Pacific island economies depend heavily on remittances - more than many other regions in the world. For example, remittances account for 27 and 21 percent of GDP for Tonga and Samoa, respectively. Reliance on foreign exchange inflows makes access to low-cost financial services and correspondent banking for cross-border flows critical for these economies. Australia, New Zealand, and the United States each account for approximately one-third of the remittances to the region