Mexico logs biggest 12-month gain in remittances since 2006

Mexico City –  Mexico received $2.08 billion in remittances last month, up 21.2 percent from September 2010 for the biggest 12-month increase since October 2006, the country's central bank said Tuesday.

In the first nine months of the year, remittances amounted to $17.28 billion, 6.6 percent more than during the same period in 2010.

Remittances are Mexico's No. 2 source of revenue after oil exports and constitute a lifeline for many families.

Read more: 

Mexico Remittances Rise the Most in 5 Years on Cheaper Peso

Nov. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Mexican remittances rose at the fastest pace in five years in September as immigrant workers took advantage of the peso’s decline to send more money to relatives.

Even as economic growth slowed in the U.S., money sent back to Mexico rose 21 percent to $2.08 billion in September from $1.72 billion in the same month a year earlier, the central bank said today. Remittances had not risen as rapidly since October 2006, when they shot up 24 percent, central bank data show.

Read more

Pensions, remittances to go online in Karnataka

Thanks to the state government’s IT initiative in governance, all the transactions of the state treasury department will soon go online, ending the delay in getting your pension or salary.

The treasury department on Tuesday signed an MoU with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) for Khajane II project, in the presence of chief minister DV Sadananda Gowda. Read more

PHILIPPINES: August remittances surged 11% to $1.67b

Remittances from millions of Filipinos working abroad grew in August at the fastest rate in 20 months, giving the economy a needed boost in the second half after a sluggish performance in the first semester.

The Bangko Sentral said remittances in August reached $1.67 billion, up 11.1 percent from $1.503 billion year-on-year. The amount, however, was lower than $1.715 billion recorded in July.
The growth of remittances in August was the fastest rate of increase since inflows grew 11.4 percent year-on-year in December 2009. Read more

Indians send record sums home

Indians living in the Gulf have sent record sums of money home in remittances, taking advantage of the rupee's plummet against the dollar.

India DispatchInside the emerging giant

Keep pace with developing events in the BRICS economy Learn more

Measured against the Reserve Bank of India's reference rate, the rupee fell by nearly 13 per cent from 44 to the dollar on August 1to 49.7 to the dollar on September 23.

The UAE's Indian population alone yielded about US$60 million (Dh220.3m) in August and September, according to data from Indian asset management companies based in UAE. Market observers said the continuing rupee decline had created a good money-making opportunity for many. There are reports that many non-resident Indians (NRIs) have resorted even to borrowing to boost their remittances.

Read more

BOC accounts for over 47% inward remittances

“Sri Lanka received inward remittances worth $ 4 billion last year and the country has the potential to double the value over the next few years. We now see a trend where the banking system is being used widely to remit money unlike in the past which is a positive sign towards enhancing the remittance volume,” Bank of Ceylon (BOC) Chairman Dr.Gamini Wickramasignhe said.

Dr. Gamini Wickramasignhe

The country will reach $ 4.8 billion foreign remittances by the end of this year. Bank of Ceylon has been able to account for over 47 percent of the entire inward remittances to the country, he said.


“Our target is a ten percent remittance growth from the current Rs 200 billion. If the country could harness its true potential the volume could even be higher,” he said at the launch of NRFC Wasana and Cash Remitts raffle draw 2011 and 2012 and the re-launching of the RKFC Account held on Friday in Colombo.


Read more

Global forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) Civil Society Days 2011

Geneva, 19 September - Preparations for the GFMD Civil Society Days (CSD) (29-30 November) to be held in Geneva, Switzerland are well underway, in the countdown to the 2011 Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD).  Find below some updates on important developments.

Read more

SRI LANKA: Bank of Ceylon launches promotional campaigns targeting inward remittance stakeholders

Oct 17, Colombo: Government-owned major commercial bank in Sri Lanka, Bank of Ceylon (BOC) has launched a monthly raffle draw for the "Beneficiaries" of inward remittances.

The raffle is a part of the "Cash Remits" campaign targeting the beneficiaries of inward remittances. BOC says that the bank will conduct monthly draws and offer cash prices for the winners.

BOC has also re-launched its "NRFC Wasana" campaign targeting the remitters.
Read more

PHILIPPINES: Remittances Increase 6.9% To $13.02 Billion In First 9 Months

MANILA, Philippines — Remittances from overseas Filipinos amounted to $13.02 billion in the first nine months of 2011, up 6.9 percent year-on-year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Monday reported.

Fund transfers through official bank channels and monitored by the BSP totaled $1.67 billion for August alone, up 11.1 percent year-on-year but compared to the previous month or in July, the monthly tally was lower by 2.4 percent. It was the first time remittances climbed at a double-digit pace this year, the central bank said. Read more

GHANA: First African Savings enters agreement with GCB

Accra, Oct. 17, GNA - Clients of First African Savings and Loans Limited (FASL), a money transfer organization, will now be able to send remittances to their dependents in Ghana faster through a partnership it has with the Ghana Commercial Bank Ltd (GCB).

Under the partnership FASL will take advantage of GCB’s nationwide spread of 157 branches and an efficient network to channel remittances from clients in Europe and North America to their beneficiaries in Ghana.

