Scotiabank, one of the institutions targeted by Community Organizations International (COI) in our recent Day of Action of remittance rates has announced they will voluntarily reduce their remittance charges.

While we applaud any reduction in costs, the pricing structure of Scotiabank remittance products remains out of line with the costs of providing the service.  Further the deepening relationship between Scotiabank and Western Union remains at the heart of this issue. 

If working families are to see the reduction in costs that would transform remittances from a predatory financial product to one that reduces poverty in the both the north and south, then banks like Scotiabank and alternative financial services providers like Western Union will need to go a lot further than these recent announcements.

For more, check COI Chief Organizer Wade Rathke’s blog post on the topic.

http://chieforganizer.org/2010/02/02/small-scotia-steps-on-remittances/

ACORN International (now Community Organizations International) was formed to share grassroots organizing experiences with families and friends in their home countries and to improve the lives of people around the world.

Because low-income workers are often forced to migrate for work opportunities to support their families, many have connections in other countries. Corporations also cross borders in search of cheaper workforces and more lenient government policies. For this reason, ACORN International wanted to share their successful strategies, fighting exploitative corporations and abusive economic policies.

ACORN International has expanded throughout the Americas and to India, defending citizens and workers suffering from globalization in the 21^st century. Corporations often rely on the separation between nations to take advantage of workers despite the similarity of their issues. ACORN International focuses on the challenges faced by all low-income families, regardless of nationality.

ACORN International’s history began 38 years ago in Little Rock, Ark., in the wake of the U.S. civil rights and social movements of the 1970s. Now, ACORN International takes the wealth of that experience to the world.

Community Organizations International (formally ACORN International) is a community-based non-profit organization working in a growing number of countries across the world.  ACORN International already has an impressive range of achievements across the world.