Ernesto Armenteros
Ernesto attended Concordia University in Montreal Canada from 1984 to 1989 after which he moved to Santo Domingo and worked on several innovations at the delivery end of Remesas Quisqueyana, Inc. (RQI), a money remittance company acquired by his family in 1986. He rose through the ranks to become the CEO in 1993 and eventually its Executive VP.
Under their leadership, RQI became a leading remittance company to the Dominican Republic, considered one of the most competitive remittance corridors in the United States. During this period, RQI also diversified, expanded and evolved into a highly computerized and sophisticated operation with outlets in over half of the United States, plus Spain and Italy, serving millions of customers.
His work with micro lending as a Director and then President of the Fundacion Dominicana de Desarrollo (FDD) has also echoed in the subjects of remittances and development, and the integration of emigrants and their families to the financial mainstream.
In 2007-2008 the Dominican operation was transformed into Banco Union (Banco de Ahorro y Crédito Unión) a partnership with the mission of banking the “unbanked” remittance recipients through financial education and specialized products and Ernesto serves both as an Executive at the Bank and a member of the Board. RQI was sold to DOLEX in 2010.
Ernesto was a founding Director of The National Money Transmitters Association (NMTA) and other trade organizations. He was also the President of the Fundación Dominicana del Desarrollo, a NGO that helps to foster business development in the DR.
In 2022, with other investors, he lead the purchase of DOLEX in the US and Europe and merged the company with Barri, a Texas-based MTO under the leadership of Alberto Laureano, who became the CEO of the new group.