Chisinau- IOM in partnership with the Association of Moldovan Commercial Banks organized on 28 September 2023 a workshop on supporting the financial inclusion and long-term savings of Moldovan labour migrants.  

The event brought together the Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Moldova, the State Secretary of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, the President of the Association of the Moldovan Banks, the Deputy Director General of the Organization for the Development of Entrepreneurship, Professor Harris from Oxford University, IOM staff, other officials from public authorities, private banks, and the expert community. 

The workshop discussed ways to promote new and valorize the existing partnership opportunities between those present with the view to support the financial inclusion of migrants and remittance recipients and enable their long-term savings goals. 

Migration as an option to increase the household economic wellbeing is a defining characteristic of Moldova’s economy and society. With an estimated number of 1 million Moldovan citizens residing abroad, in 2022 remittances accounted for around 14% of GDP; 1/4 of all households receive remittances and for over a half of these (~118,000 households) remittances represent over a half of their disposable income. 

As stated by Ms. Lars Johann Lonnback, the Chief of Mission of IOM Mission to Moldova, “While Moldovans residing abroad are generally well-integrated, efforts to harness remittances and migrant savings have been limited in scale. Remittances are predominantly directed to consumption, contributing to an overly consumption-focused economy due to limited productive investment. Migrant workers often do not reach their savings objectives due to a variety of factors, including the limited financial services/programmes to support savings and investment of migrants’ remittances and economies as well as by reduced financial education of this target group. IOM is working with its partners in the public and private sectors to change the current paradigm, to the benefit of Moldova’s development”.

Vulnerability, reduced entrepreneurship, and low financial literacy among migrants and their family members left behind hinder empowerment initiatives. This is a major issue for labour migration programmes as it prevents them from contributing to the longer term and sustainable development objectives of migrants, their families, and communities of origin as a whole.

The Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Moldova, Mrs. Tatiana Ivanicichina stated that “financial inclusion of migrant workers remains a major challenge. Many migrants find it difficult to access safe and affordable financial services, which exposes them to risk and limits their ability to save and invest efficiently. This is a significant obstacle for the sustainable and inclusive development of the Republic of Moldova, therefore it requires special attention from all actors involved.”

To respond to these specific challenges, IOM missions in Moldova and Georgia, in partnership with the Centre for International Migration and Integration (CIMI) in Israel, are implementing the IOM IDF-funded project “Save More in Migration: Supporting migrant workers from Georgia and the Republic of Moldova to enhance savings, remittances, and sustainable benefits of labour migration”. 

The event presented initial findings from an IOM research study conducted in Moldova, Georgia, and Israel by an Oxford University expert in behavioral economics and the Moldovan Expert Group Think Tank. The study provides a better understanding of how Moldovan migrant workers and their families use remittances and save money. It also explores the financial market's supply side, including infrastructure and service provision, which will help shape the private and public sector’s intervention strategies. In a second part of the workshop, the commercial banks discussed and presented key challenges Moldovan banks encounter when tailoring and promoting financial services for migrants, with the view to improve bank products and service design and promotion. The event also explored the expectations, needs, challenges, and opportunities for migrants’ engagement. 

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For more information, please contact: 

Riccardo Severi, Communications and Public Information Officer, IOM Moldova 
rseveri@iom.int

Ghenadie Crețu, Program Coordinator / Analyst Migration & Development, IOM Moldova

gcretu@iom.int