The stubbornly high cost of remittances: a way forward

Global remittances total $600 billion annually - equivalent to about four times the value of development assistance. Yet despite huge innovations in the underlying technology, the cost of remittances remains persistently high, at around 7% on average. Stephen Cecchetti and Kim Schoenholtz discuss the causes of this, and suggest some options available to policymakers to lower costs. The G8, G20 and Sustainable Development Goals targetting lower remittance costs could be realised by a two-pronged approach of educating consumers on the one hand and fostering competition among providers on the other.