Migration: the remittances catalyst

Episode 3 discusses migration as the catalyst for the development of the remittance industry. Besides technology providing the tools as we saw in Episode 2, migration provided the customers, the two most important components of remittances and the development of cross-border payments. Wendell Samuel wrote this in 1990 when studies of remittances were just beginning: The issue of remittances arises only because there has been a prior decision to migrate, therefore, the analysis of remittances cannot be separated from the analysis of the factors that motivate migration. The increased migration from developing countries and the need to send money back to their families in their countries of origin have been the driving force behind all the ventures created to serve them.