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Description of Terms and Key Business Models he market for remittance services can see the participation of a wide range of actors, who can compete independently or partner with each other to form several business models. Throughout this report, frequent references will be made to these definitions relating to the relevant market players. These definitions, in quotation, are based on the General Principles for International Remittance Services1:
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■ Remittance Services Provider (RSP): “An entity, operating as a business, that provides a remittance service for a price to end users, either directly or through agents.”
Thus, RSPs are business entities conducting cross-border or domestic money/value transfer services on behalf of senders and recipients. RSP includes banks, (generally competing in the market by offering wire transfer products, or providing remittances through a partnership with a money transfer operator), money transfer operators (as described below) and their agents (as described below). This is the broadest term applied to reference actors of the remittance market players. ■ Money Transfers Operator (MTO): “A non deposit taking payment service provider where the service involves payment per transfer (or possibly payment for a set of series of transfers) by the sender to the payment service provider (for example, by cash or bank transfer)—i.e. as opposed to a situation where the payment service provider debits an account held by the sender at the payment service provider.”
Thus, a money transfer company or remittance service company provides money/value transfer services using agents. Broadly speaking, there are two types of MTO. One is an international (or multinational) MTO where the MTO establishes its own network of agents on both sending and receiving ends. Another is a local MTO where the MTO is set up as a local remittance company. The local MTO can offer remittance services by partnering with either international MTOs or local MTO at the same or corresponding end of the corridor. The local MTO develops a network of agents in the local market. In Haiti, “maison de transfert” is the term equivalent to MTO. In Jamaican, “money transfer agency” or “primary agent” is the terms equivalent to MTO. Jamaican authorities probably use the term “primary agent” in consideration of a local MTO acting as an agent of an international MTO. ■ Agent: “Agent (capturing or disbursing agent). An entity that captures or distributes remittance transfers on behalf of a remittance service provider. ‘Capturing’ means receiving the money and instructions from the sender. ‘Disbursing’ means giving the money to the receiver.” 1. The work on developing General Principles for International Remittance Services was led by the World Bank and the Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems under the Bank for International Settlement. Representatives from international financial institutions involved in remittances and central banks in both remittance sender and receiving countries were involved in developing these principles.
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