BOX 2.4 TEXT REFERENCE FOR THIS BOX Cash is not always king when it comes to domestic remittances While using cash is the most common way of sending and receiving domestic remittances in the developing world overall, in some economies people are more likely to use a digital payment channel (figures B2.4.1 and B2.4.2).

# FIGURE B2.4.1

How people send domestic remittances in selected countries Adults using method to send remittances in the past year (%), 2014 <!-- Start of picture text --> In cash<br>Colombia Remittancesenders Through a financial institution<br>Through a mobile pho ne<br>Through a money transfer<br>Indonesia operator<br>Kenya<br>Nigeria<br>Philippines<br>Tanzania<br>0 10 20 30 40 50 60<br><!-- End of picture text --> In Kenya and Tanzania, for example, using a mobile phone is the most common way of sending and receiving remittances. Among the 53 percent of adults in Kenya who reported having sent remittances in the past year, 90 percent did so using a mobile phone—71 percent through a mobile money account and the rest through an OTC transaction. Indeed, using a mobile phone is more common than using cash in most East African countries—and this should come as no surprise, since mobile money was introduced in these countries as a way to make domestic remittances between urban and rural areas more convenient and efficient. When the mobile money service M-PESA started operating in Kenya in 2007, it specifically targeted the domestic remittances market, promoting its services under the slogan “send money home.” _Note:_ Respondents could report using more than one method. _Source:_ Global Findex database.

# FIGURE B2.4.2

How people receive domestic remittances in selected countries Adults using method to receive remittances in the past year (%), 2014 <!-- Start of picture text --> In cash<br>Remittance Through a financial<br>Colombia recipients institution<br>Through a mobile pho ne<br>Through a money transfer<br>Indonesia operator<br>Kenya<br>Nigeria<br>Philippines<br>Tanzania<br>0 10 20 30 40 50 60<br><!-- End of picture text --> In Colombia and the Philippines people are most likely to use a money transfer operator. About three-quarters of adults who reported sending or receiving remittances said that they used this method. Money transfer operators have more counters than banks have branches in both countries, and the domestic remittances business was built on an existing infrastructure of these operators set up to receive international remittances.

In Nigeria and Indonesia, by contrast, using cash remains most common. This was the method cited most frequently among the almost 40 percent of adults in Nigeria and 18 percent in Indonesia who reported having sent domestic remittances in the past 12 months. But more than half of them reported having sent domestic remittances through a financial institution—50 percent through an account and about 3 percent through an OTC transaction. Less than 5 percent of adults in each country reported having sent money through a mobile phone or a money transfer operator.

_Note:_ Respondents could report using more than one method. _Source:_ Global Findex database.

> THE GLOBAL FINDEX DATABASE 4242