.5 billion mobile subscribers.
The proliferation of mobile phones in developed and developing economies provides a widely accessible consumer device capable of delivering mobile financial services ranging from text notifications associated with Western Union cash delivery services to phone-based remittance options. Western Union's mobile money transfer service offering will connect its core money transfer platform to m-bank or m-wallet platforms provided by mobile operators and / or locally regulated financial institutions.

Other service offerings
Along with satellite telecommunications, Western Union was also quite active in other forms of telecommunication services:
common carrier terrestrial microwave networks,
long distance telephone service
landline-based leased voice and data communication circuits
cellular phone service for a very short time in the early 1980s (the phones were made by 2-way radio manufacturer E.F. Johnson Company)
early messaging networks such as TWX, which was acquired from AT&T (the founder of the TWX network) and renamed Telex II by Western Union, and Telex.

Sponsorship
Western Union was a major Jersey sponsor of the Sydney Roosters NRL team from 2002-2003. The company still sponsors the team, but not as a jersey sponsor. Around the world, Western Union sponsors numerous community events that help support the diaspora communities that use the global Money Transfer service.
The First Data Western Union Foundation donates money to worthy causes around the world. After the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the Foundation donated US$1,000,000 to the relief effort.

End of telegrams
As of July 2006, The Western Union website showed this notice:
"Effective January 27, 2006, Western Union will discontinue all Telegram and Commercial Messaging services. We regret any inconvenience this may cause you, and we thank you for your loyal patronage. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact a customer service representative. "
This ended the era of telegrams which began in 1851 with the founding of the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company, and which spanned 155 years of continuous service. Western Union reported that telegrams sent had fallen to a total of 20,000 a year, due to competition from other communication services such as email. Employees had been informed of the decision in mid-January.
Telegram service in the United States and Canada is still available, operated by iTelegram and other companies.

Popular money laundering tool
Western Union always advises its customers not to send money to someone that they have never met in person. Despite its efforts in increasing customers' awareness of the issue, Western Union provides one of the most popular services for internet fraud from scammers. Western Union has been required to maintain records of pay-out locations to the criminals who launder the money but this information may only be obtained through the use of a subpoena. Often pay-out location information is useless since there are no extradition treaties with Nigeria. Hence 419 and romance scammers continue to receive funds via Western Union confident in the knowledge that money lost to Nigerian /USA and Europe scammers through Western Union is almost always unrecoverable.
It is for this reason it is banned as a medium of payment through eBay.

New security policies and customer complaints
Western Union has begun blocking transactions based on suspicion of terrorist connections, as a part of the company's intimate involvement[4] with the War on Terror. In practice, this has often meant denying service to senders who specify recipients with Arabic-sounding names.[5] Transactions which do not involve persons with such names will sometimes be denied as well, based on criteria which the company refuses to disclose. Currently, transfers sent from the Western Union web site require telephone confirmation of the sender's identity. On occasion, the transfer will inexplicably fail. Western Union's customer service will inform the sender that the transaction "does not meet our requirements." If details are requested, no information other than the fact that their disclosure is forbidden will be given. The total cost of the transaction, however, is still charged to the sender's bank card, to be refunded after several days. Numerous customers have reported this problem.[6]

Popular culture
* The company, famous for telegrams, was often parodied in cartoons as "Western Onion" or "Eastern Onion" anytime a character received a telegram (in Homeless Hare, for example).

* In Back to the Future Part II, when Doc is accidentally sent back to 1885 leaving himself stranded there and Marty stranded in 1955, Doc writes a letter to Marty and asks Western Union to deliver the letter to Marty in the year 1955 at the exact location Marty was standing when the time machine was sent back to 1885. The letter contains instructions allowing the time machine to be repaired and taken home to Marty's own time of 1985.

*In the 1983 film A Christmas Story, Mr. Parker won a leg lamp from being mentioned in the Western Union telegram.