Digital remittances have become essential for millions of Asian families who rely on money from relatives working abroad.
Countries like India, China, and the Philippines rank among the world’s top remittance recipients—their economies are deeply impacted by these transfers.
This article showcases UniTeller’s report, Both Sides of the Coin: The Receiver’s Story, which surveyed nearly 2,000 recipients across four Asian markets.
We’ll examine how remittances transform lives in India, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam, while addressing critical challenges around financial literacy and over-reliance that reveal gaps in global financial inclusion.
As mobile technologies reshape cross-border payments, understanding the receiver’s perspective becomes crucial for creating sustainable financial ecosystems.
At UniTeller, we’re committed to more than just moving money: We’re dedicated to improving remittance experiences and expanding financial opportunities for everyone involved in this vital economic network.
The Scale of Remittance Recipients in Asia
Asia dominates the global remittance landscape, with recent 2024 data showing India leading as the world’s largest recipient with an estimated $129 billion in annual inflows, followed by China at $48 billion, and the Philippines at $40 billion.
This massive flow of funds reflects an equally impressive diaspora: India has the world’s largest diaspora, numbering approximately 35.42 million people as of 2024, consisting of 15.85 million non-resident Indians (NRIs) and 19.57 million people of Indian origin (PIOs).
The Philippines demonstrates the strong correlation between overseas populations and remittance volumes, with 2.16 million overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) as of 2023 supporting the country’s position as a top recipient.
Meanwhile, approximately 23.6 million migrants from South-Eastern Asia work globally, with the majority remaining within the continent.
These numbers reveal that digital remittances aren’t an exception in Asia—they’re an economic engine. Remittances have evolved from supplementary income to essential financial infrastructure for millions of households.
How Remittances in Asia Are Used
According to the findings in our report, remittances unequivocally transform lives across Asia, with over three-quarters (77%) of recipients saying the money enables them to meet costs they may not otherwise be able to pay, while 82% report that remittances significantly improve their quality of life. This financial lifeline provides crucial support that extends far beyond basic survival.
The allocation of these funds reveals both opportunities and concerns. Nearly half of remittance money goes toward essential needs: 23% for day-to-day family expenses and 25% for bills and loan payments. Education receives 11% of funds, while medical needs account for 10%. An important finding is that recipients maintain strong control over fund allocation, with 93% having full decision-making power over how remittances are spent. This autonomy represents a crucial opportunity for positive change, as 68% of recipients express strong interest in learning and cultivating good financial habits.
Yet, concerning patterns emerge around financial management.
Nearly half (48%) of recipients regularly run out of remittance money, with many reaching out to senders for additional support when funds are exhausted.
Despite remittances significantly improving lives, recipients allocate relatively high amounts—ranging from 12% in India to 7% in the Philippines—to non-essential luxury items rather than long-term financial planning.
Conversely, only 14% is allocated to savings, highlighting a significant gap in financial literacy in Asia.
This pattern suggests that while remittances provide immediate relief and improved living standards, there’s an urgent need for better financial education to help recipients leverage these funds for sustainable wealth building and reduced dependency.
Challenges and Opportunities in Remittance Management
While remittances provide undeniable benefits across Asia, usage patterns reveal deeper issues around financial literacy and planning. The fact that recipients consistently exhaust funds and allocate limited amounts to savings highlights systemic challenges that also present significant opportunities for change.
With recipients expressing strong interest in developing better financial habits while maintaining control over fund allocation, there’s a clear pathway to empower communities with the knowledge and tools for sustainable financial growth.
Addressing these challenges requires collaboration between remittance providers, governments, and educational institutions to create ecosystems that foster financial literacy in Asia and build pathways to economic independence.
A Lack of Financial Literacy
The limited allocation toward savings among remittance recipients reflects a broader financial literacy gap across Asia.
Just 30% of people in most countries in Southeast Asia are financially literate, one of the lowest financial literacy percentages worldwide. As a reference, the top countries boast over 70% financial literacy.
The consequences extend beyond individual households.
Poor financial management creates an overreliance on senders, with recipients frequently reaching out for additional support when funds are exhausted. This cycle perpetuates dependency, rather than building sustainable financial independence, limiting the transformative potential of digital remittances.
