Send Money Home

Send Money Home is a free information service sponsored by the UK Government’s Department for International Development. The aim of Send Money Home is to provide free, impartial, transparent information anyone looking to send money overseas but was originally designed for migrant workers and those with origins in the developing world who wish to send money home to family and friends, a service it still continues to provide. p to date information is available at a dedicated website [http://www.sendmoneyhome.org Send Money Home] .

Background

The money sent home by migrant workers, known as remittances, are now being recognised as the true driving force for relieving poverty in the developing world. Until recently, remittances were little understood phenomenon but as more people move overseas to find work the amount of money being sent home to family and friends is increasing year on year. Migrant remittances to the developing world dwarf both money donated through international aid and foreign direct investment, and have the added advantage of going directly to the recipient without any intermediary or overheads taking a percentage.

History

Send Money Home was conceived and is managed by Profile Business Intelligence (PBI), a company specializing in investment in the developing world. Now in its third year of operation the Sending Money Home programme has demonstrated that there are a wide range of money transfer products and services to choose from both in the UK and elsewhere. The programme provides users with a simple to use format with directly comparable information that shows some money transfer providers offer convenience, others a low price and others speed or security. By providing information on the range of companies offering money transfer services to a particular country, and putting them next to each other for comparison Sending Money Home not only empowers the remitter but, acts as a catalyst, stimulating competition amongst the service providers which leads to lower fees which, in turn, means that more of the remitter’s money reaches the intended recipient in the developing world. The Send Money Home project was officially launched on 31st March 2005, by the then UK Development Minister, Gareth Thomas, and although originally aimed at those in the UK wishing to remit money it has now evolved to include non-UK corridors with PBI having produced and distributed over 900,000 information leaflets to the Bangladeshi, Chinese, Ethiopian, Ghanaian, Indian, Jamaican, Kenyan, Nigerian, Rwandan, South African, Pakistani and Ukrainian communities in the UK, for Serbians, Bosnians and Albanians living in 6 different EU countries, for Mozambiquans living in Germany and Portugal to as well as those wishing to remit money from South Africa to Lesotho, Mozambique, Malawi, Swaziland and Botswana. Sending Money Home now provides information on sending money from the UK to approximately 80 countries around the world and has just launched a similar service for those in the USA and Canada wishing to do the same.

As each new remittance corridor study is launched the information that has been collated is put on the dedicated website, [www.sendmoneyhome.org] , and printed in leaflet form in both English and the relevant language. These leaflets are then distributed amongst the community through community groups, NGO’s, local business & media and advisory services such as the Citizens Advice Bureau.

Reducing costs for remitters of money

There have been positive developments in the market since the project's inception. The most significant cost reductions have been seen when sending money to India from the UK. A number of providers who offer a service to India have started to offer fee free account-to-account money transfer services which has had a dramatic effect on the average fees for sending money to India, reducing the cost by approximately 30% in one year of the programme's launch.

Country specific services available

The website has constantly evolved since its launch and now includes a separate section for each of the countries included in the project to date, an online searchable database that includes a rapidly growing number of the various money transfer services on offer, as well as a section dedicated to customer services. PBI have been updating and re-releasing country-specific information leaflets on a regular basis, a portion of which have been translated into a number of languages including Albanian, Bengali, Gujurati, Hindi, Amharic, Ukrainian, Swahili, Albanian, Simplified Chinese and variety of European languages to ensure maximum coverage and understanding in the relevant communities.

www.sendmoneyhome.org currently provides information online for those in the UK, USA, Canada and several European countries to over 100 countries around the world.

The following leaflets are available for distribution:

* UK - Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia
* UK - Bangladesh
* UK - China
* UK - Ethiopia
* UK - Ghana
* UK - India
* UK - Jamaica
* UK - Kenya
* UK - Nigeria
* UK - Pakistan
* UK - Rwanda
* UK - South Africa
* UK -Tanzania
* UK - Ukraine
* UK - Somalia/Somaliland
* Germany to Mozambique
* Portugal to Mozambique
* Austria - Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia
* Germany - Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia
* Greece - Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia
* Italy - Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia
* Switzerland - Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia
* South Africa – Swaziland
* South Africa – Mozambique
* South Africa – Malawi
* South Africa – Lesotho
* South Africa – Botswana

External links

* [http://www.sendmoneyhome.org Send Money Home] Impartial information service for those wishing to send money.
* [http://me-money-india.blogspot.com Send money home for free] Your family does not need to go to an agent to collect the money - it comes right at their doorstep.
* [http://www.dfid.gov.uk Department For International Development] The website of the UK Government's Department for International Development.
* [http://www.pbintel.com/ Profile Business Intelligence]