Refugees and Their Money: The Business Case for Providing Financial Services to Refugees

The report finds that refugees in Rwanda, particularly those with salaried jobs or self-employment, represent a viable and profitable market for financial service providers (FSPs). It highlights a strong demand for savings, transaction, and loan products, driven by the shift from food aid to cash-based transfers. However, the lack of government-issued ID cards creates a significant regulatory barrier for 'know your customer' (KYC) compliance. The report provides a dynamic business case model suggesting that the profitability of serving refugees is comparable to that of typical low-income Rwandan account holders, especially when cross-selling insurance and loan products.

• Refugees in Rwanda possess sufficient income to be attractive customers for financial service providers, with approximately 90% of refugee households reporting median incomes above RWF 25,000, which is the median for a Rwandan bank account holder.
• The integration of refugees into the formal financial sector could expand the Rwandan market for financial services by approximately 44,000 individuals, increasing the number of bank account holders by 6% and those with loans from banks, MFIs, or SACCOs by 19%.
• There is an urgent and untapped demand for formal financial products among refugees, exceeding that of Rwandan nationals due to the high risk of theft from homes and the limited availability of informal borrowing and lending networks.
• BFA's dynamic business case model indicates that the profitability of providing financial services to refugees is roughly equivalent to that of serving a typical low-income Rwandan account holder, particularly for those with salaried jobs or remittances.
• Cross-selling micro-insurance and loan products can significantly enhance the profitability of refugee accounts; for example, adding a micro-insurance product with a monthly premium of RWF 500 can improve the Net Present Value (NPV) by 1,126.
• The primary obstacle to refugees accessing financial services is the 'know your customer' (KYC) requirement, as only about 50% of refugees possess a government-issued ID card, although all have proof of registration from the Ministry of Disaster Management and Refugee Affairs (MIDIMAR).
• Cash-based transfers from the World Food Programme (WFP) have a positive impact on refugee economies, with median monthly income (excluding transfers and remittances) being 2.5 times higher in camps receiving cash transfers than in those that do not.
• Refugees face severe limitations in accessing formal loan products because financial service providers perceive them as high risk and they lack acceptable collateral.

APA

FSD Africa (2018). Refugees and Their Money: The Business Case for Providing Financial Services to Refugees. https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Refugees-and-Their-Money-Assessing-the-Business-Case-for-Providing-Financial-Services-to-Refugees.pdf

Chicago

FSD Africa. Refugees and Their Money: The Business Case for Providing Financial Services to Refugees. 2018. https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Refugees-and-Their-Money-Assessing-the-Business-Case-for-Providing-Financial-Services-to-Refugees.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=FSD Africa |title=Refugees and Their Money: The Business Case for Providing Financial Services to Refugees |date=March 2018 |url=https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Refugees-and-Their-Money-Assessing-the-Business-Case-for-Providing-Financial-Services-to-Refugees.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{fsdafrica2018refugees, author = {{FSD Africa}}, title = {{Refugees and Their Money: The Business Case for Providing Financial Services to Refugees}}, institution = {FSD Africa}, year = {2018}, month = mar, url = {https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Refugees-and-Their-Money-Assessing-the-Business-Case-for-Providing-Financial-Services-to-Refugees.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }