By this time next year, LIRNEasia will have much to say on this subject.
Western Union Empire Moves Migrant Cash Home – New York Times
With five times as many locations worldwide as McDonald’s, Starbucks, Burger King and Wal-Mart combined, Western Union is the lone behemoth among hundreds of money transfer companies. Little noticed by the public and seldom studied by scholars, these businesses form the infrastructure of global migration, a force remaking economics, politics and cultures across the world.
Last year migrants from poor countries sent home $300 billion, nearly three times the world’s foreign aid budgets combined.
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2 Comments
Donald Gaminitillake
Interesting from telegrames to money trasfers
In srilanka Ceylinco group promoted this product with lots of ad on TV “Uncle Johnson” sending the money to buy a wedding ring!!!!
Today Ceylinco is out of this western union but Peoples Bank has taken agency!!! Also I have seen NDB and Aitkenspence has joined.
Donald
Jimmy T
One would expect remittances to remain relatively stable because the money isn’t usually used for investments, but I guess unemployment is going to hurt just about everyone! Here is an interesting article on why remittances might fall in the next couple of years: https://www.mindreign.com/en/mindshare/Global-Economics/Remittances/sl35291137bp484cpp10pn1.html
LIRNEasia CEO Helani Galpaya Shares Insights on AI and Labour at ISLE Conference 2026
Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming labour markets worldwide. In the Global South, however, these changes are unfolding unevenly, shaped by labour markets defined by high levels of informality, uneven social protection, and large skills gaps.
LIRNEasia CEO Helani Galpaya at the Global South Policy Dialogue: Securing Labour Justice in the Age of AI
As Artificial Intelligence (AI) continues to transform the world of work, its impacts in the Global South present urgent and unique challenges. Unlike advanced economies with formal labour markets and stronger safety nets, many countries in the Global South face high levels of informality, limited social protection, and unequal access to skills and digital infrastructure.
Ashwini Natesan at Factum’s ‘Case for and against the Online Safety Act’ panel discussion
On February 26, Factum, with the support of the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI), officially launched a policy report titled “Online Safety’s Impact on Human Rights and Digital Governance.”As part of this launch, a panel discussion titled “Case for and Against the Online Safety Act” was organized.
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