Putting Money in Motion: How Much Do Migrants Pay for Domestic Transfers?

This document reports findings of a survey of migrants to understand their need for safe, quick and affordable mechanisms to transfer money to their families.

Domestic migrants in India regularly confront problems when they want to safely transfer money to their families in another part of the country. In order to understand the nature of these problems, the paper interviewed 274 Indian migrants and the families who receive their remittances along four major migrant corridors.

Respondents to this study include construction workers, factory workers, skilled laborers, self-employed shop owners and drivers, and casual and domestic laborers. The results are meant to be indicative of a range of migrant experiences, and intend to provide clear insights into different remittance channels and associated money-transfer costs. Findings indicate that:

• There is considerable willingness to pay among poor households for a safe and convenient way to send and receive money;
• Migrants who were surveyed indicated security as a critical factor, followed by the speed of delivery;
• Cost of transferring money is only the third criteria mentioned;
• Costs vary significantly across the method used to transfer funds.