36. We commit to promote faster, safer and cheaper remittances by further developing existing conducive policy and regulatory environments that enable competition, regulation and innovation on the remittance market and by providing gender-responsive programmes and instruments that enhance the financial inclusion of migrants and their families. We further commit to optimize the transformative impact of remittances on the well-being of migrant workers and their families, as well as on the sustainable development of countries, while respecting that remittances constitute an important source of private capital and cannot be equated to other international financial flows, such as foreign direct investment, official development assistance or other public sources of financing for development.

To realize this commitment, we will draw from the following actions: 

(a) Develop a road map to reduce the transaction costs of migrant remittances to less than 3 per cent and eliminate remittance corridors with costs higher than 5 per cent by 2030 in line with target 10.c of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development;

(b) Promote and support the United Nations International Day of Family Remittances and the International Fund for Agricultural Development Global Forum on Remittances, Investment and Development as an important platform to build and strengthen partnerships for innovative solutions on cheaper, faster and safer transfer of remittances with all relevant stakeholders;

(c) Harmonize remittance market regulations and increase the interoperability of remittance infrastructure along corridors by ensuring that measures to combat illicit financial flows and money-laundering do not impede migrant remittances through undue, excessive or discriminatory policies;

(d) Establish conducive policy and regulatory frameworks that promote a competitive and innovative remittance market, remove unwarranted obstacles to non-bank remittance service providers in accessing payment system infrastructure, apply tax exemptions or incentives to remittance transfers, promote market access to diverse service providers, incentivize the private sector to expand remittance services, and enhance the security and predictability of low-value transactions by bearing in mind de-risking concerns, and developing a methodology to distinguish remittances from illicit flows, in consultation with remittance service providers and financial regulators;

(e) Develop innovative technological solutions for remittance transfer, such as mobile payments, digital tools or e-banking, to reduce costs, improve speed, enhance security, increase transfer through regular channels and open up gender-responsive distribution channels to underserved populations, including persons in rural areas, persons with low levels of literacy and persons with disabilities;

(f) Provide accessible information on remittance transfer costs by provider and channel, such as comparison websites, in order to increase the transparency and competition on the remittance transfer market, and promote financial literacy and inclusion of migrants and their families through education and training;

(g) Develop programmes and instruments to promote investments from remittance senders in local development and entrepreneurship in countries of origin, such as through matching-grant mechanisms, municipal bonds and partnerships with hometown associations, in order to enhance the transformative potential of remittances beyond the individual households of migrant workers at all skills levels;

(h) Enable migrant women to access financial literacy training and formal remittance transfer systems, as well as to open a bank account and own and manage financial assets, investments and businesses as means to address gender inequalities and foster their active participation in the economy;

(i) Provide access to and develop banking solutions and financial instruments for migrants, including low-income and female-headed households, such as bank accounts that permit direct deposits by employers, savings accounts, loans and credits in cooperation with the banking sector.