WASHINGTON—President Trump’s proposal to tax remittances is the most likely cause of a sharp increase in cash transfers from the U.S. to Mexico in March, sources report.
TeleSUR reported that remittances from U.S. to Mexico increased by 15% in March compared to the same period last year.
Mexico's central bank, Banxico, reported that Mexicans received $2.5 billion in remittances in the month of March, compared to $2.2 billion a year earlier. The transfers record one of the biggest-ever documented for remittances sent by individuals abroad. It is also the third-largest in U.S.-Mexico remittance history, after October 2008 ($2.6 billion) and May 2006 ($2.5 billion), TeleSUR reported.
Remittances traditionally dip in January, after the holiday season, and start climbing again in February. However, this year the pattern changed, with January and February both netting $2 billion in remittances, TeleSUR stated.
Banxico figures show that the number of operations and the size of each transaction also rose in March. The size of the average transaction increased by 24%, from $291 to $316, while the total number of operations jumped 6.1%, from 7,517 to 7,976.