West Asia crisis may slow remittances in near term

Region accounts for 48 per cent of the total inflows into India.

Remittances to India, especially from the West Asian countries, may decelerate in the near-term as the region continues to witness political turmoil following mass uprising against the governments in Tunisia and Egypt.

The Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia, which capsized the local government a few weeks back, saw popular uprising against unemployment and corruption.

This was followed by riots in Egypt, which, according to the United Nations, have left as many as 300 people dead. Protests were also witnessed in Jordan and Yemen. Read more

Remittances from Kenyans in Diaspora rise

Remittances from Kenyans abroad increased minimally last year to stand at Sh51.3 billion, the Central Bank of Kenya has said.

In a year that saw further recovery of the global economy, remittances increased by five per cent from Sh45.6 billion recorded in 2009.

The increase was an indication that leading economies in North America and Europe that account for most of the remittances are back on a strong footing after the global economic crisis, considering that in 2008, money sent back home stood at Sh45.8 billion. Read more

SOMALIA: Dahabshiil Provides Vital Remittances, Says BBC

LONDON, PRNewswire/ -- By handling remittances from the international Somali diaspora, Dahabshiil provides a vital source of income for African communities and in doing so, has become Africa's largest money transfer company, according to a recent article by the BBC.

In the interview by Zeinab Badawi of the BBC, Dahabshiil's CEO, Abdirashid Duale, speaks about his company's operations in Somaliland and of the difficulties in doing business abroad that arise from the unofficial status of the region, once British-controlled, in North West Somalia.
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Hawala operators expect windfall

DOHA: People running unofficial remittance channels (hawala) between Qatar and Egypt literally anticipate a ‘windfall’ if the demonstrations continue in Egypt as that would aggravate inflation and further weaken the local currency.

The operators ‘hope’ that with rising inflation back home, Egyptian expatriates here would be compelled to remit more funds to their families to help them keep pace with galloping prices.

And since banks and exchange houses remain closed in Egypt, they expect the expatriates here would be forced to use the black market for remittances.

The Qatari Riyal-Egyptian Pound rate, though remained unchanged in the unofficial remittance market here yesterday at 1.9 pounds per riyal—Wednesday’s rate—operators expect a ‘brisk’ business from today. The official riyal-pound rate has also jumped to 1.7 pounds to a riyal, although official remittances continue to be inactive.

Meanwhile, dollars are selling like hot cake in Cairo as foreigners desperate to leave trouble-torn Egypt are willing to cough up any sums in the local currency to grab the greenback. Read more

GUATEMALA: Guatemalan remittances rose 15.1% in January 2011

Guatemala City. Revenues through remittances increased by 15.1 percent in January 2011 compared to the same month in 2010. The Bank of Guatemala revealed yesterday that January 2011 showed revenues of $ 283.3 million. Although this amount is higher than January 2010, when revenues where at U.S. $ 246.1 million, it has not yet reached the levels of 2009, revenues of US $ 290.2 million, or U.S. $ 314.6 million of January 2008. Read more

LATIN AMERICA: New program helps harness the development potential of remittances sent to Latin America.

new program helps harness the development potential of remittances sent to Latin America.

BY MIMI WHITEFIELD

MWHITEFIELD@MIAMIHERALD.COM

Billions of dollars in remittances flow to the families of U.S. workers in Latin America annually and pay for everything from putting food on the table to buying cement blocks to build homes.

But under a new program launched by the U.S. government, the Inter-American Development Bank and banks in Central America, some of that money will be used to spur development in the region.

Consider: In 2009, $50 billion in remittances were sent from the United States to Latin America and the Caribbean. That's five times the amount of development assistance pledged to the region.

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ZIMBABWE: Diaspora remittances up

HARARE - Remittances from Zimbabweans living abroad have increased 32.9 per cent in 2010 to about US$263.3 million, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has said.

Figures released by the central bank showed that remittances had increased significantly from the US$198.2 million recorded in 2009.

“The growth rates primarily reflected the market’s confidence in the formal channel of remitting free funds,” the central bank said in a recent economic update. “In the outlook, the sector is poised to grow in 2011 due to the broadening of the Bureau De Change operating framework.”

Millions of Zimbabweans now live in neighbouring Botswana and South Africa while others have settled in Europe and the United States. Most left the country over the last decade to escape a biting economic crisis characterised by world record inflation and high unemployment. The vast majority send money back home to support their families. 


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MEXICO: MoneyGram and Visa Extend Remittance Service to World’s Largest Remittances Corridor

MoneyGram International (NYSE:MGI), a leading money transfer services company, and Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) announced today the launch of MoneyGram’s first cash-to-Visa account program for remittances from the United States to Mexico.

The program, which is built off of the success of MoneyGram’s cash-to-Visa service in Guatemala, allows consumers to visit any of the 35,000 MoneyGram locations in the U.S. to quickly and reliably send funds directly to eligible Visa accounts in Mexico. Recipients in Mexico receive the funds directly to their Visa credit, debit, or prepaid accounts, giving them convenient access to their funds through Visa’s global network of millions of merchant acceptance locations and ATMs.

