Limited competition also means that companies may not feel the need to disclose much information about fees. "It's up to sometimes the service providers what they want to show to the customer," says Uloma Ogba, a gender and learning specialist for the Migration and Remittances Program of the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF).

This can include misleading claims about zero-fee transactions, which "often means that the service provider and other agents involved along that transaction process are making money some other way".

"Our North Star should be to ensure that these customer fees are as close as possible to zero," Ms Naghavi says. "But today it's not possible because of the underlying cost of running your business."

Companies may temporarily lower or eliminate transaction fees during disasters, as occurred immediately after the 2023 earthquake in Morocco. But emergency expenses crop up at other times as well.

Female migrants, especially, are sending money home to cover unseen expenses. In Ms Ogba's own monthly remittances from the US to Nigeria, she prioritises her parents' healthcare, her cousin's education, and communal obligations like funeral expenses. On top of this are contributions for home renovations.

Flexible pricing structures would be particularly helpful for women. They typically earn lower incomes than men and often send smaller, more frequent remittances for things like healthcare and education, Ms Ogba says.

Because digital remittances are more affordable than traditional banking (with average fees of 4.8% vs. 6.2% respectively), and because they can require less documentation, much of the innovation is occurring in the digital realm.

For instance, a fintech company catering to Gambian migrants in the UK found that its customers wanted to be able to directly pay utility bills for their families in Gambia.