Bilateral agreements constitute an effective way to regulate migration flows and to foster development, both in the countries of origin and destination.
Sweden through the Swedish Consumer Agency, is missioned to provide a web-based information service for remittances. The service aims at creating transparency about different modes of remittances and the costs of these, thus increasing competition so that transfer costs can be reduced. Since 2018 additional resources have been added to the Consumer Agency to continue to provide and develop the service. The costs of sending remittances from Sweden have in some cases been relatively high.
The training manual Gender on the Move: Working on the Migration-Development Nexus from a Gender Perspective aims to build the gender analysis capacity of an array of actors working on topics related to migration and development.
The Global Forum on Remittances, Investment and Development (GFRID) brings together key decision makers, stakeholders and practitioners who are engaged in the field of remittances and migration for development.
IOM, through the ACP EU Migration Action, an initiative launched by the ACP Secretariat and funded by the European Union (EU), issued a publication on the main challenges that ACP countries face today in relation to remittances.
This case study forms part of a series of case studies on good practices, lessons learnt and recommendations extracted from the projects supported by the UN Joint Migration and Development Initiative (JMDI) to enhance migration management for local development. The experience of the JMDI shows that the most effective initiatives are anchored with local or regional authorities and carried out in a multi-stakeholder and participatory approach, including migrants and migrants’ associations or diaspora.
In Jordan, UNHCR is using technology to provide refugees access to assistance,cash assistance using iris-scanning biometric technology and in cooperation with the local banks.
On 16 February 2016, the 176 member states of the Governing Council of IFAD, unanimously declared 16 June the INTERNATIONAL DAY OF FAMILY REMITTANCES.
The Objective of this day, now held annually, is to recognize and raise global awareness of the fundamental contribution made by migrant workers to the wellbeing of their families and communities back home, and to the sustainable development of their countries of origin.
The Indian ICICI Bank offers hybrid solutions with remittance kiosks and ATMs in migrant areas and dormitories. Kiosks in Singapore and Bahrain can be used to transfer funds to India on the same day. ICICI sees mobile banking as a powerful medium for further financial inclusion.