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PAKISTAN: IOM Launches Study on Impact of Remittances on Pakistan's Development

Pakistan - IOM today launched a study investigating the impact of remittance flows from Pakistani migrant workers in Saudi Arabia on their families back home.

The study, commissioned at the request of the government, was funded by IOM's 1035 Facility for member states and targets an area that suffers from a dearth of empirical data.

"The research will help key stakeholders in the government to draft new legislation enhancing the development impact of these remittances on local, regional and national levels in Pakistan. It may also help to improve remittance services for Pakistani workers in Saudi Arabia," says IOM Regional Representative for West and Central Asia Hassan Abdel Moneim Mostafa. Read more

PHILIPPINES: Landbank makes Japan remittances easier

A news service being offered by the LandBank of the Philippines has made it easier for Overseas Filipinos (OFs) and their families to send and receive money in the country.

This, after Landbank inked an agreement with the Japan Post Bank (JPB) at the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo recently.

Under the agreement signed by Landbank and JPB executives, remittance of Japan-based overseas Filipinos as well as other fund transfer to other local banks sent through JPB will be distributed by Landbank. Read morehttp://www.pia.gov.ph/?m=1&t=1&id=14366

VIETNAM: More cash pours in from overseas Vietnamese

HCM CITY — The World Bank predicts inward remittances will increase by more than 6 per cent this year, based on the amount of last year.

Inward remittances to Viet Nam increased strongly in the last decade, from only US$1.2 billion in 1999 to $7.2 billion in 2008.

Last year was the first time in which remittances surpassed $8 billion, a rise of 25.6 per cent over 2009.

The recovery of the world economy as well as better economic growth have opened more business opportunities, with more and more overseas Vietnamese transferring money to invest here.

With a more liberalised remittance policy, including allowing the sending and receiving of US dollars, commercial banks as Sacombank and Vietcombank have taken many measures to attract foreign currencies. Read more

After a slump in 2009, migrant financial remittances back to Africa were again on the rise in 2010. Experts expect a further growth in funds sent to Africa in 2011 and 2012.

According to a recent World Bank study, the slump in remittances to Africa in 2009 was recovered last year. By the end of 2010, Bank estimates show, Africans abroad will have sent back a total of US$ 21.5 billion, posting a 4.4 percent rise, after a decline of 3.7 percent the year before. Read more

TAJIKISTAN: Remittances on the rise in Tajikistan

Tuesday, February 01, 2011 - Foreign workers’ remittances sent home to Tajikistan climbed by more than one-quarter to reach $2.1 billion in 2010, according to figures released by the head of the National Bank of Tajikistan (NBT).

Total remittances from January to November 2010 were up 27 percent over the same period in 2009, but remained below pre-global crisis levels, said central bank chief Sharif Rahimzoda.

“Compared to 2009 remittances to Tajik banks considerably increased last year, but they are still far from the record figures of 2008, when $2.6 billion were remitted to banks in Tajikistan,” the AsiaPlus news agency cited the NBT head as telling a press conference in the capital Dushanbe.

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Egypt bank closures cut off vital Gulf remittances

DUBAI, Feb 1 (Reuters) - The closure of Egyptian banks has prevented Gulf-based Egyptians, who make up the bulk of the population living abroad, from sending vital remittances back to the North African country, exchange operators said on Tuesday.

Egypt, racked by political unrest as demonstrators bid to end President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule, is heavily reliant on funds from its citizens abroad.

The World Bank estimates about $7.6 billion was remitted to Egypt in 2010. 

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MEXICO: Remittances to Mexico up marginally in 2010

Mexico received a total of $21.27 billion in remittances in 2010, which signifies a small increase of 0.12 percent over the year before, the country's central bank said Tuesday.

"This indicates that remittances barely managed to halt the decline that occurred in 2009 and their recovery has been slow. Remittances depend chiefly on employment in the United States, where the outlook continues to be complicated," a report by the Mexican bank Ixe said.

Remittances constitute the second largest source of foreign currency for Mexico after oil sales.

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Financial inclusion: A better tomorrow for all Indonesians

Imagine an Indonesia where the poor no longer struggle to set money aside and can accumulate savings as a cushion against unforeseen emergencies, and not run the risk of losing money through theft.

Imagine an Indonesia where people no longer having to resort to loan sharks to borrow money at exaggerated interest rates.

Imagine more than 4 million overseas migrant workers no longer repatriating their earning in cash when returning home but sending their earnings home electronically, without requiring their families to travel to a bank. Imagine millions of Indonesian children receiving education because their parents have access to the right kind of savings products; and imagine Indonesians who have never had a bank account climbing out of poverty and improving their livelihoods using a broad range of financial services.

