Leveraging the Impact of Remittances Through Microfinance Products: Perspectives from Market Research

This paper presents ACCION's market research study to explore the financial needs and investment goals of immigrants and recipient families and the market potential for products linked to microfinance. The respondents for the research were selected from:

• United States (US) - send money to their home country for savings and investment purposes;
• Latin America - receive remittances and are clients of regulated financial institutions.

The study finds that those sending money:

• Had migrated to the US for economic reasons;
• Use remittance services eight or nine times per year;
• Send an average of approximately $200 at each transaction.

The study also finds the important uses of the remitted money:

• Payment of basic household needs;
• Payment of debts incurred to support migration;
• Creation of income-sources back home;
• Investment.

The paper finally states that while a majority of the respondents have previous experiences with banks, their choice of a remittance service provider is influenced by:

• Mistrust of banking institutions;
• Preference for institutions with a link to the home country;
• Desire for personalized service;
• Speed, cost, safety and convenience.