Sri Lanka

Abstract

Remittances of migrant workers constitute one of the largest sources of foreign exchange earnings of the country. However, a considerable amount of remittances is also lost to the country when channelled through informal methods. Such methods also increase the vulnerability of workers to fraud and exploitation and the government is desirous of mitigating this situation. This study is aimed at examining such informal systems of money transfer, and recommending ways of transferring such funds through official means. The recommendations include increasing the incentives for using official banking systems for remittance transfer and disseminating information to migrants on the advantages of using official banking system for money transfers.