Remittance Corridor: the role of financial education in

empowering migrant workers and their families

High-Level International Conference

Global and European Trends in Financial Education

May 22-23, 2014

Istanbul

Camille M. Busette

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Our Vision

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A consumer finance marketplace…

where customers can see prices and risks up front and where they can easily make product comparisons;

in which no one can build a business model around unfair, deceptive, or abusive practices;

that works for American consumers, responsible providers, and the economy as a whole.

Office of Financial Education Objectives

• Build a comprehensive approach to financial education in the U.S.: Develop knowledge about what works in financial education and provide opportunities for financial educators to learn about effective strategies

• Promote innovation: Test new ideas and share successful innovations with the field

• Educate consumers: Provide understandable information that helps customers make informed financial decisions

• Educate youth: Build on existing efforts to identify and promote best practices in K-12 financial education

• Increase outreach and federal coordination: Build relationships with all stakeholders. In addition, Director of the CFPB serves as the vice chair of the Financial Literacy and Education Commission

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Greater mobility is a global reality…

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2013 230 million people were

migrants

2012 41 million

immigrants in the U.S.

2011 15 million EU

citizens migrants in EU

31 million non-EU citizens migrating to

EU

…Profiles of immigrants vary

widely, but all need a range

of financial products and

services

Greater mobility brings challenges and opportunities in financial services

Challenges

Immigration status

Identification and credit scoring

Opportunities:

Policy changes

Public/Private Partnerships

Coordination with NGOs

Cross-national coordination

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Remittance rule:

Consumer education campaign

The audience: Remittance Senders

About 5 percent of U.S. households send remittances (Census

Bureau)

Majority of remittances sent from the United States go to Mexico,

Caribbean, China, India and the Philippines.

Remittance senders:

Immigrants and guest workers

Women – 44%; Men – 56%

In their 30s, in the U.S. for average of 7 years

Generally low-income, but send about 15% of income home

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The audience: Language needs

Region Speak Speak English less than very well*

Mexico/Latin America Spanish 16,433,118

China Chinese 1,502,917

Philippines Tagalog 494,741

Caribbean Spanish French Creole

(included above) 303,794

India Hindi 128,749

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* Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2007-2011 American

Community Survey

Campaign materials made available in English, Spanish,

Chinese, Tagalog and French-Creole.

Poster

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Brochure

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Media

Earned media

Spanish language press

Spanish language TV

Spanish language radio

Owned media – consumerfinance.gov and social media assets

Organizational marketing – working with other “trusted”

organizations to help us spread the word.

Organization networks can penetrate to the grassroots level

Paid media:

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Twitter Chat

1 hour using Twitter accounts of Mexican and US government

agencies during the Mexican financial education week

Chat visible to more than 200,000 people

Partnered with Mexican Consumer Financial Protection Agency

(CONDUCEF) and Mexican Consumer Protection (PROFECO)and

the Institute for Mexicans Abroad (IME)

People waiting in line submitted questions either via personal

Twitter account or via consulate desk officer

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Thank you

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