Attendees at today’s program on remittances learned about innovations in the field from representatives of Caixa Economica Verde, Mukuru and Swift as well as the FairRemit service, whose collaborators include Aktif Bank’s UPT money transfer service and the World Savings and Retail Banking Institute.
Swift has a new product – Swift Go – for low-value transactions, whose features include upfront visibility on cost. Among the selling points of FairRemit is that its transfers are instant. Mukuru focuses on migrants sending money to and from Africa, the EU, South Asia and the UK. It operates its own cash-in / cash-out locations as well as digital services, with some of its transfers available instantly.
Antonio Moreira of Caixa Economica Verde described the market in Cape Verde, where the average citizen has about two bank accounts and remittances make up 25 percent of bank deposits. He cited the problem of correspondent banks – as many as three institutions that act as intermediaries between the sending bank and Caixa Economica Verde – charging unanticipated fees that make the cost of remittances quite high. Mr Kastan of UPT explained that his service sends all transactions via Actif Bank such that no additional institutions are involved.
Mr Moreira said the cost to send EUR 200 from Luxembourg to Cape Verde, for example, might be EUR 14. Meanwhile online services, he and other presenters said, might charge EUR 1 to EUR 6 for the same transfer, although variation remains in transfer speeds.
Despite the efficiencies of online transactions, Cat Denoon-Stevens of Mukuru explained that many users – especially in rural areas where communication networks are weak – continue to use cash. Hence her firm offers a variety of channels, such as e-wallets, payment cards and cash-based transactions. To nudge users toward less-costly electronic options, Mukuru has used strategies such as discounts for cash-to-account payments and lower rates for paying recipients’ bills directly to the billers.
This feature is part of a sponsored series on European Microfinance Week 2021, which took place online November 17 through November 19. The event is held annually by the European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP). MicroCapital has been engaged to promote and report on the conference each year since 2012.
Additional Resources
European Microfinance Week 2021
https://www.e-mfp.eu/european-microfinance-week-2021
MicroCapital coverage of European Microfinance Week, including the European Microfinance Award
https://www.microcapital.org/category/european-microfinance-week/
Similar Posts:
- MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: SentBe Launches Remittances from US to 50 Countries
- SPECIAL REPORT: Banco FIE of Bolivia Takes $100k “Financial Inclusion that Works for Women” European Microfinance Award 2022
- SPECIAL REPORT: Enabling Microinsurance via Technology: RFID Tags Slash Fraud, Costs of Livestock Cover in Rwanda
- MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Money Transfer Firms Suspend Fees for Payments to Libya, Morocco in Response to Disasters
- SPECIAL REPORT: Yikri of Burkina Faso Wins $110k European Microfinance Award for Progress Toward Food Security #EMW2023
