This past July ECO renewed its 314-b- registration with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), which included the 31 companies currently sharing information through ECO for enhanced monitoring of remittance transactions.  The 31 companies represents the largest number of entities that ECO has served through its ECOSYSTEM program since the company was formed in 2000.  "When I joined ECO in 2003, our database included remittance data from 8 companies," said ECO President, Oscar Herasme. "That number has increased dramitically, which is a testament to our service and the strength of information sharing as a compliance tool in this day and age."  Under Section 314(b) of the USA PATRIOT Act, financial institutions can share personal information of their customers for the sole purpose of enhancing detection of possible money laundering and/or terrorist financing.  Since 2000 ECO has facilitated the sharing of information amongst licensed money transmitters in the United States and abroad by centralizing the data of its corporate members and providing automated feedback on possible suspicious activity.  "We expect to increase the number of ECO participants to 35 by year's end," declared Mr. Herasme.  ECO is registered with FinCEN as an association of financial institutions for the purposes of the program.  The 314(b) Participant List included approximately 3,800 entities as of July.