Wednesday 30 March 2011

E-payment for Ghanaians in the Diaspora

Ghanaians in the Diaspora are set to benefit from the country's first ever fully electronic payment system in a move to ease bureaucracies and fraudulent activities in both foreign and local business transactions.

The system which takes off this year will be operated by the Omanye E Payment Systems with one of Ghana’s giants in the mobile phone telecommunications providers AIRTEL providing the technical controls. Read more.

Banks embracing India remittances


Banks are wooing expatriate workers in the UAE with deals on remittances, seeking to corner the lucrative market on money transfers.
Standard Chartered announced yesterday that it would waive fees on all online remittances to India until the end of May. The bank is hoping to attract more deposits from the 1.75 million Indian expatriates in the Emirates.  Read more.

LITHUANIA: in 2010 emigrants' remittances equal one quarter of wages bill in Lithuania

In 2010, private persons transferred to Lithuania a record sum of 4.1 billion litas (1.188 billion euros), which equaled nearly one quarter of after-tax wages bill in Lithuania. According to SEB bank's financial analyst Gitanas Nauseda, the remittances from abroad did ease the decline of income and consumption during the financial crisis; however, remittances are a less useful type of revenue to the state's budget than wages.


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Constraints in the UK to Ghana Remittances Market

Over the past decade, remittances have  had a significant impact on the economy  of Ghana.  According to the Bank of  Ghana (BoG), remittances to Ghana  have increased from about $450 million  in 1999 to $1.8 billion in 2009, equivalent  to 11% of GDP and exceeding Official  Development Assistance.  Increasing the
flow of remittances, reducing the cost of  these migrant money transfers and encouraging the flow of more formal remittances holds significant importance for Ghana’s economic development.

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Will recent events in the Middle East Affect Remittance Flows to South Asia?

For countries with substantial numbers of workers in the Middle East, recent events have not only raised concerns for the repatriation and welfare of their citizens, but have also raised fears of a possible slowdown in remittances. Will remittance flows noticeably decrease due to recent events 
in Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia? Read more