In this post I will explain the different ways to send money from the U.S. to Honduras —or from another point of view— how people in Honduras can receive money from people in the United States.

MoneyGram and Western Union

MoneyGram and Western Union are the most recognized companies in Honduras in the remittance business. All they will ask you to do is to fill a form with the basic information needed to make the transaction and an ID. They will give you a ten-digit reference number, which you then will communicate to the person receiving the remittance. The recipient of the remittance must also present an ID card. It is very important to write correctly the recipient’s full name, as it appears on the ID card.

Send money via Xoom

Xoom offers a convenient and reliable way to send money to Honduras via Internet. Xoom can be up to 80% cheaper than Western Union and MoneyGram. The money transfer is done quickly and without the need to pick up the money at any company’s office. Recipients in Honduras can receive the money directly into their bank accounts of BAC | Honduras, Banco Ficohsa and Banco Citi; they can also show up to collect the money at Banco Atlantida and Banadesa, and various kiosks located in the supermarkets Despensa Familiar, Hiper Paiz, Maxi and Farmacia Siman. Check Xoom’s website.

Wire Transfer from a U.S. bank

You can try to send a wire transfer from your U.S. bank to the recipient’s bank in Honduras. Ask your U.S. bank if this is possible, and how much they charge. You can use the Wells Fargo bank to wire money to a Ficohsa account in Honduras. Ficohsa is a Honduran bank with branches in the U.S., but they need an American bank to wire money to Honduras.

Send a U.S. debit card to Honduras

It is possible to make cash withdrawals from ATMs in Honduras with U.S. debit cards. The card can be sent to Honduras with a reliable shipping company. The  ATMCash company provides you with a convenient method to do this. Ask your U.S. bank about the charges associated with the use of your debit card in Honduras. It’s cheaper and more convenient to use a debit card than a credit card.

Send a U.S. check to Honduras

You can send a check in dollars to Honduras via regular mail. Once the recipient receives the U.S. check in Honduras she/he can deposit it in a Honduran dollar account. To withdraw money from the Honduran dollar account you will have to wait from three to four weeks, so
this is the most time consuming option. Banco Ficohsa has the funds available in just 15 business days. Honduran banks charge no fees for this service.

For safety reasons you will want  to make the check on behalf of the recipient, using the recipient’s name exactly as it appears in his/her ID card. Instead of sending it by regular mail it is faster and safer to use a shipping company.

Another option for cashing a U.S. check in Honduras is to use the services of a money exchange house, such as COINSA.

¿Sending money via Paypal?

Sending money via Paypal is a popular way to make international transfers in the Internet. Unfortunately, people in Honduras cannot receive money via Paypal, they can only send it. The closest thing to Paypal in Honduras is Xoom. The alternative for online businesses in Honduras is 2Checkout.

Other money transfer companies

There is a large number of remittance companies that send money to Honduras associated with Honduran banks, such as:

Dolex, Uniteller, Bancomer Transfer Service, Pacific Receive Networks, etc.

The reason for the emergence of so many money transfer companies is the phenomenon of Outsourcing.

Check the list of Banks in Honduras and the information that each of their websites have on remittances.

Ask the recipient which way of sending money is more convenient for both of you.

If you wish to send your remittance online, directly to the recipient’s bank account, quickly and conveniently, you may want to use the Xoom’s service.

Gift Certificates

Instead of sending money to Honduras you have the option of buying gift certificates, as the ones offered by Supermercados La Colonia, Tiendas Carrion, or Amazon.com, so the person may be able to spend this certificates on whatever she/he likes, within a wide range of products.

There’s a new anti-smoking law in Honduras that bans smoking, not only in public places, but even at home.

The law prohibits any kind of advertising for any kind tobacco-related products, even of fake cigars.

“The law is clear and we will comply with it,” said Rony Portillo, head of the Institute to Prevent Alcoholism and Drug Addiction.

Actually the law is not so clear.

The law does not explicitly ban people from smoking in their own homes, but allows non smoking people to complain before the authorities for being exposed to secondhand smoke in their own houses.

In open spaces, the law bans people from smoking near anyone within a space of 2 meters (6 feet).

The anti-smoking law leaves open the possibility of enclosed public places exclusively destined to smokers, but in practice its unlikely this will be allowed, judging by the public statements of the authorities and the media.

Article 28 of the law states: “Minors… wont be allowed in places where smoking is permitted”.

These seems to imply that in some public places smoking will be permitted.

Minors are people under the age of 21 according to the Honduran law. At the age of 18 in Honduras, young people are considered “citizens” but not adults endowed with full legal rights.

