ICICI Bank has signed an agreement, on a pilot basis, with Spanish multinational Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria's (BBVA) banking subsidiary in the US, BBVA Bancomers, aiming to provide remittance services from the US.
"Initially, BBVA will offer its services to more than nine million people from India who live in America and Canada," ICICI Bank sources said.
However, the cooperation service could later be extended to other parts of the world based on the experience,they said.
BBVA's remittance business has 4.5 million customers in 23 countries with 22,500 payment points.
The agreement, between the two banks signed yesterday, would transfer the remittance money into bank accounts only, they added.
The tie-up would help the Spanish multinational to foray into India, the largest remittance market in the world.
The money-transfer market in India is pegged at over $23 million, about 15 per cent of the global volume. India received around 40 per cent of its total remittance money from the US and Canada.
As per the agreement, through its US banking subsidiary, the Spanish multinational would extend its remittance business to the Indian market using more than 35,000 distribution points in the USA and Canada.
{{/usCountry}}As per the agreement, through its US banking subsidiary, the Spanish multinational would extend its remittance business to the Indian market using more than 35,000 distribution points in the USA and Canada.
{{/usCountry}}The remittances of Indian migrants in the US and Canada would be paid in India through ICICI Banks network of more than 600 branches.
ICICI Bank, the largest private sector bank in the country, has similar arrangements with other banks in the US, UK and some Middle East countries.