www.sendmoneypacific.org An Australian and New Zealand
Government led initiative to reduce the cost of remittances to the
Pacific Jonathan Capal Regional Manager Developing Markets
Associates Pty. Ltd. Slide 2 Slide 3 Transparency Transparency is
the first General Principle for Remittances and was a driving force
in the development of www.sendmoneypacific.org Transparency in
remittance services, combined with adequate consumer protection
helps to foster a competitive and safe market for remittances. It
is useful for senders (and receivers) to be able to have full
information about the service in advance Slide 4 Transparency
Transparency is the first General Principle for Remittances and was
a driving force in the development of www.sendmoneypacific.org
Particularly relevant is transparency about the total price and
speed of the service. The total price includes the fee, the foreign
exchange rate and any charges paid by a receiver. At the moment the
market for remittances is not always fully transparent Even if
individual RSPs are fully transparent it may not be easy for end
users to compare the price of different services. Slide 5
Remittance price comparison websites Slide 6 Price comparison
websites - Who benefits? Consumers (Diaspora communities)
Authorities regulators and governments Private sector RSPs Academia
Slide 7 SendMoneyPacific AusAID and NZAID commissioned DMA to
develop SendMoneyPacific in 2008 as part of a drive to reduce the
prices of remittances and to bring transparency to the
marketSendMoneyPacific Slide 8 Easy to use for all Pacific
communities served by the website Formally launched in Australia
and NZ in March, 2009 Provides detailed price comparison
information from Australia and New Zealand to Fiji, Kiribati, Papua
New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu Slide
9 Since data was first collected for SMP in early 2009, costs have
continued to fall from Australia to the eight featured Pacific
countries Australia: By July 2012, overall costs for sending AUD
200 down from AUD 46.40 to AUD 40.05 Representing an actual
percentage decline of 13.64% New Zealand: July 2012 overall costs
for sending NZD200 down from NZD 37.29 to NZD 30.15 Actual
percentage reduction of 19.14% Australia Pacific Remittance Costs
Slide 10 MTOs have led the way in reducing costs, particularly in
the competitive Fiji, Samoa and Tonga corridors. Driven by fee
reductions Remittance Costs Slide 11 Remittance fees to Fiji Slide
12 Slide 13 Remittance fees to Samoa Slide 14 Slide 15 Remittance
fees to Tonga Slide 16 Remittance fees to Tonga Slide 17 The G8 set
a target in 2009 to achieve a reduction of the global average costs
of transferring remittances from the present 10% to 5% in 5 years
Australia to Fiji Transfers of AUD 500 sent via MTOs to Fiji now
stand at 5.87% New Zealand to Fiji NZD 500 transfers via MTOs are
also closing in on the 5% figure, currently standing at 5.22%
Achieving the 5 x 5 objective Slide 18 Many new RSPs and products
helping to accelerate decline in costs Online and mobile telephone
based remittance systems ensuring greater convenience & lower
costs Now possible for senders & receivers with bank accounts
to be able to remit at a cost below 1% Prepaid bank remittance card
products first from NZ, and now Australia helping to lower costs,
and increase competition amongst banks good for the consumer New
remittance products and providers Slide 19 First price comparison
website to feature a dedicated community information section,
Pacific Communities. DMA staff actively engage with Pacific
communities in Australia and New Zealand on a daily basis Community
workshops and event participation are at the forefront of this
community engagement Diaspora engagement Slide 20 Goals: To reach
as many members of the community as possible To reach community
members without internet access To provide up to date information
on the latest remittance price information A full range of
marketing and promotion tools are used to increase and maintain
awareness Diaspora engagement Slide 21 Radio Best platform to
engage with older Pacific communities Interviews, discussions and
SMP radio announcements featured broadcast on local and national
radio stations in Australia and New Zealand MoneyPACIFIC and SMP
joint radio campaign in the Pacific has helped to make both
projects a household name across the region Community broadcasters
update their listeners on the latest remittance costs Diaspora
engagement Slide 22 Print SendMoneyPacific featured in Australian
and New Zealand mainstream newspapers, and many Pacific titles
SendMoneyPacific advertisements featured in annual MoneyPACIFIC
calendars since 2010 - reach over 100,000 Pacific people every year
Diaspora engagement Slide 23 Online Online promotion of SMP
expanded significantly since 2009 Online banner advertisements have
featured on Pacific websites Social Media: Facebook is the biggest
driver of Pacific traffic to SMPFacebook Diaspora engagement Slide
24 Events and Festivals SMP has promoted itself at a variety of
events including Pasifika Festival in 2010, 2011 and 2012 the
largest Pacific festival the world Information leaflets & other
tools generic & country specific published in English, Samoan,
Tongan and Bislama New Zealand PM, John Key and Hon Georgina te Heu
Heu, Minister for Pacific Island Affairs at Pasifika, 2010 Diaspora
engagement Slide 25 In late 2010, SendMoneyPacific received
certification from the World Banks standards for remittances
databases To date, this is one of only five databases to have
received such an endorsement As part of the certification process,
the website was upgraded and the inclusion of additional cost
information was added for the benefit of the consumer Visitors to
the website can now find out an operators exchange rate and margin,
and also be made aware of possible additional receiver fees Website
developments Slide 26 As part of the re-launch, a micro-site,
directly accessible from SMP, was developed for MoneyPACIFIC The
MoneyPACIFIC web pages provide an overview on the evolution of the
financial awareness project The tips featured in the MoneyPACIFIC
financial education calendar are all featured on the website
MoneyPACIFICs web pages has added value to the MoneyPACIFIC
project, providing an online facility designed to allow for future
expansion and greater interaction from across the Pacific Website
developments Slide 27 More information online available in Pacific
languages Smart phone/tablet app Cost comparison delivered by SMS
AusAID, NZAID and large FI collaboration to promote a new free or
at least cost-only service to provide remittances to the South
Pacific Pacific events and historical dates calendar Improvements
& suggestions Slide 28 Daily updates of costs More send and
receive countries More price points, e.g. $100 or less Comparison
of airfares to the Pacific region SMP to broaden its focus as a
wider financial inclusion hub Improvements & suggestions Slide
29 Traffic has risen to a level that can help to make SMP at least
partially commercially viable Industry and non-financial private
sector present revenue opportunities to offset public funding of
SMP Expansion of SMP to include further key send corridors could
ensure that almost all Pacific remittances are covered Lower costs
in existing and new Pacific corridors could alleviate financial
stress in the Pacific region Looking to the future Slide 30
Redevelopment of SMP website can ensure maximum reach across all
platforms e.g. smart phones and tablets Closer cooperation between
donor agencies, government and private sector can ensure that
collective measures to address remittance costs can help propel
costs lower. Publishing and dissemination of information remains
the most instantly visible tool SendMoneyPacific platform now the
most widespread Pacific financial education tool closer integration
with other financial inclusion and remittance initiatives will
benefit all and will lower resource costs Looking to the future
Slide 31 Additional SMP price comparison pages for receive country
financial services centrally hosted at SMP with content displayed
on e.g. Central Bank websites Provides a necessary service for
receive country populations Research can be locally conducted
providing research and education prospects for people in remittance
receiving countries Looking to the future Slide 32 Contact Details
Jonathan Capal Regional Manager Developing Markets Associates Pty.
Ltd. [email protected] www.developingmarkets.com
www.sendmoneypacific.org Suite 213, Level 2 61 Marlborough Street
Surry Hills, NSW 2010 Australia t: +61(0) 02 9699 0079 m: +61(0)
414 352 132
