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These excess fees cost the African continent $1.8 billion a year; enough money to pay for the primary school education of 14 million children in the region.

This is because workers are paying an average of 12% in fees to transfer money back to relatives in sub-Saharan Africa. To put that in context, a worker sending $200 home to provide for a relative’s education would incur a $25 fee.

The global community pledged to cut remittance charges to 5% by 2014, yet this ‘super tax’ shows there is a long way to go.

Our report urges governments to increase competition in money transfer remittances and to establish greater transparency on how fees are set by all market operators.