ABSTRACT
Technology has emerged as one of the bigger forces shaping remittances and giving. We will offer a theoretical lens to look at how technology is impacting giving and sending, what implications it has on relationships of donor and recipient. With the rise of firms such as MoneyGram, Western Union, and others that are based in the West and act as conduits of transfer of money, we seek to examine how these firms act as bridges of connection. What role do they play, besides being pure agents of money transfer? Do they lobby the government for fairer and better regulations or do they seek to just profit from this basic need of millions, around the world, to send money to their loved ones? We seek to offer a theoretical perspective of this important component of the remittance landscape in this chapter. Based on in-depth analysis and interviews with individuals from the remittances sector, we offer a critical perspective that delves deep into the relationship between technology, policy, and governance. Our goal is not to map the historical development of technology or to delve in-depth into the tensions that arise from moving from a cash-based to a cashless system, but to offer a nuanced and sophisticated analysis of how technology, policy, and people come together to shape this field. We do offer practitioner insights into what can be done to address some of the policy gaps that exist, with crypto remittances and other emerging technologies.
