The Canada-Vietnam Remittance Corridor : Lessons on Shifting from Informal to Formal Transfer Systems

Examining the experience of the Canada-Vietnam remittances corridor over the past several years, this title is a first step towards identifying the main features and pointing out some of the areas and issues that researchers and authorities should examine more closely. In contrast to the large size and advanced level of development of the U.S.-Mexico remittances corridor, examined in the first case study, the Canada-Vietnam corridor is small in absolute terms and still at a nascent stage of shifting from informal to formal systems. For purposes of discussion, The Canada-Vietnam Remittance Corridor breaks down the remittance process into three stages: the First Mile, when decisions are in the hands of the remittance sender; the Intermediary Stage, comprising the systems that facilitate the cross-border transfer of funds, and; the Last Mile, where the funds reach the hands of the remittance recipient. By analyzing the objectives, obstacles, incentives, and changes occurring at each of these stages in the Canada-Vietnam corridor, lessons are drawn for other remittance sending and receiving countries that seek to encourage formalization of the flows.