RSP Article Series: Insights for Migrant-centric and Gender-smart Remittance Innovations
The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) has partnered with remittance service providers (RSPs), helping them run innovation pilots to support better access to and usage of digital remittances for migrants’ wider financial inclusion and resilience. As part of the partnership, we conducted market scans and undertook data analysis of more than 70 million remittance […]
Access to and usage of digital remittances: A case study of SentBe
Authors: Alejandro Gonzalez-Caro, Marup Hossain and Julie Kamau. Key highlights Outbound remittances from the Republic of Korea grew rapidly in the last decade. To support the digital financial inclusion of migrants and their families, UNCDF has partnered with SentBe, one of the first Samsung Pay partners and the country’s fastest-growing digital remittance companies. The SentBe […]
Financial Inclusion of Blue-collar Men and Women Migrants in the UAE: Opportunities and Challenges—The Case of RAKBANK and Edenred
Authors: Mercy Wachira, Julie Kamau and Alejandro Gonzalez-Caro Key highlights Eighty-eight percent of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) population constitutes migrants, accounting for billions of dollars in outward remittances. Close to 60 percent of these migrants constitute low-income, or blue-collar, workers, earning less than the minimum requirement to open a UAE bank account. COVID-19 restrictions […]
Switching from cash to digital remittances, research insights from Wizall Money in Senegal
Authors: Sarah Lober, Mamadou Diallo, and Mahamadou Ilboudo Key insights Senegal is one of the top remittance-receiving countries in Africa, and its remittance services market is ripe for digital innovation. Wizall Money is one of the few providers in Senegal offering mobile money payouts via its recently-introduced digital wallet. Only 20 percent of Wizall’s […]
Integrating remittance and mobile wallet services: A case study of IME Pay in Nepal
Authors: Ali Asad Rashid, Houle Cao and Robin Gravesteijn Key takeaways Inbound remittance receipts are a lifeline for Nepal’s economy and people. To support these transactions, in 2020, IME Pay combined its existing international remittance and mobile wallet services to enable customers to receive international remittance transfers directly into their mobile wallets. Overall, women have […]
Shifting from cash to digital remittances during the pandemic: A case study of BRAC Bank in Bangladesh
Authors: Houle Cao, Robin Gravesteijn and Premasis Mukherjee ©UNCDF Key takeaways Remittances are a lifeline for people in Bangladesh, one of the top remittance-receiving countries in the world. BRAC Bank and UNCDF are partnering to support digitization and value-added services for the country’s remittance recipients. While women comprise 60 percent of the remittance recipients […]
Access and Usage of Digital Remittances: A Case Study of Ping Money in The Gambia
©UNCDF Authors: Marup Hossain, Muhammad Ali Akram and Eugenia Perez Pons Key takeaways The Gambian economy greatly depends on international remittances, more than ever during the COVID-19 pandemic period. However, the country is currently unable to take full advantage of these flows because a large share is sent through informal mechanisms. As a result, there […]
