Colombia - Colombian migrants in the UK are now able to compare different prices and services before sending remittances home to their families in Colombia, thanks to an IOM-developed website:www.remesascolombia.com.

Remittances are critical to Colombia’s economy and in 2013 amounted to some USD 4 billion. Of this, USD 126 million came from Colombian migrants living in the UK.

“We held discussion groups to assess the level of understanding that the Colombian diaspora in the UK had about the remittance market, including financial services, Many people did not have clear information about the different services, costs and providers,” explained Alejandro Guidi, IOM Chief of Mission in Colombia.

The size of the Colombian diaspora in the UK is also unclear, according to an IOM survey. According to a Colombian study, the total in 1998 was 48,627. Since then, estimates have ranged from 50,000 to 200,000, recently reaching a consensus figure of about 150,000, including undocumented migrants. The IOM study can be downloaded from:  http://www.iomuk.org/sites/default/files/doc/mapping/IOM_COLOMBIA.pdf

The website also provides information and links to Colombian diaspora networks, contributions to social security, savings schemes, financial literacy, and access to home loans in Colombia.

The website was developed as a pilot project to generate greater efficiency and transparency in the transfer of remittances, and is part of a European Union (EU)-funded project aimed at strengthening dialogue and cooperation between the EU and Latin America and the Caribbean (EU-LAC).

For more information, please contact

Jorge Andres Gallo

IOM Colombia

Tel: Mobile + (57) 311 5619495

Email: jgallo@iom.int