A Dominican immigrant and graduate of the Wharton School of Business has created an easier way to send money to Latin America. The program will be especially useful for families in the U.S. wishing to send money back to their loved ones in Latin America.

Sending money through wire transfers or Western Union can get very expensive, sometimes even dangerous.

"I noticed when I sent the money it was a headache for them to receive it," Edrizio de la Cruz, who now lives in New York, told Fox News Latino. "They had to go to remittance agency, wait online, fill out a form, pay huge fees, put the money in the pack, and go back home. It is very dangerous for men and women of age to have to deal with that hassle."

De la Cruz feared his aunt and grandmother could become targets for thieves who could rob them when they picked up their cash.

So de la Cruz got creative and thought of an easier, safer and cheaper way to transfer money between countries. He created Regalii.com. On the site, an immigrant can use their phone or computer to send money via a text message. The flat fee of $3 is charged to the sender, and they are able to send the text message to the receiver in the Dominican Republic. The receiver gets a personalized text with a pin-code. They can use the pin-code at participating grocery stores to buy food, medicine and even pay bills.

Senders will know their money is safely being sent to the intended recipient. Since no cash is involved, it is much safer. It also only allows receivers to spend the money at places that offer basic essential goods.

"The customers wanted a way of controlling how their funds were being spent," de la Cruz said. "When you send remittances. ...It's a complete black box: You have no idea how it's being used for gambling, for drinking, and that causes a vicious poverty cycle that inhibits people to get out of that poverty cycle. This is one way to providing some structure to those funds. It provides peace of mind and a sense of security for your loved ones across the border."

Regalii plans to expand. It has 21,000 users already. They operate out of Washington Heights, a Dominican neighborhood in Manhattan. The startup has 13 employees and plans on entering Mexico sometime in 2015.