Speaking at a meeting of officials of the two institutions, Mr. Samuel Sarpong, Deputy Managing Director in charge of Operations, GCB, expressed his excitement at having FASL on board and pledged the commitment of the Bank to ensure the best in customer service. Read more

BankMuscat launches remittance service to Philippines

BankMuscat, the leading financial services provider in the Sultanate, and Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) Manila, signed an agreement to launch remittance service to the Philippines.


Sulaiman al Harthy, Group DGM – Consumer Banking, signed the agreement on behalf of BankMuscat and Cynthia P Santos, First Senior Vice-President, signed on behalf of RCBC, in the presence of Philippine embassy officials and prominent community members. To begin with, the new facility will be available at a dedicated remittance centre in Ruwi benefitting the 55,000-strong Filipino community in the Sultanate.

Sulaiman al Harthy said: “As always, BankMuscat takes the lead in offering value added services to customers, including Expat customers, out of which the Filipino community represents the fifth largest customer base of the bank. BankMuscat continuously seeks ways to ensure that our customers receive the best products and service. In view of our ongoing efforts to expanding banking services to customers, especially to meet the increased demand for remittance services, we are launching a dedicated Filipino remittance desk to cater to our customers. The BankMuscat strategy is to attract customers through innovative products and services. The Bank remains focused on providing value added services.” Read more

Kerala needs a new development ‘model’

Ever since the Center for Development Studies in Thiruvananthapuram came out with a study highlighting Kerala’s accomplishments in the areas of its material quality of living, health and education some four decades ago, the phrase “Kerala model” has had a life of its own.

An array of eminent academics and public intellectuals — most notably, Nobel laureate Amartya Sen — have relentlessly sung praise to the “Kerala model,” and encouraged others to adopt it.

“Kerala demonstrates that a low-level economy can create a decent life, abundant in the things — health, education, community — that are most necessary for us all,” American environmentalist Bill McKibben wrote in the 1990s after visiting the state. “Kerala stands out as the Mount Everest of social development; there’s truly no place like it.”

Read more

Brac Bank mobile remittance service becomes active

BRAC Bank remittance beneficiaries have begun to receive money from Robi Sheba Points recently at Kaligonj, Gazipur, said a press release.

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of BRAC Bank Ltd. , Mr.Syed Mahbubur Rahman & Chief Market Officer of Robi, Mr. Bidyut Kumar Basu werepresent at the event where Ms.Rabeya Begum a resident of Kaligonj received her remittance money from Robi Sheba Point.

Read more

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.


Read more

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.

Read more

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

PHILIPPINES: Dollar's Fall Rocks Far-Flung Families

MABINI, the Philippines—The world's currencies are gyrating, but the strains are being felt beyond financial capitals and corporate boardrooms. Millions of families in developing countries rely on relatives sending dollars, euros and other weakened currencies from abroad to prop up spending at home.

Lorena Baquillos's husband, Jimmy, is one of nearly 10 million Filipinos working around the world. She's managed to open a small grocery here on the money Jimmy sends home as a merchant seaman, but his dollar-based pay is translating into fewer pesos at home than it did a few years ago. Read more

PHILIPPINES: Remittances from Libya, Yemen, Bahrain 1.3% of total, says central bank

Money sent home by overseas Filipino workers in strife-torn countries in the Middle East and North Africa is only 1.3 percent to the total remittances last year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said Thursday.

"The potential disruption [of money transfers] is something we can tolerate," BSP Assistant Gov. Cyd Tuano-Amador told reporters. But this disruption could eventually matter if the violence continues in strife-torn Libya, Yemen, and Bahrain, she added.

Remittances grew 8.2 percent to a record $18.76 billion last year, from $17.35 billion in 2009, as 
demand for skilled Filipino workers remains strong, the central bank reported on Feb. 15.


Read more

PHILIPPINES: Harvard prof: PH emigration to slowdown in 30-40 years

Harvard professor Dr. Jeffrey Williamson talked to Business Nightly on Wednesday to talk about 

emigration trends.

He said that every emigrant-sending country has gone through the following stages: rising, leveling, then descending. "I don't expect Philippines to be any different," he said during the interview.

Key driving forces for the eventual easing off include demography and improving job choices at home.

He explained that as young adults emigrate, the number of young adults at home as a share of  the population will be less. "The exit rate will tend to ease off," he said. Read more.

PHILIPPINES: Philippine Peso Gains on Speculation Drop Overdone; Bonds Fall

The Philippine peso rose for the first time in three days as some investors took advantage of declines triggered by unrest in the Middle East to buy the currency. Government bonds fell.

The peso has retreated 0.5 percent since Feb. 18 following a 1.1 percent weekly advance that marked it’s best performance in five months. Today’s rebound was modest because of concern instability in countries including Libya, Egypt and Bahrain will drive up the cost of crude oil imported by the Philippines and curb remittances from Filipinos living in the region, according to Marcelo Ayes, a Manila-based senior vice president at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp.

Read more

PAKISTAN: Remittances and hope

A pioneering new study commissioned by the Pakistan government and carried out by the International Organization of Migration, finds that remittances from overseas can quite dramatically change the quality of life for households that receive them, allowing families to pull children out of labour, purchase land or agricultural implements, pay for marriages or put them in savings. The small-scale study looks at 500 households in nine high-migration districts of the country and in Azad Kashmir. Its findings show the average total remittances received per household from the time the migrants went abroad were Rs 1.05 million.  Read more

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