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Migrants’ Choice of Remittance Channel: Do General Payment Habits Play a Role?

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  • Kosse, Anneke
  • Vermeulen, Robert

Abstract

This paper investigates the determinants in migrants’ choice of payment channel when transferring money to relatives abroad. We analyze survey results on 501 migrants in the Netherlands, identifying five remittance channels: bank, money transfer operator, in-cash transfers via informal intermediaries, ATM withdrawals abroad, and carrying cash abroad. The results show that education, costs, access, and financial development in the recipient country are important determinants, while general cash preferences and internet banking usage play a limited role. Based on our findings, financial education, cost reduction, and increasing financial inclusion may serve a valuable role to increase the use of formal channels.

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  • Kosse, Anneke & Vermeulen, Robert, 2014. "Migrants’ Choice of Remittance Channel: Do General Payment Habits Play a Role?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 213-227.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:62:y:2014:i:c:p:213-227
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2014.05.002
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    Cited by:

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    2. Oludele Akinloye Akinboade & Anrich Daseman & Trevor Taft & Victor M.S Molobi, 2017. "Regulation, Cross Border Migrants and the Choice of Remittance Channels in South Africa," Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, AMH International, vol. 9(2), pages 201-214.
    3. Khiev Virak & Yuriy Bilan, 2022. "The role of formal and informal remittances as the determinants of formal and informal financial services," Equilibrium. Quarterly Journal of Economics and Economic Policy, Institute of Economic Research, vol. 17(3), pages 727-746, September.
    4. Koji Kubo, 2015. "Evolving Informal Remittance Methods of Myanmar Migrant Workers in Thailand," Working Papers DP-2015-45, Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA).
    5. Fethiye Kaya Tilbe, 2023. "Labour market, social welfare, and migrant remittance: COVID-19 implications in the UK," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-9, December.
    6. Éric Darmon & Laetitia Chaix & Dominique Torre, 2016. "M-payment use and remittances in developing countries: a theoretical analysis," Revue d'économie industrielle, De Boeck Université, vol. 0(4), pages 159-183.
    7. Kpodar, Kangni & Amir Imam, Patrick, 2024. "How do transaction costs influence remittances?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    8. Qing Xu, 2021. "East Asia and East Africa: Different Ways to Digitalize Payments," GREDEG Working Papers 2021-26, Groupe de REcherche en Droit, Economie, Gestion (GREDEG CNRS), Université Côte d'Azur, France.
    9. Manuela NGABA, 2021. "How does mobile money affect the use of informal remittance channels in Sub-Saharan Africa?," Region et Developpement, Region et Developpement, LEAD, Universite du Sud - Toulon Var, vol. 53, pages 123-146.
    10. Metzger, Martina & Riedler, Tim & Pédussel Wu, Jennifer, 2019. "Migrant remittances: Alternative money transfer channels," IPE Working Papers 127/2019, Berlin School of Economics and Law, Institute for International Political Economy (IPE).
    11. Silke Meyer, 2020. "“Home Is Where I Spend My Money”: Testing the Remittance Decay Hypothesis with Ethnographic Data from an Austrian-Turkish Community," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 8(1), pages 275-284.
    12. Hung, Li-Wen & Peng, Shin-Kun, 2021. "Rural-urban migration with remittances and welfare analysis," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    13. Shahid Manzoor Shah & Amjad Ali, 2022. "A Survey on Financial Inclusion: Theoretical and Empirical Literature Review," Journal of Policy Research (JPR), Research Foundation for Humanity (RFH), vol. 8(4), pages 310-330, December.
    14. Domingo T. Balse, Jr, 2018. "Aggregate remittance cost and diaspora financing of overseas Filipino teachers in the kingdom of Thailand," Journal of Administrative and Business Studies, Professor Dr. Usman Raja, vol. 4(5), pages 258-266.
    15. Christian Ambrosius, 2016. "Remittances and Financial Access: Is There Really a Link and for Whom? Evidence from Mexican Household Data," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(7), pages 964-982, July.
    16. Thomas Yeboah & Emmanuel Frimpong Boamah & Thomas Padi Appai, 2021. "Broadening the Remittance Debate: Reverse Flows, Reciprocity and Social Relations Between UK-Based Ghanaian Migrants and Families Back Home," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 47-68, March.
    17. Eric Darmon & Laetitia Chaix & Torre Dominique, 2016. "M-payment use and remittances in developing countries: a theoretical analysis," Post-Print halshs-01576774, HAL.
    18. Zhu, Heng, 2016. "Remittance frequency, transaction fees and household impacts," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 235561, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    19. Lalouette, Laure & Zamora-Pérez, Alejandro & Rusu, Codruta & Bartzsch, Nikolaus & Politronacci, Emmanuelle & Delmas, Martial & Rua, António & Brandi, Marco & Naksi, Martti, 2021. "Foreign demand for euro banknotes," Occasional Paper Series 253, European Central Bank.
    20. Julia Bersch & Jean François Clevy & Naseem Muhammad & Mrs. Esther Perez Ruiz & Mr. Yorbol Yakhshilikov, 2021. "Fintech Potential for Remittance Transfers: A Central America Perspective," IMF Working Papers 2021/175, International Monetary Fund.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    remittances; payment instruments; qualitative choice models;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F24 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Remittances
    • E42 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Monetary Sytsems; Standards; Regimes; Government and the Monetary System
    • C25 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Discrete Regression and Qualitative Choice Models; Discrete Regressors; Proportions; Probabilities

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