IMTC Conferences

INDIAN MONEY TRANSFER MARKET:
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Indian in the US and Canada:
Indian immigration to the US is a fairly recent phenomenon, growing rapidly during the 1990s and 2000s and totalling around 1.6 million, making them the third-largest immigrant group after Mexican and Filipino immigrants..
Indian immigrants (called NRIs or Non-Resident Indians) are heavily concentrated in California and New Jersey, California having the largest number of Indian immigrants (18.7% of the Indian-born population), followed by New Jersey (11.6%), New York, Texas, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Florida and Georgia. The Indian immigrant population more than doubled in 10 states between 2000 and 2008, such as Montana, Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Arizona and Washington. Data researched by MPI suggest a growing Indian immigrant presence in the Mountain West. In 2007, India received one-third or 158,000 of all H-1B visas (including new visas and renewals). The second largest number went to Canadian citizens - 26,000 visas only. 
 View and Download this document on Indians in the US.

Indians in Canada make up the second largest non-European ethnic group, behind the Chinese. In 2001, over 700,000 people of East Indian origin lived in Canada. That year, they made up 2.4% of the total Canadian population. The majority arrived in Canada recently with 45% arriving in the previous decade, while 23% had arrived in the 1990s. The Indian community is highly concentrated in Ontario (58%) and British Columbia (26%). From the Census Data, 34% reported that they were Sikh, while 27% said they were Hindu. Another 17% were Muslim. Eight ethnic Indians — all of them Sikhs — were elected to the House of Commons in October 2008.
 View and Download this document on Indians in Canada.

Money Transfers to India

India has retained its position as the top recipient of migrant remittances among developing countries, followed by China, Mexico and the Philippines. The estimated for 2010 is 55 Billion, 10% over the highest reported year (2008).  (see chart).

This increasing trend started in 2005 and it has since doubled. Dilip Ratha, a World Bank Remittances expert, states: "Some of the factors responsible for a surge in remittance to India in 2008 include: increasing migration to the Gulf and other destinations, a weaker rupee together with widening difference between domestic and international interest rates... An easing of regulations and controls and introduction of new technologies and products by Indian and international banks - direct transfers to bank accounts, free delivery of demand drafts to the recipients, and a growing array of remittance-linked financial products (home loans, mutual funds etc.)—reduced transfer costs and also shifted remittance flows to formal banking channels."
(Prior to 1993, the government of India strictly regulated the exchange rate of the Indian rupee, creating huge incentives to transfer money through informal, unregulated hawala networks.
Remittances to India are sent from all over the world, however, the vast majority of remittances are sent from the U.S. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) estimates that 44% of remittances originate in North America, 24% in the Gulf region, and 13% in Europe. In the 1990s only 24% came from North America. Indian banking officials believe the shift began in the late-1990s, with North America solidifying its dominance in 2002-2003.
 View and Download this document entitled "The Rise in Remittances to India" from MPI.
Also check Dilip Ratha's Blog here: India is the top recipient of remittances

MT leaders in India:
The major Indian banks,  ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank (PNB), Bank of Baroda and Canara Bank have the largest share of remittance payments in the country. ICICI Bank has been a leading remittance player in the Indian remittance market (22% reported a bank official in 2008), enabling remittances from across 40 countries worldwide. The bank has relationships with over 80 correspondent banks and 23 MTOs. The State Bank of India owns State Bank of India (California) with branches in Los Angeles, San Jose, Fresno, San Diego, Bakersfield, Canoga Park and Artesia. The Bank also has offices in New York, Chicago and Washington DC. SBI reported that its market share rose to 36% during the quarter ended June 2010 compared with 21% in the corresponding quarter a year ago (article).
Other Banks such as Axis Bank reported signing deals with Moneygram, Vijaya Bank with Remit 2India and Dena Bank has applied for three new branch licences abroad to target NRIs, specially from the Gujarat Region. The Department of Posts owned by the Government of India, is a Western Union agent.

Internet MT services to India:
The Internet MT Market seems to be dominated by remittances to India with leaders such as Remit2India where money can be sent directly to any account with any bank in India including SBI, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Vijaya Bank, etc. Remit2India is part of the Times Group and the service is brought in association with Citigroup. The major Banks are also offering online MT services, such as ICICI in the US, Canada and other countries with its Money2India Online Transfers. PNB launched 'PNB NRI REMIT-India', an online cross-border remittance solution to send money from the US to India in association with The Bank of New York Mellon, New York. Other internet service providers are Citi Online Remit and XOOM who launched its MT service to India in 2006 with New Jersey-based Indus American Bank.

Domestic and Indian Outbound MT Markets:
It is important to know that the domestic MT Market in India is one of the largest domestic markets in the world and estimated at close to 10 Billion USD due to the high migration between rural and urban areas as well as the movement of seasonal workers. Although the Post is the major domestic MT leader, ATMs machines are being deployed as remittance payment centers. FINO (Financial Inclusion Network and Operations) a Financial Inclusion service provider and NCR Corporation, launched the FINO NCR EasyPoint 70 – ‘Tijori’ micro-deposit-machines (MDMs).
Recent announcements of Mobile MT Services are in the news and the use of mobile devices for remittance payments will grow exponentially in India in the years to come. The Interbank Mobile Payment Service (IMPS), was launched by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), promoted by 10 banks to allow account holders in India to transfer money with their cellphones. Internatioal Payments will surely follow.
Bangladesh-to-India is one of the four largest migration corridors in the world. Remittances from India to Bangladesh have been extremely difficult to estimate but could be an estimated 2 to 3 Billion USD.

Cost of MT to India:
The World Bank Group has been publishing the cost of a MT in a number of corridors. An average US 200 MT from the US to India costs:

The Institutions surveyed in the US were: money2India (ICICI Bank), CitiNRI (Citibank), SBI Express Remit (State Bank of India), Remit2India, Xoom, Wells Fargo, Zoha, Inc., MoneyGram, Western Union, HSBC - Visit Us to India Price Data for detailed information.

The Institutions surveyed in Canada were: State Bank of India (SBI), Remit2India, Senvia, Coinstar, State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, MoneyGram, Ria, iKobo, Western Union, ScotiaBank, Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto Dominion Bank - Visit Canada to India Price Data for detailed information.