Pardee-CFLP-Remittances-TF-Report

1. Remittances, Financial Inclusion, and Multi-scaleInstitutional Partnerships• Most conflict-induced remittances are transferred through informal channelsthat are embedded in existing social institutions and networks of reciprocity.Although the formal banking infrastructure is often lacking in conflict-affectedsituations, modern informal remittance transfers can involve complex connectionsto diverse formal sector institutions. These reciprocal connections andpotential for adaptive linkages should be further researched and drawn uponin leveraging remittances for post-conflict development. The motivations andneeds of people to participate in financial institutions of different degrees offormality should receive more attention.• Conflict-induced remittance systems can be highly entrepreneurial in character,encouraging local adaptations that foster linkages between financialinstitutions of different levels and degrees of formality. In the contexts of postconflictdevastation, opportunities for collaboration among existing remittanceinstitutions and diverse local infrastructures should be further explored.• Partnerships should be explored with a wide range of institutions of financialinclusion, including post offices, mobile banking platforms, microfinanceinstitutions, credit unions and cooperative marketing associations, as well aslocal rotating savings associations, women’s economic groups, farmers’ associationsand natural resource user groups, and umbrella organizations for localproducers and entrepreneurs. In African contexts, local semi-formal savingsand credit cooperative organizations (SACCOs) could be potential partners forremittance systems. A broader view of remittance institutions that bridges theformal and informal divide and enables productive partnerships should beencouraged.• Extending remittance services to allow more households in remote and rurallocations greater access to these funds is a development imperative. Providingimproved access and diversifying the institutional set-up for money transferservices could lower transfer costs and disseminate the benefits of remittancesmore widely. Use of microfinance networks and mobile technologymay help the rural poor benefit from money transfer services in novel andproductive ways.• As the institutional challenge to local post-conflict development often lies infacilitating the building of social capital to enhance the bridging capacities of134 A Pardee Center Task Force Report | October 2013