Remittances in crisis

A multistakeholder initiative is calling on policymakers, regulators and remittance services providers to improve migrants’ access to remittance services and reduce transfer costs during the ongoing novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

As the world suffers the socioeconomic repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, the flow of global remittances to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is projected to decline sharply by about 20 percent in 2020. Remittances to LMICs are estimated to fall by US$110 billion, representing a loss of a crucial lifeline for many vulnerable households. With cross-border remittances to LMICs being higher than either foreign direct investment or official development assistance, the rapidly intensifying socioeconomic effects of the crisis are expected to be devastating to the local economies of migrants’ countries and communities of origin, individual households and the overall achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

This call to action contains recommendations across policy, regulations and service provision that, in combination, will ensure migrant workers and their families are not left behind in the current crisis.

Visit sos.iccwbo.org for details on ICC’s global campaign to “Save Our SMEs”.

Approximate read time: 6 minutes