Remittance Digitization and Household Decision Autonomy

Priya Sharma

Remittance Digitization and Household Decision Autonomy

Author(s)	Dr. Priya Sharma
Country	United States
Abstract	The digitization of remittances has altered the channels through which migrant earnings and other household transfers are received, stored, monitored, and subsequently allocated. Although digital remittances are commonly evaluated through transaction cost, transfer speed, financial inclusion, and household welfare, the mode of receipt may also influence who controls transferred resources and how household financial decisions are negotiated. This study examines the relationship between remittance digitization and household decision autonomy by distinguishing basic digital receipt from recipient-controlled digital finance. Because no verified household-level primary dataset was supplied, the study uses a transparent simulation-based design involving 160 synthetic recipient households. Five dimensions were incorporated into the analytical framework: Digital Remittance Control, Financial Privacy, Remittance Predictability, Digital Literacy, Household Cooperation, and Household Decision Autonomy. Four stages were modeled: cash-linked receipt, basic digital receipt, managed digital use, and recipient-controlled digitization. The simulated results generated a Pearson correlation of r = 0.661 between Digital Remittance Control and Household Decision Autonomy. Mean autonomy increased from 58.7 among cash-linked households to 66.7 under basic digital receipt, 72.0 under managed digital use, and 78.8 among recipient-controlled households. The findings illustrate that the potential autonomy effect of digitization does not arise merely because a transfer travels electronically. Greater autonomy is more plausibly associated with the recipient's ability to receive funds directly, access transaction information independently, retain money digitally, predict incoming transfers, and participate meaningfully in expenditure and savings decisions. Earlier evidence on mobile money shows that reduced transaction costs can improve household risk sharing, while remittance research indicates that control over transnational financial resources and predictable remittance receipt can influence household behavior and dimensions of women's autonomy. The paper concludes that remittance digitization should be evaluated through recipient control, privacy, capability, predictability, and household bargaining arrangements alongside conventional indicators of cost and speed.
Keywords	remittance digitization; household decision autonomy; mobile money; digital financial inclusion; remittance recipients; household bargaining; financial privacy; recipient control
Field	Engineering
Published In	Volume 6, Issue 3, May-June 2025
Published On	2025-05-05

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American Journal of Advanced Multidisciplinary Innovation and Research

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Remittance Digitization and Household Decision Autonomy

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