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GHANA: Remittances from Ghanaians abroad said to have helped in poverty reduction

Alhaji Muhammed Mumuni, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, on Friday said remittances from migrants had positively contributed to leveraging government policies, instituted to achieve poverty reduction and economic empowerment of the citizenry.

He said: “Remittances from migrants have recently begun to outstrip Official Development Assistance to many developing countries, with Ghana as one of the eloquent examples. Remittances from Ghanaians abroad have in recent times played a very significant role in creating diverse source of livelihoods and capital for many Ghanaian families.” 

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PHILIPPINES: OFW families turn to savings — BSP survey

More beneficiaries of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are turning to savings instead of buying houses and lots, appliances, and motor vehicles, a survey conducted by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed.

BSP Deputy Gov. Diwa Guinigundo said the fourth quarter 2010 Consumer Expectations Survey (CES) showed an increase in the percentage of households with family members abroad that allocated portions of their remittances to savings and a decline in the percentage for those shifting to investments and other major purchases. Read more

Netherlands-Afghanistan Remittances Corridor Study (2009)

The study of the remittance corridor between the Netherlands and Afghanistan was conducted between July-October 2009 and was commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The remittance corridor study followed the World Bank evaluation guidelines to construct a comprehensive overview of the flow of remittances traveling from Afghans resident in the Netherlands back to their families and communities of origin. The study involved a household survey that assessed the demographic characteristics of Afghans living in the Netherlands, documented the remittance-sending behaviours of respondents (in terms of frequency of remitting, average transfer value, most-used transfer channels, etc.), and migration histories of respondents.  In addition to the survey in the Netherlands, a similar survey was conducted among remittance recipients in Afghanistan to enable a better review of needs and constraints on both sides of the corridor. The study also involved a though assessment of the institutions, structures, and linkages within and between the financial sectors in the Netherlands and Afghanistan. The study culminated in the formulation of a series of recommendations for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding ways to bolster the use of formal remittance transfer channels, strengthen the financial sector in Afghanistan, and facilitate better exchange between financial agencies and institutions in the Netherlands and Afghanistan. Read more

Click here to view the report

Workers' remittances in the EU27 Money sent by migrants to their country of origin fell by 7% in 2009 Total transfers at 30 bn euro

In the EU27, money sent by migrants to their country of origin, usually referred to as workers' remittances1, had registered a constant increase over recent years. This trend has been interrupted by the economic crisis. Total EU27 outflows amounted to 30.3 billion euro in 2009, compared with 32.6 bn in 2008 (-7%). These figures include both intra-EU27 and extra-EU27 flows. The decrease in workers' remittances in 2009 compared with 2008 was almost the same for extra-EU27 flows (-7%) and for intra-EU27 flows (-6%). The share of extra-EU27remittances in the total stood at 73% in 2009, the same level as in 2008.

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Mobile Money Transfers APAC January 17-20 2010, Manila, Philippines

MMT APAC returns to the Philippines on Jan 17-20 and features a 2 day conference agenda packed with pioneering speakers, practical workshop sessions and a full day of site visits and live use cases hosted by Smart Communications and Globe Telecom.


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West Africa Conference: Mobile Remittance - West Africa 2010

Mobile Remittance,West Africa 2010.

MobileMoneyAfrica cordially invite you to attend “Mobile Remittance, West Africa “, our First Money Money remittance Conference to be held in the Victoria Crown Plaza Hotel,Victoria Island – Lagos,Nigeria.

Date:15th – 16th,December,2010. 


http://mobilemoneyafrica.com/?page_id=2231

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Migrant worker remittances reached US$5 billion

Total remittance garnered by Indonesia's more than 4 million migrant workers as of September reached US$5 billion, or around Rp 45 trillion.

There are now 4.32 million Indonesian workers overseas sending money back home, according to the central bank's release Thursday.

Bank Indonesia, the ministry of manpower and transmigration and the Placement and Protection of Overseas Labor (BNP2TKI) have been monitoring migrant workers placements since 2005.

The central bank said this was important to count the total flow of foreign exchange sent by TKI or remittances, which showed improvement over the last few years.

Source

Peru remittances reached US$635 million in 3Q 2010

Tuesday, December 7th, 2010

Lima - Remittance flow sent by overseas Peruvians to their relatives in Peru reached US$ 635 million in the third quarter this year, Central Reserve Bank of Peru (BCR) reported Monday. This figure is the highest of this year representing a 3.9 percent growth over the same period in 2009. So far this year, remittances have reached US$1.83 billion. During the third quarter, remittances channeled through banks jumped 8.1 percent from US$266 million in the same third quarter 2009 to US$288 million in the same period this year. Source

MEXICO: Remittances in Mexico Up 9.32% in August

MEXICO CITY – Remittances from Mexican emigrants totaled $1.95 billion in August, up 9.32 percent from the same month of 2009, the Mexican central bank said.

That figure, announced Friday by Banco de Mexico, topped the consensus market forecast of $1.86 billion, Mexican financial group Ixe said in a report. Read more