Migrant Money

Making Remittances Count

We build a stronger case for the role of remittances towards improved foreign exchange, private sector investment, and as a gateway for financial inclusion of migrants towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

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Empowering Migrants to Maximize Impact

We go beyond making recommendations—and implement market-based interventions towards enabling regulatory changes, strengthening open digital payment ecosystems, and financing migrant-centric and gender-responsive innovations.

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Solutions from
Real-world Experts

We are a global team of economists, regulators, data scientists, gender specialists, and payments and banking professionals. The intersection of migrants and finance is our unique expertise.

Meet Our Team

Our Latest Resources

Our comprehensive library of actionable research and insights is updated regularly, offering resources to a broad constituency of our partners who are interested in deepening their understanding of remittance markets and migrants’ financial needs, constraints, and aspirations.

Research

Our long-form resources include flagship and exploratory reports, as well as regional and country diagnostics rooted in pragmatic and empirical research.

Country and Regional Diagnostics

Sudan Payment Infrastructure Assessment Report: Regional Harmonization of Remittance Policies in IGAD

The payment infrastructure assessment report for Sudan continues the country’s policy diagnostic assessment as part of UNCDF’s wider project with the IGAD Secretariat on harmonizing remittance policies in the Intergovernmental…

Insights

Our short-form insights include reflections, articles, and case studies infused with interdisciplinary learnings from the public and private sectors.

Migrant Money Notes

Informal Remittance Flow Estimation

UNCDF’s objective in working in the area of informal remittances is to (i) better understand the evolving literature and propose methodologies and/or tools that the central banks can apply; (ii)…

Tools

Our user-friendly and platform-agnostic tools are developed for the public and private sectors to be empowered with practical steps to lead change.

Reference Guides

Survey Strategy and Questionnaire on Estimating Informal Remittances

Most countries have good data on remittances sent/received through intermediaries licensed and regulated by national authorities, such as central banks. However, data collection on informal remittances, particularly in LDCs, is…

Country and Regional Diagnostics

Sudan Payment Infrastructure Assessment Report: Regional Harmonization of Remittance Policies in IGAD

Migrant Money Notes

Informal Remittance Flow Estimation

UNCDF’s objective in working in the area of informal remittances is to (i) better understand the evolving literature and propose methodologies and/or tools that the central banks can apply; (ii)…

Reference Guides

Survey Strategy and Questionnaire on Estimating Informal Remittances

Partner Spotlight

We don't simply make recommendations for improvement – we work directly with partners to implement solutions, developing products and services that strengthen the financial resilience of migrants and their families.

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Private Sector

RAKBANK / Edenred

Working In: UAE

Key Topic: Inclusive Innovation

RAKBANK (National Bank of Ras Al Khaimah) (P.S.C.) is a bank in the United Arab Emirates. Together with its partner Edenred, RAKBANK aims to expand digital remittances and financial services among blue-collar migrant workers, particularly foreign domestic workers in the United Arab Emirates, targeting the sending corridors to these six countries: Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines and Sri Lanka.

UNCDF’s collaboration with RAKBANK and Edenred aims to improve the access to and usage of the digital remittance channel through C3Pay – Edenred’s solution that enables migrants to receive their wages digitally. UNCDF technical assistance extends to market research, business strategy, transaction data analysis, marketing and communication, financial literacy, and migrant-centred and gender-smart product design and strategy.

Our Events

Members of our team regularly share learnings and experiences from regional contexts at global platforms to reinforce best practices that are considerate of local challenges.

There are currently no upcoming UNCDF Migrant Money events. Explore our archive of past events for recordings, presentations, and other resources from our team of remittance experts — and check back to find out where we'll be next.

Past Events