Understanding migrant remittances

Abstract

Remittances have become an increasingly important factor in developing economies. Due to the increasing regulation, costs and the lack of availability of remittance transfer operators, the informal methods of remitting has become the dominant means of sending money. As these flows could contribute hugely to the development of a country‟s economy, it is in the interest of country and government to realise the financial benefit to be obtained by channelling these funds through the formal financial system.This study aims to understand the channels used to remit money to destinations outside South Africa, to gain more insight on the processes involved in the formal and informal remittance channels and ultimately gather information on how to increase the remittance flows.