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And in poorer countries, smaller countries, fragile countries,conflict-afflicted countries, remittances are a lifeline,as in Somalia or in Haiti.
在更窮，更小，或者正發生沖突的國家，移民匯款就如同救命稻草，比如說在索馬里或海蒂。
No wonder these flows have huge impacts on economies and on poor people.
難怪這些資金流會對經濟和貧困人口帶來巨大的影響。
Remittances, unlike private investment money,
不同于私人資助基金，
they don't flow back at the first sign of trouble in the country.
移民匯款不會在國家一出現問題的時候就回流。
They actually act like an insurance.
它們更像保險金。
When the family is in trouble,
當家人遇到麻煩，
facing hardship, facing hard times,
碰到問題，遇到困難的時候，
remittances increase, they act like an insurance.
它會增加，就像保險金一樣，
Migrants send more money then.
移民們會寄更多的錢回去。
Unlike development aid money,
它們也不像發展資助基金，
that must go through official agencies,through governments, remittances directly reach the poor,reach the family,and often with business advice.
那些必須經過正式的機構，通過政府。而移民匯款直接到達窮人手中，到達家人手中，通常還附帶著商業建議。
So in Nepal, the share of poor people was 42 percent in 1995,the share of poor people in the population.
在尼泊爾，1995年時窮人占人口總數的42%。
By 2005, a decade later, at a time of political crisis, economic crisis,the share of poor people went down to 31 percent.
十年之后，2005年時，當時尼泊爾正遇上政治危機，經濟危機，可是窮人的比例卻降到了31%。
That decline in poverty, most of it,about half of it, is believed to be because of remittances from India,another poor country.
貧困人口的減少，大部分，大約一半，是依靠從印度，另一個窮國，寄來的移民匯款。
In El Salvador, the school dropout rate among children is lower in families that receive remittances.
在薩爾瓦多，兒童輟學率在接受移民匯款的家庭中就比較低。
In Mexico and Sri Lanka,the birth weight of children is higher among families that receive remittances.
在墨西哥和斯里蘭卡兒童的出生體重在接受移民匯款的家庭中較高。
Remittances are dollars wrapped with care.
移民匯款是被愛包裹的錢財。
Migrants send money home for food,for buying necessities, for building houses,for funding education, for funding healthcare for the elderly, for business investments for friends and family.
移民們寄錢回去買食物，買必需品，建房子，用于教育，老年人的醫療，還有家人和朋友的商業投資。
Migrants send even more money home for special occasions like a surgery or a wedding. And migrants also send money, perhaps far too many times,for unexpected funerals that they cannot attend.
遇到特殊情況， 移民們還會寄更多的錢，比如手術或婚禮。也許更多的時候，遇上突如其來的葬禮，他們因為無法參加而寄錢回去。
Much as these flows do all that good,there are barriers to these flows of remittances, these 400 billion dollars of remittances.
雖然這些資金流動有這么多好處，它們的流動卻受到很多阻礙，阻礙這四千億美元的流動。
Foremost among them is the exorbitant cost of sending money home.
最大的障礙是寄錢回家的高額費用。
Money transfer companies structure their fees to milk the poor.
現金傳遞公司收費的方式就是在壓榨窮人。
They will say, "Up to 500 dollars if you want to send, we will charge you 30 dollars fixed."
他們會說，五百美元以下，我們固定收取30元的手續費。
If you are poor and if you have only 200 dollars to send,you have to pay that $30 fee.
如果你很窮，只能寄兩百塊錢，你也得交30元的手續費。
The global average cost of sending money is eight percent.
寄錢的全球平均花費是8%。
That means you send 100 dollars,the family on the other side receives only 92 dollars.
也就是說你寄100塊錢，到了另一邊你的家人只能收到92塊。
To send money to Africa,the cost is even higher:12 percent.
寄錢到非洲的花費就更高：12%。
To send money within Africa,the cost is even higher:over 20 percent.
在非洲內部寄錢，費用還要更高：超過20%，
For example, sending money from Benin to Nigeria.
比如從貝寧寄錢到尼日利亞。
And then there is the case of Venezuela, where,because of exchange controls,you send 100 dollars and you are lucky if the family on the other side receives even 10 dollars.
而在委內瑞拉，因為貨幣兌換受到控制,如果你寄了100塊錢，你的家人在另一邊如果能拿到10塊錢就不錯了。
Of course, nobody sends money to Venezuela through the official channel.
當然了，沒人通過正式渠道往委內瑞拉寄錢。
It all goes in suitcases.
都是裝在行李箱里帶。
Whereever costs are high,money goes underground.
收費高的地方，錢都從地下走了。
And what is worse,many developing countries actually have a blanket ban on sending money out of the country.
更糟的是，很多發展中國家實際上還全面禁止往國外寄錢。
Many rich nations also have a blanket ban on sending money to specific countries.
很多富裕國也全面禁止向某些國家寄錢。
So, is it that there are no options,no better options, cheaper options, to send money?
那是不是沒有辦法，更好，更便宜的辦法寄錢了呢？
There are.
還是有的。
M-Pesa in Kenya enables people to send money and receive money at a fixed cost of only 60 cents per transaction.
通過肯尼亞的M-Pesa寄錢，手續費是固定的每筆60美分。
