Goal 10: Reduced inequalities - 10.c on remittances costs reduction

The International Remittance Network (IRnet®) was established in 1999 to facilitate remittance flows from the US to Latin America.

World Council of Credit Unions (WCUU )established the Network based on the urging of member credit unions from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Mexico and Jamaica, and according to the World Bank it resulted in lower fees charged by the IRnet compared to major Money Transfer Companies (MTOs) - a flat rate of $10 to send up to $1000.

The Philippines National Bank has teamed up with 7Eleven and Citibank in Hong Kong to provide remittance services.  Under the agreement, Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) can remit on many street corners in Hong Kong through any of 7-Eleven’s 480 outlets, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Wells Fargo has made inroads to Vietnam by partnering with the Commercial Bank of Vietnam (Incombank) by offering an account-to-account remittance program. Customers in the United States can send up to $3,000 a day to Vietnam for $8. As one of the largest banks in Vietnam, Incombank gives recipients an opportunity to claim their funds at more than 700 branches and 400 ATMs throughout Vietnam.

Wells Fargo has made inroads to China by partnering with the Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), one of the largest banks in China, by offering an account-to-account remittance program. Customers in the United States can send up to $1,000 a day to China for $8. Recipients can claim their funds at more than 31,000 ABC branches and 12,500 ATMs throughout China.

In the Dominican Republic, commercial bank Banco Popular Dominicano (BPD) partners with MoneyGram to distribute products through branches and ATMs. Banco Popular Dominicano (BPD), the largest bank in the Dominican Republic, with approximately 30% of the market, formed a joint-venture with MoneyGram to link remittances with banking products, equip its automatic teller machines (ATMs) to process money transfers, and link transfers to its payment services.

RuralNet, a cooperative venture of rural banks, has been established to provide interconnectivity between rural banks and other players in the formal remittance market in the Philippines. This is seen to potentially address the "unbanked problem". 

To do this, RuralNet offers services including:

• Online payments to government services
• Bills payment
• Loading to a mobile
• Remittance services
• Flight bookings
• Insurance

In Mexico, on a weekly basis, the Procuraduria Federal del Consumidor (PROFECO)- the Federal Attorney's Office of Consumer - publishes fee statistics on a USD $300 remittance, the exchange rate banks apply to the payments, dollars received and the total cost of the remittances.

This information helps Mexican migrants make informed choices when sending remittances home. 

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas ('BSP', the Central Bank of the Philippines) issued a circular in January 2005 requiring bank and non-bank financial institutions to s to register with the BSP and to post the charges for their various remittance products including cost clarifications. This is partly to address the non-response of service fees despite the decrease in costs incurred because of automation in the remittance process.

In 1990, under the patronage of King Hassan II, the Foundation for Moroccans Living Abroad was created to promote economic and cultural co-operation with the diaspora and to support them. This Foundation, in co-operation with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) established an Observatory of the Moroccan Community Living Abroad (EOMC), which offers an information system for the government on migration management issues. 

This publication presents the current situation with regard to the magnitude and economic impact of migrants’ remittances to their countries of origin.

The book surveys:

• the channels used to collect these funds;
• the role of banking systems and other financial institutions;
• the introduction of new technologies and their impact on fund collection;
• how the funds are transferred; and
• how to reduce the costs.