In 2012, it was estimated that 3.3m SADC migrant workers in South Africa sent around R11.2 billion home each year; R7.6 billion of which is estimated to flow through informal channels such as sending cash with a bus or taxi driver.

The sheer volume of cross-border remittance flows and the large proportion sent informally indicates not only an untapped market opportunity for the formal sector to capitalise on but also a strong policy imperative to reduce access barriers to the formal financial system for migrant workers and facilitate formalisation of cross-border remittances.

This 2012 study integrated a variety of available data sources, combined with insights from a series of dedicated focus group discussions held with migrants and bus and taxi drivers in order to estimate total migrant and remittance numbers.