Remittances and those who move them

Posted on November 22, 2007 / 2 Comments

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.

2 Comments

Donald Gaminitillake
November 23, 2007, 11:58 am
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
August 18, 2009, 1:04 am
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