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Finance and economics: The cost of international transfers A tax on the poor
財經：國際轉賬的代價，窮人挨稅
Regulation is keeping remittances unnecessarily expensive.
相關法規導致匯款手續費虛高，而這種費用可有可無。
After sweating through a day's work under the hot Dubai sun, the last thing an Indian construction worker wants is to donate a slug of his earnings to a bank or money-transfer outfit.
在迪拜的烈日底下，剛剛忙完工作的印度建筑工人急著去銀行或者匯款處上繳微薄的收入。
Yet that is what he must do.
無奈的是他不得不這么做。
On average, 6.9 cents of every dollar remitted to India from another country is eaten up by fees and foreign-exchange margins, according to the World Bank.
據世界銀行統計，其他國家向印度每匯入1美金，手續費和外匯差額平均將會吞掉其中的6.9分錢。
Indians get off relatively lightly.
印度人損失相對較少。
A sub-Saharan African migrant loses an average of 9.7 cents.
撒哈拉沙漠以南的非洲國家移民者則平均損失9.7分錢。
In 2009 the G8 pledged to cut the average cost of international remittances to 5% of the sum sent within five years.
2009年，八國集團曾經承諾在五年內把國際匯款平均手續費降低至本金的5%。
Rates have since come down, but not by much: the average is now 7.7%.
自此，費率下降了，但降得不痛不癢：目前仍然平均高達7.7%。
And the implicit tax on remittances is even higher than these figures suggest, since they are based on transfers of $200, but many payments are smaller.
上述數據以匯款金額達到200美金以上作為基礎，但實際上大部分匯款金額并沒有達到這個要求，使得有關部門對匯款征收的隱形稅遠遠高于圖表中揭示的數據。
In part, Dilip Ratha of the World Bank blames the exclusive agreements signed by banks and other companies involved in handling remittances.
世界銀行學者拉塔在某種程度上指責各大銀行與其他公司共同簽署了一份涉及處理匯款問題的獨家協議。
By reducing competition, these keep prices high.
他們通過減少行業競爭導致手續費一直居高不下。
Some countries, including India, have banned such tie-ups, but they remain common in Africa.
包括印度在內的某些國家已經禁止了這種商業捆綁關系，但這種關系在非洲國家仍然十分普遍。
In 2014 the Overseas Development Institute, a think-tank, estimated that if the average cost of sending money to Africa could be cut to 5%, it would mean $1.8 billion more for the continent every year.
在2014年，“英國海外發展研究所”智囊團預估，向非洲國家匯款時，假如能把平均手續費降低至5%，這就意味著非洲國家每年將會增加18億存款。
Still, Mr Ratha is optimistic.
盡管如此，拉塔先生對此仍然抱有樂觀心態。
Challengers to the banks and big money-transfer firms are popping up, particularly in London.
面對各大銀行和大型匯款公司的壟斷，眾多挑戰者不斷涌現，尤其是在倫敦地區。
Flush with venture capital, they claim they can use technology to cut costs.
他們擁有充足的風險資本，并聲稱自己可以利用現有技術減免手續費。
TransferWise began as a peer-to-peer foreign-exchange service for the rich world; Taavet Hinrikus, one of its founders, says India is now the firm's fastest-growing destination.
TransferWise剛成立時只是一間在富裕國家里提供點對點外匯服務的公司。這間公司其中一位創始人 Taavet Hinrikus稱，印度是目前公司業務發展最快的地區。
It plans to offer transfers to Mexico soon.
該公司很快將會計劃把匯款業務拓展至墨西哥。
Sending money abroad is comparatively simple.
國外匯款相對簡單。
The difficulty lies in getting the cash to spouses and parents in poor countries, who probably do not have bank accounts and may live a long way from a bank branch.
但問題在于身處貧困國家的妻子和父母怎樣在沒有銀行賬戶或家離銀行很遠的情況下取款。
Big money-transfer outfits like MoneyGram and Western Union have hundreds of thousands of agents and thus a colossal advantage in the cash market.
諸如速匯金和西聯匯款等大型匯款公司在世界各地擁有成千上百的代理商，從而在現金市場上占有龐大優勢。
But Ismail Ahmed, of WorldRemit, an online transfer service, reckons the rapid growth of mobile money in places like Kenya, Somaliland and Zimbabwe is eroding this advantage.
然而網絡匯款公司WorldRemit創始人Ismial Ahmed認為，移動貨幣在肯尼亞、索馬里和津巴韋布等地方快速發展，導致這一優勢不斷遭到削弱。
Most of the money sent to Africa through WorldRemit goes to mobile accounts.
大部分經由WorldRemit轉往非洲的款項都是通過移動賬戶轉賬的。
Technology can do less to tackle another problem.
然而現有技術難以解決另一個難題。
Anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism regulations are making banks reluctant to clear transfers to conflict- or crime-racked spots such as Somalia, which depends on remittances.
反洗錢和反恐怖主義的相關法規使得各大銀行越來越不愿意在類似索馬里等依賴匯款卻又極易發生沖突和犯罪的地方開設轉賬服務。
“Derisking”, as this trend is known, is spreading to bigger countries.
這種稱為“去風險化”的趨勢不斷擴散到其他大國。
Odilon Almeida of Western Union says this is bound to reduce competition and thus drive up prices.
西聯匯款執行副主席Odilon Almeida稱，這必然會減少競爭從而抬高手續費。
It is also, probably, pushing remittances into obscure and illegal channels, which is no good for anybody.
這有可能迫使人們通過秘密的非法渠道進行匯款，而對所有人來說，這種做法百害而無一利。
譯文編自強尼強尼桑
