On International Day of Family Remittances, IFAD calls for remittance service providers to be declared essential businesses

ROME, June 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- With the significant decline in money sent home by migrants due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) today called for governments across the world to declare remittance service providers essential businesses in times of crisis. 

"Remittances are a lifeline for poor families in low and middle income countries. Governments should take measures and do everything possible to facilitate the flow of funds during crises like the COVID-19 pandemic," said Gilbert F. Houngbo, President of IFAD, on the occasion of the International Day of Family Remittances

The economic sectors that employ migrant workers are being hardest hit by the impacts of COVID-19 restrictions, resulting in many migrants becoming unemployed. Remittance flows are projected to make their sharpest decline in history, falling by 20 per cent in 2020.  The closure of remittance service providers during lockdowns has exacerbated the ability of migrants to send money back to their families.

To address the situation, IFAD is making the following calls:

• Governments need to develop more conducive policy and regulatory environments that enable competition, regulation and innovation on the remittance market and declare these services essential.
• Private sector entities should invest in developing technological solutions to reduce costs, improve speed, enhance security and increase remittance flows through digital means to remote rural areas.
• There should be incentives to develop and use digital products that link remittances to a full range of financial services, so that migrants and their families can be encouraged to save and invest their money, creating more opportunities for themselves and their communities.

"IFAD is now tracking the impact of declining remittances on the 'receiving end' in developing countries, where typical remittances of US$200 to $300 per month account for about 60 per cent of household income," said Pedro de Vasconcelos, the head of IFAD's Financing Facility for Remittances.

Disruptions in remittance flows directly affect the lives and livelihoods of one billion people: 200 million migrants who send money to their 800 million relatives. Almost half of these families live in rural areas where poverty and hunger are the highest. This year, tens of millions of families who rely on remittances will fall below the poverty line, resulting in more hunger and less spending in education and health.

Contacts:
Antonia Paradela
[email protected] 
Mobile: +34 605398109

For more information visit www.ifad.org

SOURCE International Fund for Agricultural Development