Samso's promises unmatched $$ transfer service
By Shirwin Campbell
Guyana Chronicle
April 24, 2004
GUYANESE remittance services received a major boost last Thursday when Samso's Express Money - one of the fastest growing money transfer companies with over 150 agents in the USA and over 6000 correspondents in several territories around the world - launched its services here.
Samso's, the only Guyanese owned licensed money transmitter in the U.S., hit the ground running at its launching, promising Guyanese "the highest level of service at a cost unmatched in this and any market and the guarantee of secure and speedy transfer of funds."
President of Samso's, Sheik Mohammed Hussein Haniff, a Guyanese who served as a banking executive and finance specialist in Florida, described the venture as "a project close to my heart."
Delivering the feature address at the official launching at Georgetown Club, Mr. Haniff said Samso's was born in 2001 out of the recognition that the major money transfer companies were offering their services at exorbitant rates, even as the market was increasing at a steady pace.
"We decided to create Samso's with the intent of providing our clients with unequivocal customer service, the lowest possible fees and reasonable exchange rates. In fact we can now boast that we pay out a minimum of two points above the competition," he said.
Once a butcher in Agricola, East Bank Demerara, he said, "I understand first hand how important it is to be able to assist your loved ones back home when they may be in dire financial straits, how good it feels to be able to send a little "something extra," and I understand the importance of giving back to your community, the place where you got your foundation. This is why I bring Samso's to Guyana."
Samso's is a non-bank provider of consumer money wire transfer services based in Plantation, Florida. The operation centre is in Los Angeles, California. The company is licensed in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Minnesota, New York and Texas and also has permission to do business in South Carolina.
Samso's uses major banks and exchange houses for distribution of transactions, transmits monies to several countries including Mexico, Guyana, Jamaica and Guatemala and has a network in place to deliver funds to
Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Haiti, Panama and El Salvador, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago will be included in the very near future.
The company's long-term plan also includes entry into countries in the Caribbean, Central and South America, Asia and Europe.
Mr. Haniff estimated that up to 600,000 Guyanese nationals live in the U.S. and that approximately one-third of them frequently remit money to Guyana.
Pay out locations in Guyana are Mohammed's Cambio, Regent Street; Caribbean Cargo and Packaging, High Street; Uncle Bugs Air Cargo, Croal Street; A. Ally and Sons, New Amsterdam/Corriverton; Imran and Son Variety Store, Rosehall; Fazal Habibulla - Chester Fried Restaurant, Bush Lot; Face to Face Internet Café, Linden; and Tamesh Tagmohan, Hampton Court.