• bubbalu [they/them]@hexbear.net
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    4 months ago

    That is because WU is mainly used to send remittances abroad, of which US --> Mexico transfers are about 1/4 of the total volume.

  • When international migrants, primarily workers, send money to their family members in their home countries, these transfers are known as remittances.

    The main recipient countries include India (12.6% of the total sent), Mexico (7.5%), China (6.4%), and the Philippines (4.8%). The largest source of remittances is the United States, with more than 25% of all transfers; Saudi Arabia is second with 6.6%.

    Remittances from the U.S. to Mexico reached a record $55.9 billion in 2022. These transfers accounted for 95 percent of Mexico’s total remittances of $58.5 billion. Mexican migrants, who number 11 million in the U.S., typically send the funds home to support their families. The average monthly remittance to Mexico was $390 in 2022.

    god, i never really thought much about it, but with the juice at 2% WU makes fuckin’ bank off of migrant workers. i’m probably slow to the table on this (meaning i bet its happening), but a high value service an undocumented worker organization could provide as an inducement to join the union would be to provide money wiring services at a cost-plus fee in lieu of union dues. the workers would get a much lower rate, a “free” union, and in no time that union would have a war chest for legal services, health savings accounts, work stoppages, maybe even pensions and a probably large network of community credit unions happy to get their little taste.

  • hallmarkxmasmovie [he/him]@hexbear.net
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    4 months ago

    before the darkweb you’d use western union/moneygram to buy drugs. they used to have insane deals for benzos from serbia, like 1k valium/xanax/klonopin for $250.

  • Feinsteins_Ghost [he/him]@hexbear.net
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    4 months ago

    When I was married I used to use WU to send money to my wife’s family in Xacatecas.

    Lot of laborers here legally or otherwise who remit monies to family back across the border.

    • Nakoichi [they/them]@hexbear.netOPM
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      4 months ago

      I know it was just funny that it defaulted that. I used to work at 711 decades ago and it was mostly people se ding money to family in mexico

  • infuziSporg [e/em/eir]@hexbear.net
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    4 months ago

    It’s probably registering your IP, and noting that you live within the region that used to be Mexico, where the majority of Mexicans in America live.