Do African migrants pay high prices to send money home..?

Photo credit: Edgar Mwakaba/IRIN

The World Bank recent data shows African migrants pay more to send money home to their families than any other migrant group in the world. In 2012, Africans sent nearly $60 billion in remittances.

From the figures, South Asians pay an average of US$6 for every $100 they send home, while Africans often pay more than twice that amount - with  South Africa, having the highest remittance costs on the continent, nearly 21 percent of money set aside for family members back home is spent on getting it there.

World Bank believes this transaction cost greatly impact remittances and as such,  increasing poverty level, view the fact that  approximately 120 million Africans are depending on remittances from family members abroad for their  health, education, and survival in general. 

According to Kristy Siegfried , a reporter for IRIN News, tas a solution to this problem, the Bank is partnering with the African Union Commission and member states to establish the African Institute for Remittances, which will work towards lowering the transaction costs of remittances to and within Africa. It will also leverage the potential of remittances to influence economic and social development. 

Marco Nicoli, one othe finance analyst at the Bank who specialises in remittances; “The World Bank’s approach supports regulatory and policy reforms that promote transparency and market competition and the creation of an enabling environment that promotes innovative payment and remittance products,” 

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Source: IRIN News