Michelle Wilson-Reynolds, worked with VMBS for two years. - File

Capital and Credit Financial Group Limited's (CCFG) remittance business has, at least for the last two years, been a drag on profits, so far unchecked by last year's rebranding of the money transfer arm to Reggae Money Express (RME).

The division bled $25 million in 2008, doubling the $12 million lost in 2007.

Now Capital and Credit, the losses for its RME business having continued into 2009, has struck an alliance with two new partners in the Caribbean to grow both its market and revenue.

The partnerships with SocaTransfer and Uni Transfer, however, follows the culmination of agreements with another three unnamed agents as CCFG restructures the division.

No immediate estimate

Michelle Wilson-Reynolds, senior vice-president of group marketing and corporate affairs, says the partnerships widen the RME's brand reach into more markets in the Caribbean but had no immediate estimate on the additional business that would flow from the arrangements.

"The truth of the matter is this year is a peculiar year," said Wilson-Reynolds.

"The chances from one territory where the recession may not be hitting so much may be higher than anticipated and in another territory where the recession may be hitting, it may be lower than anticipated. Who knows what will happen."

Reggae Money Express does outbound transfers to over 80 countries and inbound from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Curaçao, the Cayman Islands, Aruba, Bahamas, St Kitts and Nevis, Turks and Caicos and Antigua.

SocaTransfer, which is based in Miami, serves markets in the United States, Antigua, Turks and Caicos and Canada, said Wilson-Reynolds.

Uni Transfer serves North America.

Reynolds refused to divulge the details of these partnership arrangements.

Prior to the alliances and re-branding, RME had a presence in Aruba and the Cayman Islands.

CCFG now has alliances with seven remittance operations, down from eight - the other five being UNO Money Transfer, Coinstar Money Transfer, Remitx, CaribPay and Ria Express.

In at least two of those cases, Ria and CaribPay, CCFG has a reciprocal arrangement where it acts as agent for the American money transfer operation.

Wilson-Reynolds said the new alliances were formed late last year but that consummation of the deal and roll-out of the arrangements began this year.

The division's operations are also under the guidance of a newly recruited general manager, Sheron Dixon-Brown, who is now three months in the job.

Loss-making remittance

Within the CCFG structure, RME falls under subsidiary Capital and Credit Remittance Limited, and within Deputy Group President Andrew Cocking's portfolio.

Cocking, quoted in a statement to CCFG shareholders issued May 15, said the new alliance with a Caribbean partner was projected to improve the loss-making remittance segment going forward.

That statement accompanied first quarter results that - while still showing the segment in the red - indicated some improvement in the results. The loss of $1.72 million was a far better outcome than the $6.5 million loss in the first quarter of 2008.

Notably, the group, reported far less profit at $80 million for the quarter, compared with $141 million in the three-month period ending March 2008.

dionne.rose@gleanerjm.com