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The Canada-Caribbean Remittance Corridor
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drops, probably suggesting that higher-income Haitian households in Canada are linked to relatively affluent members of the Haitian population (Simmons, Plaza, and others 2005). ■ New/previous migrant generation dynamics: Age is also a factor in determining remittance flows. An opinion shared both by MTO industry players and members of the Haitian diaspora is that younger generations tend to be less involved in remittance transfers as senders. Similarly, the 2005 household survey shows that the mean amount of remittances most recently sent increased with the age of the senders, peaking at Can$309 for those in the over-50 category (Simmons, Plaza, and others 2005).
Remittance Channels The Haitian community uses three principal means of transferring remittances to Haiti: Money Transfer Operators (or as they are called in Haiti, maisons de transfert), “pocket transfers” (the transportation of cash across borders by hand), and in-kind transfers (sending remittances in the form of goods, especially food, but this is becoming less common). According to the 2005 household survey, almost 70 percent of respondents claimed to have used maisons de transfert for their latest transfer, while 17 percent used pocket transfers (Simmons, Plaza, and others 2005). In transferring remittances to Haiti, it appears that commercial banks have not played as significant of a role in Canada relative to the aforementioned transfer mechanisms. Nevertheless, there appears to be growing interest on the part of commercial banks to provide remittance services to Haiti.35
Maisons de Transfert Maisons de transfert are the preferred channel for remittances because they offer speed, security and accessibility at both ends of the corridor. Senders are often prepared to pay the extra fees charged for security and accessibility. The financial needs of most remittance recipients in Haiti often require payments to be made rapidly, and maisons de transfert can generally ensure that payments are made in a matter of hours or even less. It is not uncommon to meet Haitian remittance senders in Canada actually performing the transfer while connected to the recipient by phone, waiting in real time for its successful completion. In a country where rural areas do not have a financial infrastructure, and where transportation to urban areas can be both cumbersome and expensive, accessibility is particularly important. ATM outlets in the major city of Port-au-Prince, for example, are few, and frequently out of service. To repair them, specialized technicians usually are brought from the Dominican Republic at great cost.36 Security is also an important consideration, given Haiti’s high crime rate. Remittance recipients leaving banks or maisons de transfert are often easy targets for robbers, and many customers, therefore, prefer to use those maisons de transfert that provide home delivery for cash payments. 35. According to the Worldwide Remittance Price Database <http://remittanceprices.worldbank.org/>, there are five banks sending remittances from Canada to Haiti. 36. Interview with Scotiabank executives in Haiti, September 2007.