Migrants have various options for sending remittances: money transfer companies (Western Union, MoneyGram, etc.) or credit card companies; regular mail service; financial transfers through banks, credit unions or the various transfer options offered by companies (. supermarkets or through mobile phones); informal channels such as couriers, or more sophisticated channels such as the ‘Hawala’ and ‘Hundi’ transfer systems; 16 or hand-carried by migrants themselves. Where the financial sector is missing, weak or mistrusted, people tend to use informal money transfers, while in stronger, liberalized economies, they trust the formal sector . Despite recent efforts to convince migrants to use authorized financial channels, many continue to use informal ones. Banking the ‘unbanked’ – that is, reaching out to those who.
