The amount of money sent home by migrants in the Netherlands totals up to around eight billion euros each year, research by De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) has shown. This amount could well be higher as the amount of money sent home via informal channels is not known.

Money transfer methods

The survey, which gathered information from around 1.600 migrants in the Netherlands, was conducted by the DNB in order to ascertain the motivation behind migrants' choice of money transfer method.

A large percentage of the transfers made were revealed to be have been made via "informal" methods, that is, not through a Dutch bank or a regulated money transaction office in the Netherlands.

Over 60% of migrants questioned said that they had brought cash from the Netherlands to their home country to deliver it in person, while almost 50% said that they took cash from an ATM in their own country before delivering it to the recipient.

Influence of education and amount

The choices made by migrants was discovered to depend heavily on the amount being sent and the amount of education which each person had received.

Smaller amounts were more often than not sent through informal channels, a choice taken mainly because of the charges associated with sending money via a bank.

Also, the survey revealed that the more highly educated the person, the more likely they are to use official channels.

Lower bank charges

The DNB concluded from the survey that lower bank charges for small transfers and increased information about the enhanced safety of official channels should be implemented. The financial regulator is concerned about abuses such as money laundering and terrorism funding within the unofficial money remittance sector.