Description

This paper analyzes recent trends in the cost of money transfers in Latin America, paying particular attention to the recent decline in these costs. For example, between 2000 and 2005 the average cost of sending US $200 to 8 Latin American countries declined from 10 to 5.6 percent. Some of the factors causing this decline in transfer costs include the rapid increase in the number of money transfer companies operating in Latin America, and the increase in both the average amount of remittances sent and total remittance volume. Regression analysis suggests that when the average size and total volume of remittances increase, transfer costs tend to fall.