The ironic thing is that this law becomes enforceable just a few days after a tobacco festival sponsored by the government; the First Humo Jaguar Festival will be the last, as this new anti-tobacco law prohibits any kind of publicity favorable to any kind of tobacco-related product.

The production of Havana cigars is a important source of jobs in the Honduran cities of Copan and Danli. These cigars are mostly destined to exportation, and alternative sources of income for the employees of the tobacco industry are not ready available. Some people fear these jobs will be affected by this radical law.

This anti-tobacco law can be consulted at the IHADFA website [es].

A brief lists of Honduras-related English-language blogs.

Check the Honduras Blogs website for more.

For a list of Honduran Spanish-language blogs see this list.

Personal Blogs

• La Gringa’s Blogicito
• Blog Erlingsson.com
• Pensieve
• Honduras Gumbo
• Feather Ridge
• Sowing Shalom
• My Utila Life
• A Closer Look
• The Roatan Vortex

Resistance Blogs

• Honduras Culture and Politics
• Honduras Resists/ Honduras Resiste

Family Blogs

• ¿Teguci What?
• Adventures of Hannah and Charlie

Missionary Blogs

• The World is our Classroom
• His Eyes Honduras
• Teresa Searcy
• Calvary Chapel
• Mallasch Meditations
• Missionary, Mother, Wife and Nurse
• Honduras Missions

Peace Corps and Volunteers

• Peace Corps Honduras
• ¡Qué barbaridad!
• Vols en/in Honduras

News

• Honduras Weekly
• Honduras News

Business Blog

• My Roatan: Adventures in creating Nirvana

Art Blog

• Wilmer Murillo Illustrations

A list of banks in Honduras, with links to their respective websites:

Private Banks

• BAC | Honduras
• Banco Atlántida
• Banco Azteca
• Banco Citibank de Honduras
• Banco Continental
• Banco Promerica
• Banco Ficensa
• Banco Ficohsa
• Banco Lafise
• Banco de los Trabajadores
• BANHCAFE
• Banco de Occidente
• Banco Procredit
• BANPAIS
• HSBC

State Banks

• Banco Central de Honduras
• BANADESA
• Banhprovi
• RAP

Banco BGA was acquired by HSBC; and Banco Uno, Banco Cuscatlan and Banco de Honduras were absorbed by Citigroup, becoming Banco Citibank de Honduras. BAC | Credomatic and BAMER merged, becoming BAC | Bamer. BAC | Bamer changed its name to BAC | Honduras.

Banco Central de Honduras (Honduras Central Bank) is the body that conducts the country’s monetary policy. BANADESA means National Bank of Agricultural Development. Banhprovi and RAP are second level financial institutions of the State.

United States is supporting the recent MILITARY COUP in Egypt, when not long ago it condemned Honduras for a nonexistent COUP.

Vice President Omar Suleiman announced yesterday on Egypt state television that President Hosni Mubarak handed the power to the Military Supreme Council.

A Coup happens when State institutions are dissolved, Parliament is dissolved , the judiciary is dissolved, and a Military Junta seizes power. In Honduras there was NO military coup or civilian-military coup. We had an interim civilian administration, which produced an orderly transition to the new administration we have now. But we were unjustly condemned, and we are still being condemned.

CNN in Espanol is talking about a “revolution in Egypt.” Perhaps this way it sounds more romantic and acceptable, but at the end of the day: What is the difference between a revolution and a COUP? It is basically the same: a rupture of the constitutional order.

If it’s about popular support, the interim regime enjoyed a wide support in Honduras, both from the people and the State institutions.

We must keep an open mind, sometimes COUPS are necessary. There are good coups and bad coups. With a COUP D’ETAT against Adolf Hitler many lives could have been saved. This COUP in Egypt may be the beginning of a new era of freedom for the Egyptian people, that’s our hope, but in Honduras there was NO Coup d’Etat.

Dictator Hugo Chavez is supporting the MILITARY COUP in Egypt. Manuel Zelaya is also supporting the coup. Both are known for their failed attempts at COUPS in their countries. They are COUPSTERS that support MILITARY COUPS when it better suits them.

The day before his ouster, on Saturday June 27, 2009, Manuel Zelaya made reference to the French Revolution to justify his projected COUP, which would dissolve the other branches of government and extend his term in office illegally; but he could not achieve this because the State of Honduras, in a movement of self-defense, removed him from office.

Hugo Chavez in 1992, was responsible for a failed MILITARY COUP attempt that killed innocent people. And yet, the failed COUPSTER believes he has the moral right to condemn a coup that never existed in Honduras.