Despite the global explosion of fintechs designed to make finance more accessible, digital financial literacy has not kept pace, particularly affecting Southeast Asia’s 265 million unbanked adults.
Without proper financial literacy, recipients struggle to leverage remittances as stepping stones toward economic empowerment, instead treating them merely as supplementary income for immediate consumption, rather than tools for wealth building and future security.
Empowering Receivers Through Education
Financial education represents the most promising pathway to transform remittances from temporary relief into sustainable wealth-building tools.
By equipping receivers with knowledge about budgeting, saving, and investing, comprehensive programs can break the cycle of dependency and enable families to maximize the long-term impact of digital remittances.
As one expert notes, “there’s a pressing need to equip individuals with the knowledge and tools necessary to make informed financial decisions,” given the current patterns of sporadic investing and limited savings across the region.
Education should emphasize “responsible remittances” by encouraging both senders and receivers to view transfers as opportunities for economic advancement, rather than simple income replacement.
Financial education can help make emerging digital financial services more accessible by reducing confusion, increasing confidence, and empowering individuals to make more informed decisions.
This approach transforms remittance recipients from passive beneficiaries into active participants in their financial futures, creating sustainable pathways out of poverty and building generational wealth.
Government and Institutional Initiatives
Recognizing the critical need for improved financial literacy, governments and international organizations across Asia have launched targeted initiatives to educate remittance recipients.
Key programs include:
- Asian Development Bank: Technical assistance programs generating policy-relevant knowledge on remittances and financial literacy in Asia, supporting technology-assisted education for migrants and families.
- Cambodia: Policy on Labour Migration explicitly includes migrants’ financial literacy understanding as a key objective.
- Vietnam: Mandatory pre-departure training with opportunities to integrate digital financial literacy education.
- Philippines: Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas recalibrated its National Strategy for Financial Inclusion with updated priority activities and targets
- Indonesia: National Strategy on Financial Literacy for 2021-2025, encouraging collaboration between fintech companies, educational institutions, and government agencies.
These initiatives emphasize that financial literacy programs should address not just “how to remit” but also “how to save and invest,” creating comprehensive frameworks for empowering remittance recipients with the knowledge needed to transform their financial futures.
The Digital Transformation of Remittances
The adoption of digital remittances in Asia faces a fundamental challenge: While technology infrastructure exists, cash preferences persist.
We found that, despite governments pushing toward cashless economies, recipients show strong comfort with physical money, with 55% in India and 35% in the Philippines preferring excess cash over bank deposits.
Yet the foundation for transformation is already established. Our report also shows that mobile wallet ownership rates are remarkably high: 97% in India, 92% in both Indonesia and Vietnam, and 78% in the Philippines. This creates unprecedented opportunities to connect unbanked communities to formal financial services.
The growing mobile adoption in cross-border payments demonstrates significant potential.
Digital remittances offer faster processing, enhanced security, and lower costs compared to traditional methods. Despite security concerns, with 77% in Indonesia citing fears about digital interfaces, attitudes remain overwhelmingly positive, with 96% across markets willing to use mobile apps for transfers.
As these technologies mature and user education improves, cross-border payments are positioned to become more convenient, accessible, and cost-effective for millions of families across Asia.
Creating Lasting Change Through Responsible Remittances
Digital remittances have evolved into a vital economic lifeline supporting 320 million people across Asia, transforming supplementary income into essential financial infrastructure.
While these transfers significantly improve lives and provide crucial support for daily needs, the patterns of usage reveal urgent opportunities for positive change.
The path forward lies in responsible remittances—combining convenient digital transfer technologies with comprehensive financial education. By empowering recipients with financial literacy skills and leveraging growing mobile wallet adoption, the industry can help families transition from dependency to sustainable wealth building.
UniTeller remains committed to more than just moving money across borders.
We’re dedicated to helping develop ecosystems that foster financial inclusion, support economic independence, and unlock the full transformative potential of remittances for millions of families throughout Asia.Learn how UniTeller can help your business grow with the help of international remittances.