MFIC recognizes that the lowest income class in developing countries are in the utmost need of financial services. One of the most effective ways to make services available to them is to leverage migrant remittances for the development of the financial sector.
Today, migrant remittances sent to developing countries are estimated to be $450 billion per year, including those sent thorough informal channels. In some countries, remittances account for 20 to 30% of their GDP. The money directly reaches households and provides a lifeline to the poor worldwide. However, majority of senders and recipients lack a bank account and the money collected in cash won’t be linked to asset-building activities in the destination countries. The issue of financial inclusion has started to attract collective efforts by G8 member governments, the United Nations, the World Bank and other aid organizations in recent years.
MFIC is one of the first companies that offer sustainable and replicable solutions to this global challenge. Our unique business model allows MFIC to generate significant contribution in:
- Lowering prices of money transfer services
- Advancing financial integration of the unbanked at both sides of borders
- Facilitating the productive use of remittances by linking them to other financial products such as saving accounts, micro-loans, mortgage loans or business loans, thereby dramatically improve the capacity of remittance senders and recipients
- Building sustainability of microfinance institutions in immigrants’ countries of origin
- Improving the quality of remittance data, which is critical for national economy growth
For its application of innovative technology in building financial infrastructure for the poor worldwide, MFIC was awarded the first Legatum Fortune Technology Prize. The company is supported by the governments of the Netherlands, Japan and the United States.
