At its core, the International Day of Family Remittances (IDFR) on June 16 each year honors the commitment family members have toward each other, sending hard-earned money back to relatives who need it no matter where they are in the world. This is a commitment Western Union is proud to play a role in, as globally each year more than 200 million migrant workers send money home to over 800 million family members.
For the second year in a row, the theme of this IDFR is “Recovery and Resilience through Digital and Financial Inclusion.” Remittances can be transformational for the well-being of families and communities, especially in areas affected by conflict, economic downfalls, and natural and climate-related disasters. So, global and national task forces regularly discuss and work on remittance-related issues and potential solutions to increase access to financial institutions and services and maximize the development impact of remittance flows.
What Are Remittances?
Remittances are “cross-border person-to-person payments” that while often small in value serve as vital support for families in underdeveloped areas or difficult situations. While global remittances quintupled from the year 2000 to 2020, many experts believed the COVID-19 pandemic would hamper people’s ability to send money back to families in other countries. But the commitment and resilience of family members proved those experts wrong, as a May 2021 report by the World Bank showed only a 1.6 percent drop in 2020. And as of November 2021, the World Bank estimated remittances in 2021 had grown by 7.3 percent.
Learn more about remittance transfers, remittance providers, fees and how to send a remittance money transfer in our “What is a remittance transfer?” blog article. With Western Union, you can send money quickly online or with our mobile app to any of the 200 countries and territories we serve. Simply log in or sign up or visit our FAQ page to learn more.
6 Facts Showing Why Family Remittances Are Vital
If you’ve sent family remittances before, you already know the value of helping your loved ones in this way. But, did you know you are part of a global community that makes an even greater impact than what you see firsthand? Here are just some of the facts on remittances gathered by the World Bank and the U.N.:
- More than 80 countries rely on remittances for more than 3% of their GDP (gross domestic product).
- Family remittances directly impact the lives of 1 out of every 7 people worldwide.
- 75% of these remittances help pay for immediate family or household needs.
- An estimated 50% of international remittances go to relatives living in rural areas, where three-quarters of the world’s poor and food insecure live.
- The annual amount of remittances is three times greater than global official development assistance and foreign direct investment combined.
- IDFR is a key initiative of the U.N. as migrant contributions to development through remittances and investments falls under Objective 20 of the Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, which urges greater financial inclusion and bank access globally as well as lower money transfer costs.
Easy, Reliable and Convenient
Convenience and reliability are key anytime you need to send money to a loved one. Western Union has the most downloaded money transfer app in 2021 so you can send money internationally with ease—for pick up in cash or direct delivery to a bank account anytime, from virtually anywhere. While most of our digital transactions are paid out at our retail locations, nearly one in five digital transfers go to the receiver’s bank accounts and more than half of these accounts are credited in real-time.
Learn more about our commitment to our customers in enabling more ways to give people more access to money and money transfers across the globe.
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