Myanmar migrant workers in Thailand still send most of their money home through unlicensed brokers, according to the Institute for Strategic Policy (ISP).
The Bangkok-based think tank says the solution is to make legal migration easier, rather than loosen banking rules.
The report was written with the Nelson Mandela Center for Conflict Resolution, Atrocity Prevention, and Human Security. The authors urged both governments to treat remittance reform and labour migration reform as one agenda.
The Thailand-Myanmar route is Southeast Asia's largest migrant-worker corridor. A 2024 International Organization for Migration survey found 93 percent of Myanmar remitters in Thailand used informal channels.
A total of 60 percent relied on the “hundi” broker system. About 68 percent of Myanmar's informal remittances come from Thailand, the report added.
Informal flows are estimated at three to five times the official figures. The World Bank put total remittances to Myanmar at about US$8 billion in 2015.
That was 13 percent of gross domestic product. Only US$1 billion to US$2 billion was officially recorded that year.
The gap is costly for Myanmar, which faces a severe shortage of foreign currency. The kyat has lost about 80 percent of its value against the dollar since the 2021 military takeover.
Hundi brokers usually settle balances with each other across the border. The money never reaches Myanmar's banks or central bank reserves.
Thailand also bears a cost, the report said. The informal networks create money-laundering and terrorist-financing risks along the border. Thailand's formal financial sector gains nothing in return.
Cost is no longer the main barrier. New digital wallet services have cut fees close to hundi's rate of about 2.5 percent. Banks once charged about 10 percent.
Some bank and fintech exchange rates now come close to black-market rates.
But only documented workers can use them. Senders need passports, work permits and visas. The report called legal status “the binding constraint.”
Thailand hosts about 5.2 million non-Thai migrants, according to IOM figures. More than a third lack legal status. Official recruitment of Myanmar workers takes 60 to 120 working days.
That is slower than routes from Cambodia and Laos. Eighty-eight percent of irregular migrants said they entered Thailand unofficially. Workers still pay unofficial fees of up to 3,500 baht (US$106) to speed up processing. Rules say employers should cover those costs.
Thailand and Myanmar signed a new five-year labour agreement on Aug. 6-7. It came during a state visit to Bangkok by Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing.
He led the 2021 coup and became president in April this year. The pact allows undocumented workers to register. It also allows expiring permits to be renewed.
The report welcomed the deal but said key bottlenecks remain. Up to 2 million workers need their names approved by the Myanmar Embassy. Capacity to issue Certificates of Identity is also limited.
Workers without passports use Certificates of Identity to travel. Only five issuing centres were operating in Thailand as of early 2026.
The report made several recommendations. Workers recruited under the official system should be paid into bank accounts, following Singapore's model.
Workers who already hold Thailand's Pink Card should get identity documents on a fast track.
The report also urged Myanmar to change its remittance rule. Workers must send 25 percent of earnings through official channels.
The authors said Myanmar should apply a near-market exchange rate to that money. They said it should reward compliance when documents are renewed rather than deny renewals.
The report proposed a pilot programme for direct baht-kyat settlement. It would begin in border areas such as Mae Sot and Myawaddy. Myanmar approved the baht for international payments in 2023.
