Legal, Rapid and Reasonably Priced?

The report examines the remittance landscape for immigrants in Norway, comparing 42 services across 21 mechanisms, including banks, money transfer operators (MTOs), and informal hawala systems. It highlights a restrictive regulatory environment that often drives users toward illegal services, particularly for transfers to Somalia and Iraq. The analysis reveals that real costs are often hidden through exchange rate spreads, with typical costs for NOK 1,000 transfers ranging from 5% to 25%. While bank transfers can be cheaper for larger amounts, they are often slower and less predictable than MTOs. The report argues that improving financial literacy and regularizing informal services could enhance the development impact of remittances and improve immigrant integration.

• Typical costs for transferring NOK 1,000 range from 5% to 25% of the amount.
• Norway's restrictive regulatory regime, aimed at fighting tax evasion and money laundering, limits the variety of legal transfer services and leaves no legal mechanisms for sending money to Somalia.
• Informal value transfer systems, known as hawala, are often the only option for transfers to countries without regular banking systems, such as Somalia and parts of Iraq.
• The real cost of remittance services is often higher than the advertised fee because of hidden exchange-rate surcharges.
• Bank transfers are generally the most expensive option for small amounts but can be more cost-effective for larger sums like NOK 5,000 compared to cash-to-cash transfers.
• Bank transfers to certain countries can be highly unpredictable in speed; spot checks showed transfers to Pakistan taking between 11 and 23 days.
• Money Transfer Operators (MTOs) like Western Union are more successful in targeting immigrant markets than Norwegian banks through the use of multilingual information and professional customer service.
• Remittances can have a greater positive development impact when they enter the formal financial system via bank accounts, which facilitates saving and access to credit for local entrepreneurs.
• A significant portion of non-Western immigrants in Oslo face challenges with computer literacy, which hinders their ability to use cheaper online banking services.
• The report identifies five key performance parameters for evaluating remittance services: accessibility and ease, legality, costs, speed, and familiarity and trust.

APA

Carling, J., Erdal, M. B., Horst, C., & Wallacher, H. (2007). Legal, Rapid and Reasonably Priced? Peace Research Institute Oslo. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/67f2f512-d804-4ba4-9785-d040664aab55/Carling et al 2007 Legal Rapid and Reasonably Priced PRIO Report 3-07.pdf?inline=true

Chicago

Carling, Jørgen, Marta Bivand Erdal, Cindy Horst, and Hilde Wallacher. Legal, Rapid and Reasonably Priced? Peace Research Institute Oslo, 2007. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/67f2f512-d804-4ba4-9785-d040664aab55/Carling et al 2007 Legal Rapid and Reasonably Priced PRIO Report 3-07.pdf?inline=true.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Carling |first1=Jørgen |last2=Erdal |first2=Marta Bivand |last3=Horst |first3=Cindy |last4=Wallacher |first4=Hilde |title=Legal, Rapid and Reasonably Priced? |publisher=Peace Research Institute Oslo |date=2007 |url=https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/67f2f512-d804-4ba4-9785-d040664aab55/Carling et al 2007 Legal Rapid and Reasonably Priced PRIO Report 3-07.pdf?inline=true |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{carling2007legal, author = {Carling, Jørgen and Erdal, Marta Bivand and Horst, Cindy and Wallacher, Hilde}, title = {{Legal, Rapid and Reasonably Priced?}}, institution = {Peace Research Institute Oslo}, year = {2007}, url = {https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/67f2f512-d804-4ba4-9785-d040664aab55/Carling et al 2007 Legal Rapid and Reasonably Priced PRIO Report 3-07.pdf?inline=true}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }