An IOM-organized seminar on the need to increase access to
financial services for migrants in the host countries and their
families receiving remittances, brought together the public and
private sectors, civil society and the international community to
share experiences and develop ideas to increase financial
independence and the development potential of remittances.

The IOM project Formalizing Remittances, Financial
Democratization, and Innovative Investment Opportunities in Costa
Rica and Nicaragua aims to reduce poverty levels amongst Nicaraguan
migrants in Costa Rica and their families back home by increasing
their access to banks, which will in turn reduce the cost of
sending remittances.

The project will also encourage the creation of micro
enterprises by providing training and small grants.

Migration from Nicaragua to Costa Rica represents the largest
movement of people in Central America.  The estimated 320,000
regular Nicaraguan migrants in Costa Rica sent UA$ 42.4 million in
2008.

A survey conducted in Nicaragua reported that the vast majority
of Nicaraguan migrants in Costa Rica do not have access to
financial institutions, mainly because they lack proper
identification documents. 

Only 17 per cent send remittances through banks, while the
majority uses money transfer companies that charge up to 10 per
cent of the amount sent.  Fifty-eight per cent said they would
be ready to open a bank account if they had the necessary
documents.

Berta Fernandez, IOM Chief of Mission in Nicaragua, emphasized
the need for flexible policies. "In times of financial crisis,
coherent and flexible policies are all the more pertinent because
there is a need to ensure an efficient and cost-effective flow of
remittances and to engage the private and public sectors."

The Multilateral Investment Bank/Inter-American Development Bank
(IADB) reported an increase in the amount of remittances to
Nicaragua, which represented 1.5 per cent of GDP in 1994 and
climbed to 13 per cent in 2007.  The bank's remittance reports
also show that although remittances to Brazil and Mexico decreased
slightly in 2008, remittances to Nicaragua grew 10 per cent the
same year.

The seminar was funded by the IADB/MIF, the National Bank of
Costa Rica and the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation and
Development.

For more information please contact:

Berta Fernandez

IOM Nicaragua

Tel: + 505 278 95 69

E-mail: "mailto:bfernandez@iom.int">bfernandez@iom.int