Envoidargent.fr

Envoidargent.fr: a website to reduce the cost of migrant remittances

France has launched an observatory for the diaspora on the cost of sending money abroad under its policy on migrant remittances. The aim is to facilitate these transfers, lower their costs, support migrants’ initiatives to work for the development of their home countries and build networks among them.

These remittances represent extremely sizeable financial flows for developing countries. They amounted to USD316 billion in 2009, i.e. over two and a half times the amount of global official development assistance (USD119.6 billion in 2009). In France, it is estimated that there are €8 billon of migrant remittances to Sub-Saharan Africa. However, the cost of these remittances continues to be high. France, like its G8 partners during the Aquila summit in July 2009, said it would work to halve costs all over the world over the next five years.

This overhaul of the remittance cost observatory was launched at the instigation of the Ministry of Immigration, Integration, National Identity and Codevelopment (MIIINDS), the Ministry of the Economy, Industry and Employment (MEIE), the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs (MAEE) and has been made by Agence française de développement (AFD). This Internet portal is financed by MIIINDS and aims to improve the conditions in which migrants transfer their funds to their home countries by providing them with a remittance cost comparison tool.

The website (www.envoidargent.fr)  now makes it possible to compare the services and tariffs offered for 21 countries: Algeria, Benin, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, China, Comoros, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Haiti, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Vietnam.

12 remittance establishments are partners of the website and have signed a charter under which they pledge to give users detailed information on remittance costs and methods, as well as information on the specific products they offer to their migrant customers.

Beyond the fee comparison tool, the website offers users a platform for information and exchanges on the activities implemented by both migrant organizations (OSIM) and NGOs, companies, foundations and local authorities.

Today, over twenty OSIM’s (Migrant Solidarity Organizations) and associations have already joined this initiative.

Go to the “Envoi d'argent” website