Ep 13: Global remittances with IFAD’s Pedro de Vasconcelos

Pedro de Vasconcelos, Manager of the Financing Facility for Remittances at the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD), discusses the importance of international remittances to the global economy, as well as opportunities for the postal network. We discuss:

• Impact of remittances and migrant investments on the socioeconomic development of nations
• The scale of these remittance contributions globally - hint: it's in the billions!
• Continuing growth in this financial flow
• How IFAD works to financially include migrants, small business and other underserved populations via the Financing Facility for Remittances
• How remittances are put to work in recipient communities
• Financial literacy and financial inclusion, leading to financial resilience
• The challenges in ensuring affordable, accessible remittances for migrants, including factors that exclude them from the formal financial system
• Competition in financial remittances
• Concerns about security of global remittances, including crime, money laundering, and terrorism financing
• Remittances that kept communities going, even during the pandemic
• How the postal network helps and could help provide inclusive finance and remittances
• Impact of armed conflict on global remittances
• How posts can maximise their involvement and the positive impact of being part of a global remittance network
• The aims of the International Day of Family Remittances
• Remittances can serve the post - more than what many currently perceive