NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Tuesday, April 9, 2019

Money transfers to poor and developing countries hit a fresh record in 2018 and should become their largest source of external financing this year, the World Bank said Monday.

But many banks and money transfer operators charged too much, cutting into the gains of migration, the bank said in a statement.

Migrant workers and others sent home an estimated $529 billion to low- and middle-income countries last year, up 9.6 percent from the year before, which had also been a record.

Such money transfers should hit $550 billion this year, making them the largest source of external finance, according to the bank.

Photo courtesy of AMISOM Public Information.