According to the World Bank, Moldova is the first in Europe in terms of the size of remittances in proportion to GDP, constituting its one third. The recent IOM "2008 Migration and Remittances Survey" shows that over 35% of the population lives in households that receive remittances. The majority of these flows are used to fund basic household consumption, consumer durables, purchase of housing and debt repayment. In this context IOM activities aim at increasing efficiency of remittances in Moldova.

Data & Research

IOM supports data collection to ensure that policy-makers have at their disposal robust estimates of key macroeconomic variables as well as data on migration modalities, income distribution and poverty. The overall and long-term objective of the surveys is to assist the Government to develop a comprehensive, clear, and objective analysis of migration and remittances and its effect on poverty in Moldova.
In December 2008 IOM published the results of the first survey on assessing the financial literacy and use of bank and financial services and products of Moldovan citizens. The study titled "How Moldovan Households Manage Their Finances - Knowledge and Practices" focuses on the population’s perception of the business and entrepreneurial environments in Moldova, the current use of banking systems, the consumption of bank services and national mass media abroad.
The 2008 Migration and Remittances Survey was finalized in March 2009, based on the data collected by CBS-AXA, analyzed and compiled by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.
According to the data, collected from 3,914 households living in both rural and urban areas, the average total amount of annual remittance per migrant increased from US$ 1,296 in 2006 to US$ 1,848 in 2008. Sixty percent of migrants reported sending their money home through formal banking channels with less than 12% relying on informal services or personal transfers as the share of households with members abroad having bank accounts had grown to 12%. 
The IOM study also demonstrates that over 35% of the population resides in households that receive remittances, with the majority of these flows being used to fund basic household consumption, consumer durables, purchase of housing, and debt repayment. It was found that a meager amount of these flows, less than 7 percent, were used to finance business investments, and as little as 5 percent were deposited into savings accounts.

Public Information & Education

In December 2008, IOM Moldova launched a mass information campaign in Moldova and the main destination countries for Moldovan migrants, Italy and Russia, targeting Moldovan emigrants, their families and other recipients of remittances in a bid to increase the efficiency of remittance flows.
The main objective of the project is to provide migrant workers and their families with information on socio-economic reintegration opportunities and efficient use of remittances flows. For this project, leaflets, posters, brochures, audio and video spots were developed to encourage and stimulate Moldovans to use formal money transfer channels, to open bank accounts, to deposit their money, as well as to use other financial products and services. The respective information and promotion materials are broadcasted on public TV and radio and distributed in key locations for migrants, such as consulates, employment agencies, bus stations, airports, etc.

Moreover, in partnership with ILO, IOM has developed pre-departure information curricula for migrant workers, as well as information material on existing channels to transfer remittances to Moldova, including information on corresponding banks, cost of transfers, linked financial services, etc.

Capacity Building

The “Human Resource Development of the Ministry of Economy and Trade” activity provides assistance to strengthen the institutional and human resource capacities of the Ministry of Economy and Trade, namely to improve the staff abilities to design, implement, monitor and evaluate the policy related to Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) development and national priorities in the field of migration and development. Technical and policy support have been provided to create a self-sustaining long-term institutional capacity with advanced analytical, operational and language skills to ensure effective work with regional stakeholders (National Organization for SMEs). Targeted Training on methods of enhancing SMEs competitiveness; project development, management and implementation; promoting enterprise networking; computer literacy and English courses training have been provided to the newly created NOSMEs staff and to SMEs’ heads and specialists of the district economic units. Also, computing equipment with communication technology has been provided for regional local authorities’ offices to improve and accelerate information flows between the Ministry of Education and Trade and their economic directorates.

Policy Debate & Guidance

IOM has contributed to the development of the new “National Remittances Programme for the Republic of Moldova 2008-2001”. The draft is based on a comprehensive assessment of the national framework relevant to business growth with a special focus on remittances and labour migration. In addition a National Action Plan on Remittances is being developed by the Ministry of Economy and Trade.

IOM has also been working on the institutionalization of the National Referral System on SMEs. The importance of a referral system between the active agents in SME sector (including Micro Finance Institutions, banks, and government agencies) has been confirmed by all actors. Once the consultations will be finalized, the Ministry of Economy and Trade, together with IOM and ILO, will implement a comprehensive, modular and easy to amend web-based information portal, comprising the rayons input from local public authorities (district Economic Units) and business service providers.