Faster and cheaper remittance to the Pacific

  • Georgina te Heuheu
Pacific Island Affairs

Pacific Island Affairs Minister Georgina te Heuheu will launch a new website on Saturday at the Otara markets aimed at reducing the cost of sending money from New Zealand to the Pacific.  

‘Pacific people remitting money from New Zealand and Australia play an important part in supporting sustainable economic development in many Pacific Island countries,’ Mrs te Heuheu said.

‘Remittances to the Pacific are substantial - amounting to over USD$425 million a year. This is a critical flow of capital into the Pacific, which also provides an important safety net for some families.

‘Currently it is costing too much in transaction fees to send money to the Pacific, in some cases up to $25 for every $100 remitted. It is also taking too long.’

www.sendmoneypacific.org is a joint NZAID and AusAID funded project, developed and managed by Developing Markets Associates Ltd, to improve the transparency of remittance costs, speed the process and stimulate competition amongst service providers.

‘Users of the website will be able to easily compare the costs, transfer methods, speed and exchange rates of different remittance service providers,’ Mrs te Heuheu said.

‘Similar price information websites operating elsewhere have had a significant impact on transaction fees and speed.’

The website provides details for transferring money from New Zealand or Australia to Fiji, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. 

The website will be supported by regular publication of promotional material in the relevant languages aimed at those with limited or no access to the internet.

For more information visit www.sendmoneypacific.org