Eyetracking to improve remittance comparisons
About
Applicant name: Angelino Viceisza
Innovation Name: Eyetracking to improve remittance comparisons
Innovation Type: Research Supported by NFS Award # 164992
Website: http://nationalsciencefoundation.tumblr.com/post/169629653538/improving-financial-decision-making-with-global
Mission: Eyetracking study with 400 Latino migrants to assess if they pay attention to info on remitright.com
Innovation Description: ” Comparison websites have the potential to disrupt the remittance industry by reducing fees through increased transparency and competition.
” Yet, use of such sites has been low, especially among migrant populations who could benefit from them; e.g. those who are less educated and send around $200 per month.
” This study seeks to better understand whether migrants pay attention to the information contained on such sites.
” A sample of 400 migrants from El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala is exposed to eyetracking experiments and surveys in collaboration with www.remitright.com in order to assess if they (1) read such information; (2) find it relevant for their decisions; and/or (3) require other types of information.
” In order for remittance-comparison sites to impact the industry, it is necessary for end-users (i.e. consumers) to adopt them. So, the findings from our study inform how to better design such sites and in turn, impact consumer behavior and fees in the industry.
Status of Innovation: Pilot
Innovation Active Since: 10/13/2017
Applicant Type: Individual
Headquarter City: Atlanta GA
Headquarter Country: USA
Year Founded: 2016
Main Category
Main Category Choice: End-user Experience
Why do you think you should win this category?:
● Our innovation tries to understand what constraints impede the end-user experience with comparison sites. Specifically, is it awareness; access to technology; trust; or that they miss information (e.g. pick-up locations and select money transfer companies/MTCs)?
● Our findings will apply to a wide range of migrants in the $200 and below market.
● A few anecdotal findings have emerged:
○ Some migrants are loyal to their MTC and will never use comparison sites.
○ Some migrants are willing to switch MTCs; however, they need information not contained on some sites; e.g. pick-up locations and brick-and-mortar fees.
● We are the only study to carefully document migrant experiences with a “live” comparison website.
● Angelino Viceisza (the principal investigator/PI) has much research experience. His papers have appeared in journals such as Journal of Development Economics and Small Business Economics. He and his co-PIs (Nakasone and Torero) collaborate with remitright.com to gather findings that can easily extend to other sites.
Secondary Category
Secondary Category Choice: Remittances For Social Impact
Why do you think you should win this category?
● Most of the arguments used previously apply here too; however, it is important to note here that IF adopted properly, comparison websites could significantly reduce price dispersion/fees in the industry. This has been shown for the airline and insurance industries for example. However, it is imperative that consumers use these sites in order to observe such impacts.
● Our study seeks to better understand what would drive consumers to use such sites and in turn, push fees/costs of remittance sending downward.
● By better informing the design of such sites and increasing their use, we hope to boost development outcomes since more money would be in the hands of family and friends in home countries – i.e. those who could benefit most from them.
Team Members
Full Name: Angelino Viceisza
Role: Principal Investigator (PI)
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-angelino-viceisza-0a55b14a/
Full Name: Eduardo Nakasone
Role: Co-PI
Link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eduardo-nakasone-4521a86/
Full Name: Maximo Torero
Role: Co-PI
Link: http://www.worldbank.org/en/about/people/m/maximo-torero
Full Name: Charles Gillig
Role: CEO, RemitRight (company contact/liaison)
Link: http://www.remitright.com
Supporting Links
Slides from January 2018 presentation at American Economic Association Meetings. CLICK “Download PowerPoint” at link below to access a .pdf of the slides.: https://goo.gl/DMV6BK
Previous related publication in Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167268115000396?via%3Dihub
Entry Representative
Full Name: Angelino Viceisza
Role: Principal Investigator (PI)
Email: aviceisz@spelman.edu
