Remittances at the Post Office in Africa: Serving the Financial Needs of Migrants and Their Families in Rural Areas

Nearly 100 million adult Africans (or greater than 15 percent of the adult population) use the over 26,000 existing post offices and post agents across Africa to access basic financial services, including picking up remittances. There is currently very limited literature available on postal reform issues. This report is intended to enhance awareness about the potential role of postal networks in rural development, providing lessons learned, an account of past and ongoing experiences, insights, information and data, as useful inputs for identification, assessment, and design of programs involving postal networks in the remittance market in Africa.

The report is therefore addressed to policymakers, financial regulators, donors, international and regional institutions, as well as to African postal stakeholders (ministries, regulators and operators), private-sector companies, and all actors and practitioners involved in the development of the postal sector and financial inclusion in general.