Banco Popular is betting on the remittance market: this is how the new service will work.

Banco Popular*, a subsidiary of Grupo Aval, announced that all its Visa debit card customers—new or existing—can now receive remittances from the United States and Spain in an estimated maximum time of 30 minutes, thanks to the integration of Visa Direct technology.

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The service, which operates through platforms such as Western Union and Paysend, represents an improvement over traditional transfer times, which range between 24 and 72 hours. The service gains relevance considering that, according to a report by Corficolombiana, remittances to Colombia have seen sustained growth since 2021.

This increase has been driven by the dynamic migration of Colombians abroad and the strong economic performance of countries such as the United States and Spain, the main senders of remittances to the country.

The organization projected that by 2025, these remittances will reach US$13 billion, $56.6 trillion, or 3.1% of GDP. Of these remittances, it is estimated that 67% come from the United States and Spain, and that they are expected to grow by 2.2% and 2.1%, respectively, by the end of this year.

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The above demonstrates that remittances are an important tool for the country's development, facilitating financial support for emigrants to their loved ones in their country of origin.

"With this feature, we're taking another step toward modernizing the service we offer. We're on our customers' side, offering new possibilities, thanks to strategic alliances with partners specialized in all these areas, to facilitate the secure and real-time mobility of their money in two of the main destinations from which these funds are sent," said María Fernanda Suárez, president of Banco Popular.

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PORTFOLIO EDITORIAL*Banco Popular is part of the business group that controls the company Casa Editorial EL TIEMPO, to which Portafolio belongs.