Pics: Prajwal Ukkuda
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (MM/SP)

Mangalore, Jun 11: The coastal region of the state accounts for a significant chunk of emigrants from state. Western Union is playing a major role in transferring money to the venues desired by them and others, said Riteshkumar, director of Western Union.

Speaking to media persons on Wednesday June 11, he said that Western Union’s strong local network and the easy avalability of its services have made it popular among the Kannadigas working across the globe. From Middle East to Europe and  America, Indian migrants continue to rely on Western Union for its fast, easy and reliable funds transfer services, he added.

According to a recent Reserve Bank of India survey, almost 7.5 lac Indians migrate overseas every year in search of jobs. This has significantly contributed to the increased fund inflows from all over the world. According to the report, India’s share of remittances has nearly doubled from a modest 13 billion dollars in 2000-01 to 26.5 billion dollars in 2005-06, which is in excess of the combined Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Foreign Institutional Investment (FII) of India, Riteshkumar explained.

Consumer demand for Western Union services has grown tremendously due to a rise in long-term global migration trends, which have resulted in increasing cross-border remittances. With over 50,200 agent locations spanning over 5000 cities, towns and villages in India, Western Union is clearly positioned as one of the leading money transfer service provider for Indian immigrants across the globe. Western Union money transfer scheme is helping people to remit money to their loved ones across the globe in as less as ten minutes, he said.