These are the ironies and contradictions of international politics.

In Globo TV, the journalist David Romero Ellner, who has served time in prison for raping his own daughter, said today that “the Virgin of Suyapa is GOLPISTA (coupster), they have made her GOLPISTA (coupster), for holding the title of Captain of the Armed Forces”.

Romero Ellner has been a major supporter of Manuel Zelaya, who sought to perpetuate in office through a manipulated opinion poll.

“If the Virgin of Suyapa was so miraculous as they say, she should have caused the temple to fall upon dictator Micheletti, when he paid a visit to her”, said the social communicator.

Today an early morning celebration was held at the Shrine of Suyapa in honor of the Virgin, attended by thousands of people.

February 3 marks the day dedicated to that image, to which many Honduran Catholics regard as the PATRON SAINT OF HONDURAS .

The worship of the little image of Suyapa began in the XVII century, and the military has claimed her as their captain decades before the supposed COUP D’ETAT.

President Porfirio Lobo

Lets check the achievements of the Porfirio Lobo Administration: Honduras managed to stabilize its economy after the consequences of the 2009 political crisis. It achieved recognition from many nations, after the erroneous perception of a COUP D’ETAT. This is a very important step.

The Lobo administration had a good start in 2011, boosting major development projects, such as Charter Cities, hydropower projects located by the Patuca river, and the Jicatuyo and Llanitos hydroelectric projects. He also inaugurated the Wind Energy Project of Cerro de Hula.

But the way the Lobo administration has been handling the political issues seems to be mistaking. After getting from Congress an amnesty decree for political crimes supposedly committed by both sides of the 2009 conflict, President Lobo has been stubborn in his intent to get for Mr. Manuel Zelaya an state of total impunity in all the charges levelled against him. This interference in the affairs of the judiciary makes him look bad among those in Honduras that wish for greater respect for the law. I am of the opinion that the main cause of the political crisis of 2009 was the open disrespect of Mr. Zelaya for the legal order, and President Lobo seems unable to apply that lesson to himself.

The stubbornness with which President Porfirio Lobo brings up the subject of re-election produces anxiety to a section of the population. It is believed in Honduras that Zelaya’s illegal attempts to allow re-election were the cause of his overthrown. One would think that an issue that causes so much tension would be abandoned, but that’s not what President Lobo thinks. So much for peace an reconciliation.

The amendments to the article 5 of the Constitution, allowing for the people the possibility to be consulted on the issue of re-election makes many people nervous. Some people wonders if President Lobo is following the steps of Zelaya, who in his eagerness to promote the “fourth ballot box” was forcefully removed from office.

Porfirio Lobo says the Honduran people gave him a clear mandate at the ballot boxes, to fight for peace and reconciliation. But President Lobo has a strange idea of what reconciliation means. He believes, apparently, that reconciliation involves passing over the legal system and the separation of branches, in his attempt to favor the side of Zelaya. Lobo believes he can appease the groups that support Zelaya, but the reactions of these groups, both nationally and internationally, show the opposite. This complacency with the inflexible Zelayistas makes him look weak in the eyes of many Hondurans.

More worrisome is the fact that he has given the National Agrarian Institute in the hands of the Zelayista Cesar Ham, who apparently has used his position to aggravate the agrarian conflict in the Bajo Aguan instead of solving it. But President Lobo refuses to dismiss this minister, because of his distorted idea of the “national reconciliation” concept, that he identifies as a distribution of government positions.

President Lobo is also criticized for creating the new Secretariat of Human Rights in times of economic crisis, when the State can not afford to create more bureaucracy. But President Lobo did it, because he believes this new ministry will appease the human right agencies which have echoed the slanders against Honduras in this issue.

An action much criticized by the public opinion was the removal of Mr. Federico Alvarez’ citizenship. Mr. Alvarez is a naturalized Honduran of Costa Rican origin, who was notable for his criticism against the Lobo Administration in La Tribuna newspaper. Public opinion has interpreted this action as an attack against freedom of expression. The government argues that Mr. Federico Alvarez didn’t have his documentation of naturalization in order.

Despite his clear preference in favor of those who sympathize with former President Zelaya, and his denigration of those who oppose him, President Porfirio Lobo likes to define himself as a moderate politician, far from the extremes of Left and Right. But the truth is that, despite coming from a historically conservative party like the National Party, President Lobo has a clear leftist tendency, which leaves the old guard of the National Party somewhat perplexed.

Hopefully in 2011, President Lobo will focus on development projects for the country, relegating the Zelaya issue. Too much has been done to appease Honduras’ enemies.